My Chemical Romance's Frank Iero joins owner Alan Maisano at A&M Music Center, NJ's newest record store

Story & photos by Deborah J. Draisin

Nestled in a happily accessible part of Lyndhurst, the A&M Music Center cut the ribbon on its opening day with more fanfare than the staff was prepared to handle. Given a boost by an in-store performance and signing by former music student Frank Iero (you might have heard of his old band, My Chemical Romance?,) owner Alan Maisano was overwhelmed – but joyfully so – at the turnout.

Inspired by his mother’s love of music, Alan blew the dust off his treasured collection of vintage vinyl, rare box sets, and hard-to-find magazine covers, displayed them proudly upon shelves, tables and walls, gathered his nearest and dearest (which included a handful of clearly devoted students,) and smiled broadly at the steady stream of visitors, marveling that the store was intended to be a vehicle for collectors, not walk-ins. “The other store owners have been asking me if I think that it’s going to be like this all the time,” he chuckled as I admired a framed mod-era Who poster, “I told them that I don’t expect so. This is when it comes in handy to have a cop for an ex-student.”

“It’s great that he could come here and perform today,” Alan continued, indicating a cool-under-pressure Frank Iero, patiently signing items for all the fans literally unable to fit into the short performance they’d lined up hours ahead for. “I’m hoping to do more of these – one of the ideas that I had is to run a benefit in honor of my mother at the coffee shop next door; the owner just doesn’t know that I mean to pay for everything myself just yet.”

We chatted about the feasibility of running monthly in-stores like the one they’d done today. “Next time, we’ll be more prepared!” Alan said, smiling. The pieces that he’s proudest of ? “That Pink Floyd box set up there (indicating the “Dark Side of the Moon” one) is almost impossible to find new nowadays,” he said. As I made appropriate sounds of admiration, Alan excused himself to double ensure that all was well on the sidewalk in front of his house.

His sister waxed poetic about Elvis and agreed that she sobbed the day that he died. I conceded that I’d done the same for Freddie Mercury. I flipped through racks of vinyl as we spoke, reflecting what it had felt like to touch an album in my hand for the very first time, the moment that I discovered “Houses of the Holy” and “Women and Children First,” my dad teaching me Chubby Checker as I swung my feet and watched him shave.

When Alan returned, I snapped a few photos of him with his people and he introduced me to Frank, who remembered that we’d met previously. Alan’s enthusiasm for the tiny time warp he runs and for people in general is infectious. It’s not difficult to see how a man like this could influence the lives of those he taught. Does he miss teaching, though? “No!” he laughed. “Although…I can still teach in this way, can’t I?”

Indeed you can, Alan, indeed you can, and you shall.

A&M Music Center is located at 238 Stuyvesant Avenue in Lyndhurst, NJ