People came from all around Greater Cincinnati to visit head shop/whatnot purveyor The Cupboard, dark and funky arcade Jupiter & Beyond and T-shirt and sundries stores Scentiments/Rock City, among others. An old fire station was occupied by the popular bar and restaurant Zino's. Wizard moved around the corner to Short Vine, with the West Charlton spot becoming The Cave, focused on used stock, and then across the street to a two-level store with a stage.ĭuring the 1980s and early '90s, the strip of Vine Street known as Short Vine bustled with creative types, tattoo shops, buskers, bars and restaurants. James came in as manager on Halloween 1985, later becoming half-owner and, finally, owner. The original spot below street level on West Charlton had been Another Record Store when Tony Santone - who owned Schoolkids Records in Athens - bought it and created Wizard. Wizard had three homes in the Short Vine area over the years. James remembers two sons of legends visiting the record store in a single week: Bob Dylan's son, Jakob, was in town with his band The Wallflowers, and John Lennon's son Sean was touring with Cibo Matto. They said nothing and began catwalking, vogueing and sashaying around the store, then swaggered out just as silently and weirdly. Marilyn Manson and guitarist Twiggy Ramirez wandered in unannounced, dressed in meant-to-shock outfits - floor-length, electric-orange dusters and Nazi gear. Hardcore punk legend Henry Rollins shot the breeze with customers and even held someone's baby. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top bought cassettes. We'd have their stuff displayed in the window." Bands playing at Bogart's would do sound checks and then come hang out. "There was something so magical about Wizard. "We lived in magical times," said John James, former owner. Or, more precisely, Wizard Records & Tapes. This place was in a land called Corryville, and even its name conveyed the sense of sorcery its many fans felt it deserved: Wizard. Wizened city dwellers searched for gold alongside wide-eyed suburban teens making their first trip into "the big city." ![]() Music lovers and "crate diggers" - treasure hunters who loved rifling through peach crates of old vinyl LPs – frequented it. Musicians from throughout the land, both world-famous and struggling locals, would visit. CINCINNATI - Once upon a time in a land not very far, far away, there was a place that seemed downright enchanted.
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