Dueling storefront ushers punk’s past into the present

William Evans has known what's good his entire life. Having seen the view from the stage and the floor, he is well versed in the language of sonic attitude. Somehow along the path of counterculture and manic music, he found himself behind the counter of his own record shop. 

The dueling storefront of Black Hole Records and Stray Cat Vintage & Costumes have remained a cornerstone of Fullerton’s punk community since Evans and his wife, Anna Evans opened its doors in 1991. Standing on the edge of Downtown Fullerton’s strip on Harbor Blvd, the record store and boutique have a distinct focus on alternative styles in sound and visuals.  

According to Evans, the stores’ conception began across seas. On trips to England, the store owner noticed the deliberate blending of items associated with a certain subcultures in storefronts or in street markets, offering the appeal of accessibility in the consumerist candy trail. 

Lined with leather, fur and seemingly endless accessories, Stray Cat Vintage & Costumes, owned by Evans’ wife Anna Evans, stands true to its title. Dawned in unique and irreplicable pieces, the boutique holds the atmosphere paralleled in magazines from the more authentic days of punk.

The record shop stands as a green light across the bay of studded-leather style as the storefronts seamlessly blend from optics to audio. Offering almost every type of physical proof of the music scene, posters, records, shirts and pins decorate the shop. 

Keeping the storefront a family heirloom of sorts, Anna and William’s daughter London bounces between both spaces, testifying for the renaissance of physical media and counterculture the storefronts have seen.

“I think punk in general, same with goth or any of those subcultures, are a product of our society,” said London Evans. “I don't think it's a coincidence that kids are sort of like ‘Oh, we can express revolution through aesthetics’ and kind of redefining that and figuring that out, it’s really cool to see the new generations take on and definitely something that we are seeing.” 

Society breeds both culture and structure, therefore the people cultivate counterculture. Punk, a counterculture coated in iconism, lives on through those who remember its true purpose — to counteract oppression. Black Hole Records and Stray Cat Vintage can attest to the resurgence of health in the community’s numbers. 

“Now’s a good time for punk rock,” Williams said. “Becasue if you can't offend anybody, then you shouldn’t be in punk rock, that's the whole idea of being in punk rock.”