Co-hosted by Joe Casabona, Erik Gudmundson, and Liam Dempsey, the “Start Local” podcast connects Chester County with its local businesses and nonprofits to grow and support each other.
Originally started by Casabona and Dempsey in 2020, with Gudmundson joining in 2023, the podcast covers positive and career-oriented topics around the county.
With a goal of sharing stories and livelihoods, the podcast has over 70 episodes that drop a few times a month and are available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and other platforms.
Recent guests include Daniel Embree of Kennett Collaborative, Anthony Vietri of Va La Vineyards, and Shawn Cephas of Phoenixville’s Forever Changes record store.
Cephas commanded the episode with his wide range of knowledge of bands, artists, venues, and more. Most people claim they will listen to anything, and that is the truth for Cephas. What he listens to is mostly what he carries in store.
While he prides himself on being a huge jazz fan, evident of his well-curated jazz section, he carries other genres such as classic rock, punk, modern pop, soul, hip-hop, and anything else you can get your hands on.
Cephas often gets asked ‘what made you open a record to store?’ and to that he said, “it’s literally the only thing I know.” His dad James Cephas was a musician and his mom was a fan of his music. He opened a record store in 1967 called King James Records, thus birthing a family legacy. Cephas started working there around age 10 and never looked back.
Although the original family record store closed a few decades later, Cephas had music in his blood and knew he needed to open another. So, he opened the pop-up Forever Changes in 2019 and landed the storefront in Phoenixville in 2021.
Through Forever Changes, he has been able to become a community-based musical liaison. Music brings people together, and that is exactly what Cephas tries to achieve every morning he opens the shop.
Rounding out the podcast, Dempsey asked Cephas to mention a Chester County business that more people should know about. The shop owner recommended Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS) and Anne’s Heart, two nonprofits that work to feed and care for those in need.
Read more about Forever Changes and listen to the Start Local podcast.
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