As a kid who went to high school and college (go, Matadors!) in the 818, I know how sleepy the northeast San Fernando Valley can feel.
Sure, now there are cute brunch places and street corridors that almost feel city-like, pero no match to Highland Park’s York Avenue.
That isn’t shade to my dear section of the Valley, that’s just how things have been. But just because things are sleepy, it doesn’t mean arts and culture — predominantly defined by Latino and immigrant communities — isn’t here.
Enter Sergio Amalfitano and his shop, The Midnight Hour Records.
Midnight Hour is a musical hub in the city of San Fernando. It's been located at the downtown San Fernando Mall since August 2021. The space houses records more than anything, but they also sell clothing, tapes, toys, jewelry, posters, socks, pins. Aside from the records, I would say it's the perfect gift shop for the music or the 818 lover.
The space also transforms into a venue supporting local artists, like photographers and musicians. At the center, there’s a medium-sized platform stage, and Sergio zig zags the record shelves and cases so a few hundred people can fit into the space.
“I just try to use it as much as possible as a community space, not just commodities,” Amalfitano says. “I try to bring in culture and records and music and expression.”
This month, the How to LA team is profiling record shops and the owners who contribute to the neighborhood beat. Subscribe to the podcast to listen to the freshest episodes.
The expression he’s mentioning is rooted in Latino and Chicano culture — spanning from rock en español, punk to boogie tunes and funk. Amalfitano calls the varying genres of music the Southern California culture of “everybody clashing and creating this thing together.”
Amalfitano, who lives in neighboring Sylmar and is of Argentine descent, and a product of the other valley — the SGV — wanted to better represent the talent, artists and vendors who have been here for years.
The shop has hosted punk shows for local bands like Cosmic Joke and events like the 818 Zine Fest. In February, the shop will host a pop up market, “Valley Times Day.”
Just a few blocks away from his shop in San Fernando, Dawnbreaker Studios once stood and delivered American hits. It was the studio for Seals and Crofts, and artists like Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan recorded there. Boogie was one genre that came out of that studio.
Amalfitano also gives a nod to guitarist Al McKay (from Earth, Wind and Fire) who had a band in the area, and Richie Valens, whom he considers the grandfather of Chicano rock, from nearby Pacoima. Other local shops back then, he says, put out records that ended up on the East Side Story music collection.
“These are kinds of things that mean a lot to our culture — lowrider culture, Chicano, Latino culture,” he says. “They were DIY. They weren't given the time of day by mainstream record labels, so they put it up themselves.”
As I chat with Amalfitano, I’m reminded of the bilingual and/or bicultural setting many of us L.A. Latino kids grow up with. Listening to hip-hop and R&B and later going to quinceañeras and bumping cumbias and norteñas. He also mentions the backyard punk shows that blend audiences in the same night — rockeros and later cholos or boogie fans.
Amalfitano says he’s always wanted to represent that at his shop.
“I feel like it's the Selena thing,” he says, referring to Selena Quintanilla’s “no sabo” moments. “We're not one thing too much or one thing the other way, you know? So we try to cross that line or walk that line of being American and Latin at the same time.”
It's like Amalfitano is trying to help kids like him — Latino, bicultural, from a working-class background — feel seen.
“I wish I had this type of space when I was a kid,” Amalfitano says. “Not too many existed like this. I'm just trying to fulfill that dream as a kid.”
I was surprised when I walked into the shop and saw two Pride flags hanging at the storefront. I’m not sure I would’ve seen this display of allyship at a San Fernando business 10 years ago.
I wish I had this type of space when I was a kid. Not too many existed like this. I'm just trying to fulfill that dream as a kid.
He’s gotten a few negative comments about the flags, but says he wants it to be known that they’re accepting of everybody and wants queer folks to feel represented as part of the northeast Valley community.
Maybe that’s why I loved being in his shop so much: I also wish I had this space as a gay, Latino kid in my sleepy northeast Valley when I lived here.
We asked him what bands and artists to watch from the Valley.
Mal Form
Fatal Wounds
God's Hate
Cosmic Joke
Tough Front
The Midnight Hour Records store is open daily, 12 - 7 p.m. at the downtown San Fernando Mall.
