Buriens Time Tunnel Records celebrates 10 years with a cool makeover

If you’re familiar with the Burien area, you’ve probably seen Time Tunnel Records, a brightly painted record store that offers music lovers plenty of unique finds.

This year marks the tenth anniversary since owner Matthew Alston opened the corner shop.

His vision for Time Tunnel was to create a space that reminded him of the retro record stores he frequented in his youth. “I grew up in the ’70s and that was the idea,” he said. “For the name, I thought it would be nice to have something that gave you the image of a tunnel. I think music has an effect like time travel. You can hear a song and it completely transports you back to a certain memory or a certain moment that you associate with that particular song.”

With the name in place and his vision in motion, Alston had a new mission: to give the exterior a facelift. He accomplished that last fall, just in time for the store’s 10th anniversary this year.

Burien artist Craig Johnson was commissioned to give the Time Tunnel a stunning retro aesthetic to match its name, and Alston was very pleased with the results.

“It looks very psychedelic and I couldn’t do anything for a while because there was a fence around the property. After that was removed, the wall was visible and I thought this would be a great way to showcase the business and let people know I’m here,” Alston said.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Alston worked various odd jobs and played in several bands before becoming an entrepreneur. In 1995, Alston moved to Seattle with his band to start a new career and even recorded a demo at the famous London Bridge Studio in North Seattle.

“At some point the band didn’t work out in the long run and we all morphed into other bands. At the time I also had a normal job and even worked in the aviation industry for several years. After that I got a job in a music store,” Alston recalls. That music store eventually closed and in 2014 Alston finally decided to start his own company from scratch.

One source of funding for his venture was the sale of a beloved truck that once belonged to Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Alston originally purchased the truck through Craigslist from a couple who were members of Seattle-based band The Walkabouts. Alston was later able to confirm the authenticity of Cornell’s ownership and even met the legendary frontman a few times while working for the airlines. He also has some regrets about selling the truck: “It would have been cool to still own it,” he admits. But Alston cherishes the memories, including photos of his daughter in that special truck.

As for the record store itself, Alston sells a little bit of everything: “I have CDs, cassettes, VHS, DVDs, LPs. There’s pop, rock, metal, soul, funk, country soundtracks. My footprint is pretty small because of the space I’m in, but I have a good selection and all kinds of people come in and find what they’re looking for or what they like,” he said.

Not only is Time Tunnel Records a great place to find your favorite album, but the space can also be used for other things, such as filming music videos. Recently, a local band called The Zack Static Sect filmed a music video in the store.

“He was a customer of mine and I have a 45 of his band in the store. They were able to bring in their instruments and stuff and set up the drums in the recording room in a little corner. They also had their mic stand and their guitars,” Alston said.

Alston also found working in Burien to be a memorable and fun experience, as he loves the surrounding shops and the family-friendly events that take place there regularly: “It’s such a beautiful area. I’ve lived in Burien practically the entire time I’ve been in Seattle and moving here was incredible. I loved it. Seattle itself is just a beautiful city with so much to do and the people here are so cool.”

Alston is looking forward to the next phase of his record store and may be planning an event in conjunction with the new look and 10-year anniversary.

Although he faced some challenges, especially during the pandemic, the business was stable: “It was pretty solid. I had fun the whole time. It’s like my second home and I’ve been lucky to have had a lot of great supporters over the years.”

Follow Time Tunnel Records on Instagram here. Check out Time Tunnel and see the work of artist Craig Johnson at 14911 Ambaum Blvd SW in Burien.

Jenny Castro is a freelance writer for Seattle Refined. Follow more of her adventures here.