By Matt Vaughan

Easy Street Records

Our brothers on the block!

Not just about the Mai Tai’s or Astro Mac n Cheese for me.

For nearly 20 yrs, W5 was the linchpin between old WS/new WS.

Owners Dean & Dave were childhood friends, Bison Creek Pizza delivery boys, everybody knew em.

When I first moved to WS, mid 80’s, got a job at Penny Lane Records. I quickly became friends with fellow hesher Dean Overton.

Slayer, Metal Church, Metallica, The Accused, 45 Grave, Black Flag, Scratch Acid…hooptie sounds of Sir Mix A Lot, Def Jam, Kool Moe Dee. Pre-grunge. I found a friend.

Lots of shows and road trips. Next door to Penny Lane was West Seattle Speedway & Hobby. Epic slot car races, on tournament days, announcer sat perched above, calling out the races, handing out trophies.

(20 yrs later it would become #West5)

That slice of the block was a safe zone for us adolescents. Thru a series of events much too long to discuss here, I eventually found myself the owner of the record shop, 19 yrs old, last one standing. Changed name to @easystreetrecords. Somewhere in blur, Dean became one of the first hires. I ran out the lease and after about 18 months, moved it down the street to where it still resides, 1989.

Dean would go onto have a stellar career in the music biz, Danjay Distro, Peaches, then top tier at Warner Brothers.

I recall Dean asking if he could say he had been the store mgr on his resume. “Weren’t u?”

Dean broke a lot of records at Warner, never forgot about lil Easy Street. The 1st @mudhoney_ instore, our 1st murals Built To Spill, Nick Cave, @kdlang “Drag” party, Green Day party. W Kevin @73clift doing visuals/displays, we always made sure to take care of Dean’s projects. As Deaner rose in the ranks, he also saw the belly of the ugly music biz.

Back to his roots, grabbed childhood friend Dave Montoure, they scraped their $ together. Dave had built a nice career as a logistical engineer in the shipping industry.

Sense a seafaring vibe at W5? Dave good w/ numbers and deets. Both guys WS proud, from kicking cans, slinging pizzas, slot cars, careers, and back again. Would soon become the most popular bar in WS.

All bars after, owe W5 for what they started.