Musical Energi, 24 S. Main St., has been in business for nearly 37 years. The shop is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Sunday, when the hours are noon to 5 p.m.
Ryan Evans | Times Leader
Downtown WB’s Musical Energi a must-see for vinyl connoisseurs
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Jay Notartomaso poses amidst the vast collection of vinyl available at Musical Energi in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
Courtesy of Jay Notartomaso
‘I’ve been obsessed with records since I was four years old,’ said Musical Energi owner Jay Notartomaso, who provided this photo to prove it. ‘Like, most kids have a blanket at that age, but my hand was like, on the player.’
Courtesy of Jay Notartomaso
WILKES-BARRE — There’s a reason for the resurgence of the vinyl market: You just can’t beat that pop and hiss, perhaps a little static as your favorite A or B side starts spinning.
For purists and audiophiles, this is common knowledge, though it’s not far-fetched to imagine the average enthusiast taking a listen and immediately agreeing.
Luckily for downtown Wilkes-Barre, Musical Energi has been providing vinyl records (among many other lifestyle accoutrements) for nearly 37 years.
Owner and dedicated vinyl enthusiast, Jay Notartomaso, 61, of West Wyoming (by way of Clarks Summit) has been passionate for his entire life.
“I’ve been obsessed with records since I was four years old,” he said. “Like, most kids have a blanket at that age, but my hand was like, on the player.” Notartomaso said his father’s love of music inspired him and he ran with it. “Music is like my God,” he said.
In addition to records, Musical Energi also offers CDs and tapes, new and used stereo equipment, posters, incense, music, memorabilia, and even guitar strings.
For connoisseurs seeking that special find, he also noted that there’s a sort of second Record Store Day coming up in the third week of June, which will see a handful of limited releases.
The store started with a serendipitous sequence of events, as Notartomaso explained. He had just graduated from Penn State and was living out there when his mother called one day. She explained that there was a traveling kiosk that would hop around different malls, selling records. The owner, however, was looking to get rid of the business, sell the kiosk and turn it over. “My mom was like my biggest supporter. She was like ‘Call him’, you know? She knew I would love this. So. I called him and jumped in head-first,” he said.
That was nearly four decades ago, and Musical Energi is still going strong — though, as with many small businesses, the last few years have indeed been challenging between the pandemic and personal tragedy.
“So, we were closed, I guess three months I want to say. And yeah, it was awful,” Notartomaso said. He also lost both of his parents that year, adding grief to an already unprecedented time.
“Business-wise, I had no income. Bills were still coming in, you know, (and) obviously I’m just one of millions and millions of people struggling. But you know I just initially thought, ‘oh you know, I’ll have a little vacation.’ But it turned into a nightmare.”
Notartomaso noted that while there were PPP loans being unfurled and other financial aids, while eligible, there was no way to receive the funds because his bank was not a participant. He was also initially not able to qualify for unemployment, being a self-employed person. Eventually he would be able to acquire benefits, but it was only after months of waiting.
“So, I tried my best to keep things going,” he said. “We do sell a lot online and so that kind of kept going with online sales and we were doing delivery and we were doing curbside pickup.”
Notartomaso also had high praise for the Diamond City Partnership. He spoke of how Executive Director, Larry Newman, was constantly sending out email to all downtown businesses to keep them informed of new loans and grants. “He just kept going and kept fighting for downtown businesses. You can quote me, he’s a gem for the city. Nothing but positive and helpful and caring.”
As May begins and we find ourselves over two years removed from the uncertainties and dark days of early quarantine times, Notartomaso said, “I think we’re pretty much over the top of the hill.” Employees at Musical Energi are still wearing masks, though customers aren’t required to and business has been “pretty steady” as he put it.
On a personal level, Notartomaso shows no signs of getting over his passion. “I’m still like totally in love with what I do for a living. I feel very thankful that it’s something I’ve been passionate about my whole life. I get to go to work and play records.” And while he said with a laugh that people will ask him what he’s going to do when he retires, Notartomaso’s response is something like, “Maybe I’ll open a record store. That’d be fun.”
Moving forward into 2022, Notartomaso said he feels there’s a lot of potential for downtown Wilkes-Barre. “I really think we need to focus on the colleges, turn it into a college town. I’ve been saying this for 30 years.”
He also added in closing, “I think there’s a lot going on in this area that people don’t realize. Especially in the music scene, there’s a lot of local bands. There’s a lot of great entertainment.”
He advised those who may frequent the big box stores and franchise restaurants to try something local, something family-owned, and to continue to support downtown, its people, and its businesses.