There we go I think we're recording, so I am monique lillard I am interviewing on behalf of the University of Idaho library.

For an oral History project about the video rental store right here in Moscow Idaho i'm going to have my interview subject state his name in just a moment, but first I want to ask, have you sign the waiver and release.

I have very good Thank you would you state your name and would you tell us how old you are.

Luke Gresback: i'm Luke grows back and i'm 22 years old.

Monique Lillard: Very good, very good so when did you, what are your first memories of going to the video store.

Here in tammy.

Luke Gresback: I have memories of going to the video store as far back as I could have memories me, you know, being a baby.

And having my parents come in and get videos and all those are some of the best days as a kid were the ones where we could go to the movie store and I could pick out all the movies, I wanted to watch.

In a way, that we kind of don't have access to in sort of a fun way anymore yeah.

Monique Lillard: Can you describe it, what was what was it like how often would you go.

Luke Gresback: uh we probably go.

By monthly every two weeks or so um.

and

When I was really short and piney the the the racks would go above my head and I could I was swimming and movies literally.

super fun super fun as a kid to be able to do that.

Monique Lillard: Great image that is a wonderful image, both in terms of.

The height, but also in terms of the swimming in.

Luke Gresback: That yeah.

Monique Lillard: that's Nice are you remembering the store that was opposite where the Co op is now or the one on Main Street.

Luke Gresback: I I have memories of both i'm.

The co op one is like fragmented i'm.

A.

sort of the way, everything is when you're a little kid but yeah mainly mainly the Main Street one.

Okay.

Luke Gresback: Where I remember going.

Monique Lillard: yeah so What was your favorite section and that probably changed over time, but can you kind of walk us through the.

Luke Gresback: um.

And I think it in middle school I got into watching horror movies and freaking myself out a lot, and so the the horror section.

kind of.

adjacent to the to the cashier is to the Left was always fun, I think that one had a TV in it, too, so it was always playing something.

And yeah they had everything there.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah that is so cool.

Do you have any recollection to the store changing over the years.

Luke Gresback: A.

vaguely i'm vaguely I mean I just I just kind of have a blurry a recollection of where when they were changing locations uh just feeling sort of in limbo at that time as a kid but inside the actual store not really.

Monique Lillard: Okay okay great did you think much about the collection, or as you look back, what do you remember about the collection itself.

Luke Gresback: I just I just remember i'm.

sort of being intimidated, because there was so much stuff that.

I didn't know um.

So much stuff that was you know 30 years older than I was um.

And just kind of feeling tossed in the deep end and having to swim out.

Monique Lillard: that's very good that's very good did you so did you start going in with your own friends at some point, rather than we.

Do parents.

Luke Gresback: yeah definitely.

yeah yeah that was that was the horror stage we would go in and.

Okay, and do the five for five and get a you know bundle or movies to freak out it.

Monique Lillard: gotcha okay.

what's your recollection who would you say was the most important person at the store and I don't have to have a name I find if you have a name if you don't that's fine too, but.

Luke Gresback: geez I don't remember uh I don't I don't remember, too many people specifically um.

I remember one guy was super nice uh I had just started doing my own videography business and they were always super cool with letting me use the.

The corkboard to put up my my posters.

To self advertise but yeah.

Everybody who is always working the work in the cashiers table was a super Nice.

And yeah yeah very cool.

Monique Lillard: Very good, very good and you know what I was saying something to before we started recording did I forget to say it's April 21 today, I think I did.

April 21 2021 all right there we go it says, did you remember to say you remember to say before we started recording exactly all right good.

So, but actually what you just mentioned is really where I wanted to go with this, so can you describe what you're doing now, and can you talk about how the store or your experiences there might have affected that.

Luke Gresback: Sure um I am a filmmaker in Los Angeles.

it's an annoying sense to say always but uh yeah.

So much of my sensibilities is like a visual multimedia artist we're totally shaped by just all the stuff that I was watching as a kid.

which was TV and really frequently movies from the video store.

um yeah I don't know I wouldn't I wouldn't be doing what i'm doing today.

Of editing and and making fun stuff on the computer without the video store no way.

Monique Lillard: Interesting so did you ever go to stores, other than Howard Hughes video, which then became Main Street video co op did you there were others in town, did you ever go.

Luke Gresback: yeah yeah the one by East side.

We went to a good deal I forget it was a one chain was that I forget.

Monique Lillard: i'm not sure, because I think I might be misremembering So if you remember that's fine and if you don't that's fine.

Luke Gresback: But you remember the one the one over by side.

Monique Lillard: Very well.

Very well, I can see the store I just.

i'm not quite sure if it's.

A website yeah.

Luke Gresback: me neither me neither.

I know it wasn't like a huge chain it wasn't a blockbuster um.

But yeah.

That one that one we went to a lot.

um and I think that's it is on a handful of occasions I picked up some movies from the library um.

But yeah.

Monique Lillard: Did you go to Hastings ever out on the other.

Luke Gresback: Oh yeah uh huh.

Monique Lillard: yeah for videos to.

Luke Gresback: uh yeah mm hmm.

Monique Lillard: And how was Howard Hughes different from those other two.

Luke Gresback: Is the location, I mean, just like the the the feeling of downtown Moscow.

I think is so.

Central it's it's a mutual thing where where I think downtown made the video store better and then the video store made downtown better i'm.

just such a thing for all the businesses downtown in Moscow.

That has always made it so special to me.

Monique Lillard: yeah you know I think a lot of stock about how special downtown Moscow is and my vision of this oral history is not just the video powder what really Moscow.

in general.

Monique Lillard: And since now you're living in Los Angeles you've lived a few other places now besides Moscow, can you put your finger on what's so special about Moscow.

And this huge question if you don't have an answer.

Luke Gresback: That well that's that's kind of that's kind of the funny thing is.

Like I can't I can feel it so distinctly, but I can never actually like articulate it to my.

Friends uh so i'm always begging them to come with me um I know in in Los Angeles specifically there's no that you know there's downtown's scattered, but like not no no central place that you can walk to and.

The same way there is in Moscow.

Everything everything spread out.

But.

My girlfriend was just saying this, the other day she was, like everything in Moscow is walkable i'm just like as a complete outsider that's how she says she sees it, and that's how i've always felt is.

You can totally get everywhere on foot and.

No, no where's more exemplary of that fact than downtown.

Monique Lillard: that's good.

Luke Gresback: So that that's that's always that was always kind of like the meeting in place was was downtown like okay let's walk downtown figure it out.

And that I think that's why it feels so alive.

But no, nothing I could like say okay it's caused by ABC it just like it has its own feeling.

And i'm really grateful for it yeah.

Monique Lillard: Well, for what it's worth I completely agree with you, I can't quite put my finger on it.

Luke Gresback: Either yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah so back to the video store, what do you think caused its decline and ultimate demise, what do you think happened.

Luke Gresback: I mean i'm sure you're getting the same answer every time but netflix obviously i'm just totally killed it um.

and

It really sucks I think there's there's a.

degree of.

spontaneity that like a future generations are losing with.

Losing things like the video store, which is like you kind of can with netflix like go into it and, like find something to watch, but you don't.

Not the same way it's like walking into a physical store and being like okay this piece of plastic looks interesting i'll turn this on tonight like.

It was it's just like.

You you don't you don't get to like branch out as much anymore, I think I missed that this is the same thing with like cable TV like you can't just like flip around on channels anymore, you have to like know what you're watching every time you turn on the streaming service.

and

It sucks I think that's lost, and I wish we had a back.

Monique Lillard: that's very interesting.

yeah I.

Actually i'm not getting all the same answer on.

A similar i've similar answers, of course, streaming has to come into the.

Answer somewhere, but.

Because i'll I mean once you're answering is not only, why did it happen, but you're starting to focus on what did we lose, so let me.

yeah question that way, what did Moscow, the town lose and then maybe, what is the world losing or at least the country losing, as we have virtually no video rental stores anymore.

yeah.

Luke Gresback: Great question well.

Moscow, specifically with a small town like Moscow when you have X amount of like cool fun things you can do in a town, when you remove one it's it's.

sort of proportionally taking away a lot of the fun things you can do.

And like going to the movie store and picking a movie for 30 minutes like that that is like a fun social thing you can do.

That just like you can't replace that with with netflix like you get sort of the same outcome, but you don't you don't get to like means to the end.

The same way you used to um.

So yeah it like it's taking away.

It takes away one fun thing you can do and makes.

The town like ultimately a little more two dimensional um one dimensional I guess.

And as a whole as a society.

I don't know a kind of like what I said, like we're.

we're losing some spontaneity.

By losing this sort of like singular places where you can.

Then do a multitude of.

different options.

you're really at you you're you're really at the mercy of like the like studios contracts, because if they if they say okay i'm going to pull my show or my movie from netflix, then you don't really have an option, whereas at a movie star, you can just like get anything.

Monique Lillard: that's something that I really felt and was aware of the whole time is.

The control that we had by owning those movies physically owning them is we are the store owner now netflix or anybody else can just flick a switch and say okay this movie is cancelled, for this reason, this movie isn't enough profit so it's off, you know I recently.

Had it happen on netflix that I was watching something and then they said it's going to be over in a in a couple weeks, they had a deadline.

yeah I was like wait i'm not done.

Luke Gresback: yeah yeah.

Monique Lillard: And I get it bandwidth and all that stuff at PBS that happens all the time it's like I wanted to be watching this yeah yeah.

Luke Gresback: yeah yeah totally like we have you know anytime you have a you know said, what do we want to watch tonight um.

You know you have to have the conversation Oh, I think this just got pulled from FLEX oh that movie Oh, I wanted to watch that I think it's on HBO Oh, we don't have HBO.

You know it's like when these when all these movies, are delegated to a bunch of different streaming services it just makes it kind of a hassle to watch which you want to watch.

Whereas the movie story is kind of the perfect balance of like you can get whatever you want, but also, you can find some new stuff.

Monique Lillard: yeah I follow you tell me and i'm asking everyone under 40 this question.

Does the loss of privacy on netflix and all the other streaming services bother you, you know they can track what you've watched they could sell that information they could give it away to the government or be forced to give it to the government, I assume, probably eventually.

Does that bother you.

Luke Gresback: um.

I think when I really sit down and weigh it out and think about that um.

yeah when i'm watching not consciously.

But yeah I mean it bothers me.

But then, at that point it's like not just streaming services, specifically because kind of everywhere Superman um.

But yeah yeah.

The.

You can't really go like incognito mode.

At a movie store the same way I don't know yeah I guess.

Monique Lillard: yeah it does yeah yeah I mean you know it's kind of interesting because some of the memories that people have you know they used to be an adult section I don't know when they stopped that I doubt that it was within your consciousness, really.

Luke Gresback: But I know.

Monique Lillard: I personally never went in there, because my main reason was I thought I don't want anybody to see me going in, even if I went i'm a law professor and i'm just doing research for the first amendment it's like i'm not going in there.

And yeah some of the people used to work at the store said that people would have a sort of a legitimate, or whatever you want to call it a.

Non adult titles on either side and sandwich the adult ones in there, somebody else was saying that somebody work there, and it was her teacher and then he had this.

Oh no he's in there and then the next day she'd be sitting in class thinking.

I know what you watched last.

Night yes so.

we're.

Monique Lillard: You know, different kinds of privacy right it's it's interesting.

Luke Gresback: yeah right yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah What if we gained by streaming services what.

what's better I mean.

Luke Gresback: convenience definitely um.

You don't have to like go out and making an event but also you don't get to go out and make it an event.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

Luke Gresback: Which which is annoying um but also a.

um.

I think I think probably the at the beginning them streaming services we it was probably like significantly cheaper.

than going to the movie source, but at this point I don't think that's the case anymore.

Because there's so many services that now we have to pay.

For like every couple months there's a new one Disney just got one paramount's getting one.

Like yeah I think now the like volume of streaming services, we have to pay for in order to like kind of scratch the itch of like getting whatever we want a I think that's not the case anymore, so I think it is kind of just convenience at this point.

Monique Lillard: yeah interesting all right yeah.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: So the videos that you make, how do you distribute them.

Luke Gresback: At home, do you make up YouTube.

YouTube okay tube.

and

Luke Gresback: I guess uh yeah younger people kind of like minded.

folks like myself um.

But yeah yeah YouTube primarily.

Monique Lillard: YouTube got it got it, and so, of course, well, I guess, maybe YouTube is going to start eventually being a streaming service i'm not sure i'm.

Luke Gresback: Not you already it already is.

Okay yeah so yeah they have you.

They have YouTube TV where they.

The you have to pay for and and it's it's like yeah they have movies, they have sports.

Monique Lillard: Okay.

Luke Gresback: Just reinventing.

Monique Lillard: TV channel yeah yeah um.

I never understand why they don't just make it free because it's better than the Nielsen ratings they would have absolute information about how many people watched what and where they stopped watching it and.

They just charge the advocate advertisers accordingly, you know I.

don't understand their economic model, but that would be a history series for another day.

Luke Gresback: yeah.

Monique Lillard: yeah.

Do you remember where you were when you heard the video store was closing or what.

Do you remember hearing about it.

Luke Gresback: yeah yeah I do um.

Was it, it was what year was that.

I want to say, like 2016 but I might be totally miss remembering.

Monique Lillard: Well, the private ownership ended in about 2015 actually and then.

Luke Gresback: uh huh.

Monique Lillard: I kind of got ahead size, with the question, so it went from privately owned to this cooperative model, did you track any of that you would have still been in high school.

Luke Gresback: Where you were not.

Monique Lillard: consciously right, and then it actually shattered it stores just over a year ago it was right at the coven.

shop down.

Luke Gresback: that's right that's right yeah that's right.

yeah.

Luke Gresback: that's right yeah cuz I do remember at a certain point, seeing it's a Co op.

yeah wonder well that's, on the other side.

yeah.

Monique Lillard: Right interesting.

um.

Luke Gresback: yeah.

Right.

It was a bummer it's stuck yeah.

Monique Lillard: Okay alrighty.

let's see here.

Do you have any funny stories or happy memories or stories that you've heard any any funny thing you want to tell us what happened to you heard about it whatever.

Luke Gresback: Well Okay, there was the story, where I saw my teacher in the adult video section, but I think we kind of covered that one.

Monique Lillard: that's all right all right.

Luke Gresback: i'm.

Monique Lillard: Here Luke groesbeck is also a stand up comedian.

Luke Gresback: Right.

Monique Lillard: Are you still doing that work.

Luke Gresback: I yeah kinda.

Monique Lillard: Guy right.

Luke Gresback: comedian you think other stand apart oh yeah nobody stands up now everybody sits down in front of.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah.

Luke Gresback: Exactly exactly um.

funny stories nothing super comes to mind.

uh.

Nothing off him.

Maybe this is maybe this is one of the things where where i'll wake up in a cold sweat.

And i'll email you saying we got to reschedule.

Monique Lillard: Absolutely don't be in a cold sweat it's.

Totally fine so.

let's see I asked you everything here.

You know, you said that you enjoyed the horror section, but were there any other favorite sections, you had to the store.

Luke Gresback: i'm trying to remember the rest of hand, I think there was a cross from the war there was a cult classic section um and then sort of back near the door was where like the comedies were.

um.

I did.

I mean, I like just seeing like okay what new movies, do they have.

Because i'm not a super admin theater goer.

So, like the very front section where it would just show like Oh, they just got the new I don't know pirates of the Caribbean or whatever like that was that was a good section I love the comedy section.

um.

yeah I missed I missed the the early 2000s.

movies just lining the walls.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah that's just it those are harder to find nowadays.

yeah.

But I think you can find most of them, but did you ever go to in the foreign section, it was sort of hard to find it was you'd walk in, and it was around to the right behind did you ever look at.

As somebody who is interested in film and somebody who.

I happen to know speak French I wondered if you went to that section very much.

Luke Gresback: Ah, I will confess I don't think I ever stepped foot in that section.

Monique Lillard: don't tell your mom okay.

Luke Gresback: I know she would be so mad at me but yeah.

As somebody who didn't do didn't really set out to have a particularly.

cultured palette.

I accept more to the Adam sandler's stuff.

On the front.

Monique Lillard: Tell me this when you would take out a DVD would you look at the special features.

Luke Gresback: I know I was I wasn't a huge special features guy um but I loved I love, looking at the box designs, those are so important to me.

And they just don't exist anymore yeah like there's no physical thing I can like scan anymore.

Monique Lillard: yeah that's so interesting some people really feel that.

My husband's another one, and you know he's he's a very good visual artist also and I think this shows from the first image of swimming in the sea of videos and the box design, I think that video visual things seem to attract your eye yeah.

Luke Gresback: uh huh.

Monique Lillard: yeah yeah interesting interesting.

All right, is there anything else that and maybe i'll be the one who wakes up in a cold sweat and think.

Oh, I forgot yeah something but.

Is there anything else that you want you want to say anything else I should have asked you.

Luke Gresback: i'm trying to think uh.

I just don't think I just like there's very few.

Businesses downtown that like encapsulate the feeling of downtown Moscow, the same way that Howard used in.

There, like the kenworthy one world.

The co op kinda like these are the elite headliners.

Monique Lillard: Of.

Luke Gresback: The downtown Moscow Idaho staples.

And we've lost one and it's sad yeah i'm.

And I don't know I hope in some way, we can some big it something similar back, but I don't know.

Monique Lillard: I don't know you know that reminds me of something that you said earlier and I meant to follow up You said something about how it was a social experience to go in there.

And you're the only one who said this actually that the process of picking was its own joy, I guess, people said it in different ways, but yeah that became what one pleasure in and of itself.

You recollect talking to two people people there and running into people there, or is it wasn't more a place you'd go with your friends or.

Luke Gresback: A cheese i'm sure that happened all the time um.

Monique Lillard: But it's not standing out and it doesn't have to it's all history, you know.

Every yeah.

Luke Gresback: um.

No, no particulars but like.

yeah I mean just the other, and not even in the store just getting another reason to like walk downtown.

yeah and like run into somebody on the way um it wasn't just the point, it was the fact that I needed to go to the point.

Monique Lillard: I follow you.

Luke Gresback: I found yeah.

um.

And it's yeah it's just something we lost.

Monique Lillard: yep I understand well we've been going for 30 minutes already 20 minutes and that funny.

goes fast yeah.

Is there anybody else you think we should talk to about this place, other than that.

Luke Gresback: i'm Joe, for I mean for us is the perfect person to talk again i'm.

cheese, let me think Oh, Mr ramalingam and emory emory ramalingam definitely.

Monique Lillard: Okay, and rafe okay that's interesting I will I had one member of their family, I put all of them on yeah.

Luke Gresback: Oh, did you have.

Monique Lillard: Jeff and I had, I had no actually I had to Neil, I mean yeah that means you get the whole family to get that whole.

Luke Gresback: family is.

Yes, perfect yeah i'd say emory definitely emery was always the mom that like brought us kids to Howard Hughes.

Okay um.

And she also has a photographic memory so i'm sure she.

She has a lot of stuff to say.

Monique Lillard: OK OK, I will do that.

I want to thank you for your time while we're on the recording and then i'll turn off the recording and stay on a second and we'll just farewell, but this was perfect Thank you and thanks for your time and your effort.