If he were in any other line of work, a 20-year anniversary for Paul Epstein's business might scarcely raise an eyebrow among anyone but the owners and longtime customers. But Epstein is co-owner, along with his wife, Jill, of Denver's Twist & Shout record store, 2508 E. Colfax Ave. And in the era of growing online music sales, Internet piracy and risk-averse major labels, keeping a record store not just alive, but successful, is a Herculean task.

"I'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb to say the industry itself isn't going through some fairly heavy changes," Epstein said. Though he's come out speaking for record stores' place in the modern economy, he's careful not to be seen as too optimistic. It's possible that the sky really is falling.

"I've been pretty specific that it wasn't falling on Twist and Shout," he explained.

The store, also known by the affectionate shorthand "Twist," was saved from the brink of death once in 1988 when Epstein and his wife bought the business, then Underground Records, at a tax auction.

"Underground was kind of what an independent record store was in the '60s and '70s. It was half record store, half head shop, half groovy social gathering place. We kind of ran with that identity," he said.

Though the store has changed locations multiple times since then, it's carried along the character Epstein found so important. A trip to Twist& Shout reveals more miscellany on the walls all the time, from a collection of signed guitars to an IV bag full of supposed blood, which the store originally had on display in promotion for the metal band Carcass. And in a move that invokes both homey clutter and slick business efficiency, tops of shelves from front to back are stacked with books, toys, films and other nonmusical swag.

"We've tried to become a pop culture store that's largely driven by music," Epstein said. Not that it's as easy as just breaking out a toy and book catalogue or two. It requires coordination with the community and the odd displays of local good will to earn the respect of the community. Last year's decision to host East High School's WORD: The Power of Self Expression and the associated performance from local up-and-comers Flobots may have paid off in more than just warm, fuzzy feelings by now, to say nothing of the release show Devotchka put on March 18.

"The local scene is really exciting for us retailers," Epstein said. "The successes of Flobots and Devotchka and the Fray have been exciting for us. To sell these kinds of numbers of local albums -- we can't even sell national albums at these numbers."

It's a lesson the record industry has been slow to catch on to, and Epstein spared little scorn for the industry that has confused its duties with becoming nothing more than a hit machine.

"Everything is so much about the objectification of culture and the immediate gratification and sale of stuff instead of a long-term appreciation of art and enhancement of the human spirit," Epstein said. "Art is important. It's not just commerce. It's important to the human experience."

Epstein is excited, though, about the extent to which some forward-looking folks in the industry have come around. April will see the arrival of not only Twist& Shout's 20th anniversary, but of National Record Store Day celebrations held April 19 and 20, which, at Twist, will include guest DJs, musicians and more. Just like the anniversary, making a big deal of it might seem self-aggrandizing in any other field. But record stores have a special place in peoples' lives, Epstein said.

"Community is not just streets and parks and hospitals. There's a cultural component to any successful society that involves the arts the pursuits of the mind. We take that pretty seriously."