Note: This is a repost of New and Noteworthy, brought back so you can meet the owner behind Spin Time, site of Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen’s ‘Musical Office Hour” this Ward 6 Week. This article was originally published in the February 2025 issue of the Hill Rag.
“It’s all my mom’s fault,” said Spin Time Records proprietor Jon Lottman. Lottman had turned six when his mother returned from a trip to Jamaica with an LP the soundtrack to the famous reggae crime epic, “The Harder They Come.”
“You’re six years old and that dude is speaking your language,” Lottman recalled about first hearing Jimmy Cliff’s rendition of “You Can Get It If You Really Want It.” He was hooked for life.
Growing up on the Hill in the 70s, Lottman attended Capitol Day School. He purchased his first record at a now closed branch of Olsson’s, “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” was his second. At age 14, he began seeing bands at the old 9:30 Club and DC Space, the venues made famous by DC punks.
“It’s easy to fall in love with the Hill,” Lottman said of moving back in 1994, working as a nonprofit policy analyst. At that time, it was an inexpensive and funky place to live. He rented a wonderful English basement with a backyard for next to nothing. He still lives on the Hill with his wife and daughter.
“I want to help preserve the soul and character that the neighborhood is in danger of losing,” said Lottman.
Showcasing DC’s musical life history is Lottman’s primary motivation for creating Spin Time Records. He started with an extensive website in 2021, delivering orders all over the Hill. In November of 2024, he opened his store. Lottman choose to sell primarily new records in an effort to support current artists, since the area has plenty of good used record stores.
At Spin Time Records, vinyl connoisseurs can find a highly curated selection of DC associated artists and rare reggae recordings, both old favorites and the latest recordings. (The shop will host a special edition of Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) Office Hours, DC Music Edition. Allen will be in the shop Thursday, July 21 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.)
I picked up copies of “Repeater” and “A Steady Diet of Nothing,” two favorites by Fugazi. A four record set of torch singer’s Eva Cassidy’s famous performance at Blues Alley was another find. Interested in DC’s Go-Go scene or its jazz heritage? This store is a must visit.
Customers “come in and discover all these connections to DC in an artist they already knew,” Lottman said. They cannot believe the names on the bin cards. “If it’s in here, it’s because I think it’s pretty good,” he said.
There may be “many rivers to cross” to see reggae in its Jamaican homeland, but it is an easy jaunt to discover both the Caribbean’s’ and DC’s musical heritage at Spin Time Records.
Spin Time Records is located at 613 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Check out their full catalogue at www.spintimerecords.com.
