NEDERLAND — When taking an assessment of your life and coming to the realization that the career you’re in no longer serves you, what steps would you take to correct this existential threat?

Do you continue serving the status quo, dig in your heels and double down on your buttoned-up lifestyle? Or do you choose to do something a little more “punk rock”? To wave a certain finger in the face of The Norm and choose a life of substance over stature? 

Jeff and Kristianna Sanders chose substance, after sudden sea changes in their lives altered their perspectives, forced some introspection, and led them towards their happiness—which happens to be here in the mountains, in Nederland, where providence made itself known in the form of a record store for sale.  

Boogie Records was started by Ryan Blackwell in March 2019 when he left his career as an educator to pursue his dream of owning and running a record store, one with a heavy metal focus, located in Nederland, the birthplace of the hippie jam band scene.  

The special customized 1976 Fender bass belonged to Jeff's late father, recording engineer and composer Rich Sanders, whose career was influenced by visiting Caribou Ranch.

Photo by Christopher Kelley

Over the years, Blackwell, along with his perpetual Employee Of The Year and canine best friend BB, grew Boogie Records into a successful asset that showcases how Nederland is still a hub of musical expression and creativity in the mountains. 

Though the major festivals that highlighted Nederland’s musical magic are gone, as is the famous Caribou Ranch recording studio that inspired so many famous artists in the 1970s and ’80s, there still exist stewards of this town’s special place in music history.

And though Blackwell was a worthy one, he has moved on to a life of traveling and attending festivals all over the world, with his eyes set on his true love: Japan. 

In his place, the Music Gods have found the most serendipitous of replacements in Jeff and Kristianna. 

“The synchronicity around some of this is crazy,” Jeff admitted in an interview with The Mountain-Ear. “My father was a recording engineer and he became one because he toured Caribou Ranch. He was doing his thesis for General Motors, and he basically called them and said ‘no thanks,’ and went into a recording career because of it.”  

For Jeff, Boogie Records represents more than chasing a dream; it’s a return to a familiar feeling, having grown up transfixed by the work of his father, Recording Engineer and Composer Rich Sanders.

Being in the record store is like going back to the pure vibes of living in a musical household, where the sound of his father experimenting on the piano would often fill the air, where reel-to-reels endlessly spun, and you never knew who was going to come through the door. 

The old Volkswagen minibus might not be parked outside this summer, but that friendly skeleton can still be found hanging around town.

Photo by Christopher Kelley

“The thing that really sparked it was being in it,” Jeff said about his love for music. “I was so steeped in it. There was always a recording studio in my basement; artists always coming in and out of my house, like this guy—Calvin Jones comes in to record with my Dad, has nowhere to stay so he’s sleeping on our couch. Or Trey Parker and Matt Stone are in CU, my Dad is doing the post work for their first feature-length film and they’re just coming into our house—not knocking, either, just coming in.” 

As life raced by, Jeff one day stopped to take a look back at 30 years in the Software Development Management world—and it was that assessment that led him to Boogie.  

“I started off to sustain my family, and just spent many years focused on earning that income,” he explained. “Kids grow up, they start having kids of their own, and I started to look at my career and go, ‘where is this really leading?’ I can either continue doing this and probably have a heart attack from spending so many years sitting in an air-conditioned office, or I can go into semi-retirement and maybe not have a heart attack.” 

This realization lit a new fire within Jeff, and almost immediately after he began telling the universe what he wanted out of life, the universe gave back with an ad for a record store for sale—a chance to return to that familiar comfort and childlike sense of wonder curated by his father when he was alive.  

Rich now lives forever in the heart of Boogie Records, for not only is his customized 1976 Fender bass displayed on the wall, but the very shelves at the store are sourced from the old Boulder staple Albums on the Hill, where Rich used to shop. One of the shelves even has a sticker showcasing the date of 1977, the year Jeff was born.

“I’m flabbergasted at the community around this and that we’re able to get to know so many amazing people through this,” Jeff said, noting that he’s also already met a CU archivist up here in Nederland who may have access to some of his father’s recordings.  

 The spirit of music, and of those who create such beauty, forever flows through the store—through the actual sounds that are always bouncing against the four walls, through the new artists and albums that are always stocked, waiting to be discovered, and through the long-lived and loved collections of classics that are always coming through. 

Boogie Records has been, and will remain, the perfect place to find a handful of gems at a reasonable price.

Photo by Christopher Kelley

For Kristianna, Boogie Records represents more than just a storefront; it’s a return to a human life, free of the constraints and gray-area compromises of an existence spent consulting the powerful and morally bankrupt. 

“I’ve been in PR and Communications since out of undergrad,” Kristianna said, detailing how she started out in universities, including CU Boulder, from which she had graduated. “I ended up running my own business for a while. Then I did the agency thing before it started to move from things that I cared about to things that I really didn’t want to support—like Big Tech—and so I have since gone back to consulting.”   

Just as Jeff found it fulfilling to flee his career as a software engineer, Kristianna feels the same—but it was more than just the change in profession that drove her passion; it was the need for a real community. 

“I’m trying in my life to no longer support big capitalism,” she said. “Local businesses are important; community is important. That’s what’s been the coolest thing, is seeing how many people show up just to be supportive, it’s been so phenomenal on that end.” 

While she seems somewhat strained and diminished when trying to talk about her career, the reality of where she now stands—in the mountains, behind the counter of her own special corner of paradise—makes her smile ecstatically. 

“We tried to buy a whole selection of various stuff just to see, and it’s shocked me—just completely different choices than I would’ve expected,” Kristianna said excitedly, getting into the retail groove and beginning to overflow with ideas, not just for stock for the record store—from a wider selection of new artists to highlighting local favorites—but for events and activities where Boogie can really collaborate and be one with the community. 

“We’re not here to push our style of things; we’re here to observe and serve—and that’s not just for music,” Jeff said. “I love what’s going on up here and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

 As customers come in and walk up to the register with their selections, Jeff and Kristianna engage naturally with each one, listening intently to their stories and basking in the light of inspiration that the record store has sparked within them. 

“People are just so generous with their time and with their stories,” Kristianna explained. “It’s just really fun to be able to be a part of people’s journeys, whether they’re from a different state, or a different country, or local. Like, there are folks who come in every day just to say hi as part of their daily routine, and that is heartwarming!”  

“Honestly, the shock is that we just live down the hill and no one talks to each other, but up here we’re actually talking to folks and learning who they are,” Jeff chimed in, comparing the colorful world of Nederland and of small business ownership to the black and white world of the suburbs and of the rat race.

These Colorado natives are currently living in Broomfield, hoping soon to move to the mountains.

“That’s the contrast. This community and the people who are stopping by and expressing some level of camaraderie, it comes completely without strings, and it’s like, ‘thank you.’ Humanity exists still.” 

“Which is perfect timing because we’re kind of Empty Nesters now,” Kristianna says.

“Like having our own identity again…” Jeff adds.

“…And just doing the things we actually always wanted to do,” Kristianna finishes the thought. 

Boogie Records is located at 150 North Jefferson Street and is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information call 303-521-2820; visit them on Facebook; or peruse their rarest items at bit.ly/4hDNSmQ.