Patrick Ogelvie loves his records. 

If it wasn’t obvious by the collection in his store, Flux Audio/Video, where his thousands of vinyls cover the walls, his fixation is even more obvious when he talks about his work in Wilmington’s music industry. 

Ogelvie, 53, moved to the Port City in 1993 after he graduated from Indiana University. At school he studied audio engineering and sought to continue his passion in Wilmington. He quickly opened a recording studio out of his house on Market Street, where he could help emerging local bands put together a mix on a budget. 

Wilmington was known for its film industry at the time, the 1990s and early 2000s, after movies such as Blue Velvet and Firestarter were released years prior, but it was the grunge rock music scene that caught Ogelvie’s eye. Back then, the music industry here was far bigger than it is now, he said. 

“The scene was amazing at that time,” he said. “A lot of bands went on to bigger and better things, and one of the bands around here got on a movie soundtrack that was being shot here.”

He would have local punk and post-punk bands such as Pandora’s Lunchbox and Brickbat play in his at-home studio, where he would edit tracks the old-school way – cutting tape and pasting it back together. 

Throughout his time in the industry, the self-described autograph hound has worked with a fair number of big names in the music biz. 

When engineering the album Midnight Daydream for a local guitarist in 1999, Ogelvie met members of rock band Alice Cooper, including Michael Bruce, who were featured on the record. Bruce ended up staying at Ogelvie’s house for a couple months, he said. 

Ogelvie even found himself on the phone with Alice Cooper himself when Cooper needed Ogelvie’s copy of the band’s studio sessions while putting together a comprehensive box set of music, The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper. 

Bruce was asked what draws musicians to Wilmington in a 1997 interview with Golden Treasures magazine. 

Bruce said, “I would have to think that the movie industry draws a lot of people … I may be doing some production work with Jimmy and Patrick Ogelvie at Flux Audio Video. Everybody knows everybody here and works together.”

Since his ’90s days with punk rockers, Ogelvie records with those who have stuck with making music in the meantime. At his Flux Audio/Video store, which operates out of a storage-unit-like space on Cardinal Drive, he continues to help friends such as local musician Brad Heller record music. 

He has to make do with the space he has, which is no longer suitable for a full band. His office is filled with old technology like boxy TVs, DVD and cassette players, and, of course, his vinyls. 

“He had the drum kit set up over there,” Ogelvie said, pointing to the corner of the room, “and Brad provided a scratch guitar and vocal. I put him in the bathroom so the sound wouldn’t leak into the drum audio.” 

Heller is a singer and songwriter working on his sixth album and his fourth with Ogelvie.  

He and Ogelvie have a synergy, Heller said, that comes with making music together for over 20 years. 

“I don’t trust a lot of people in music when it comes to mine, but I definitely trust him and a couple other people in terms of their input,” he said. 

Heller, whose band goes by Brad Heller and the Fustics, said the music scene has changed in Wilmington because there are fewer places for local musicians to play their original songs. Ogelvie agrees.

Live at Ted’s on Castle Street is one of the few places left where locals play original music, and those in attendance listen instead of treating it like background music, which is the intent of a place like Ted’s, marketed as a listening room, Ogelvie said. 

Other places Heller likes to hear local tunes are Waterline Brewing Co. on Surry Street and Bourgie Nights on Princess Street.

Ogelvie has been listening to music ever since he can remember, he said. He would put 7-inch records, or 45s, on his arm to take wherever he went, just in case someone had an available record player. His love of physical media, like records and CDs, as opposed to digital media remains even as streaming dominates modern music consumption. 

Flux Audio/Video allows Ogelvie to continue working with physical media, as he helps people transfer content from VHS tapes to DVDs, or DVDs to flash drives. He’s owned the company for 30 years and said he finds that old-school technology can be more fascinating than digital. 

“The notion that you can take this black flat plastic object, drag a needle through it and it makes music,” he said, referring to vinyl records. “How could this possibly work? It just makes no sense.” 

Heller shares this love of records. He is considering pressing his newest album onto 7-inch vinyl, Heller said. This process is more expensive than uploading music to streaming platforms, which he does as well. But Heller likes the ability to print artwork onto the record. 

As for Ogelvie, he said he is happy to still be doing what he loves in the studio making music. He said he misses the time when Wilmington’s music scene was more vibrant.

“There’s a fraction of the bands now,” he said.

But there are still remnants of that time left in the city, whether it is those playing at Live at Ted’s or Ogelvie’s work with Heller, where those traces can still be found.