MASON –
She was boycotted for being gay friendly. Now, the proprietor of Davey's Basement, an independent music store in Mason, is hoping the support of gay-friendly folks across the state will help her keep the doors open.
"The boycott that has been bestowed upon Davey's for the past three months has been rather devastating for us," storeowner Teri Hale said in an email sent out to her mailing list on Dec. 30. "We are about 30-40 days from closing our doors for good. We had hoped that Christmas shopping would have reversed the prior months of no sales, [but] that didn't happen."
The boycott began when Davey's donated their company van and volunteered to help the Mason High School Gay Straight Alliance with their float in the homecoming parade. Business at the shop dropped off immediately afterward.
"I mean, literally, the door didn't even open for two days," Yale told Between The Lines in October. "We didn't even make a sale. I said, 'this is weird. What's going on?' Finally, one kid came in and said they had heard a rumor at school that some parents had told their kids they couldn't come in here because we support gays."
Yale appealed to LGBTs and their allies in these pages, and she received several supportive emails and even some online sales. But it was not enough to get the store back on track. Now a benefit concert has been planned for Jan. 20. The concert was the brainchild of Ann Arbor-based band Minor Planets (http://www.minor-planets.com), who will headline the event. Other bands scheduled to take the stage include The Royal Affairs (http://myspace.com/theroyalaffairs), Sik Sik Nation (http://myspace.com/siksiknation), Shoelace (http://myspace.com/shoelacepunk), and The Cartridge Family (http://myspace.com/thecartridgefamily). There will also be a silent auction featuring signed concert posters, CDs, artwork and more.
"Our original plan was to find a larger building in February in hopes of providing an area for kids to hang out after school, hold informal meetings if they needed, and for shows on the weekends," said Yale. "This is what we are hoping to accomplish with this concert."
Minor Planets to headline benefit for boycotted store
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