San Antonio, Texas is where I have spent most of my life - 21 years of it, to be exact. Since I am 23, my eyes and ears are at the sharpest that they'll probably ever be in my life, so naturally I know many strange and mystical things about San Antonio. Some great hiding spots of underground music and food pulse within this city. One of them is called Imagine Books and Records, the self-styled Loudest Bookstore in Texas.
Here are five reasons you should make it your next destination if you're in San Antonio -
1. Unlike Austin, San Antonio has only a handful of places that host amateur, independent or underground artists and musicians. Imagine Books and Records is one of them. They regularly hold shows for fantastic musicians and creative types, beat poets, crooners and wailers, stuff you won't hear anywhere else. If you're a beat poet, an awkward teen storyteller, or an indie musician, you will find solace within its walls. Speaking of which,
2. Its walls - the ones in the back, to be exact - are covered with the signatures of the legends who have performed there. Indie bands like Verisimilitude, Otonana Trio (from Japan), and Invision Love are a few. Also scrawled on the walls are signatures of the patrons and admirers of the place. Probably among them will be someone you knew in high school.
3. You don't have to go downtown to listen to great music. Imagine Books and Records is right in the heart of the city, on Culebra road near I-10.
4. They have a great selection of interesting, obscure or classic books, art and records, and one of the biggest metal record collections I've ever seen.
5. It's a great place to meet a date! You can grab a free coffee, listen to a show most weekends (their full schedule is on their Instagram, @imaginebooksandrecords), or just sit back and read a great book.