{"id":322796,"date":"2026-06-28T20:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/322796\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T20:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:54:11","slug":"planet-retro-records-owner-rob-sexton-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/322796\/","title":{"rendered":"Planet Retro Records owner Rob Sexton dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At Planet Retro on Central Photo: Jeremy Sexton.<\/p>\n

Rob Sexton, a longtime bay area musician and the owner of St. Petersburg\u2019s Planet Retro Records, died Saturday of complications following a stroke. He was 55.<\/p>\n

A native of the Tampa suburb Clair-Mel, Sexton was widely known as the drummer in numerous punk and hardcore bands, going back to the 1980s. He\u2019d been in Lazy Susan, Failure Face and other popular groups, and was a member of the still-current Slap of Reality, a self-described \u201cmelodic punk\/hardcore band\u201d that first formed in 1987.<\/p>\n

Sexton was known not to suffer fools gladly. As the face behind the Planet Retro counter, \u201cHe could come across as a curmudgeon,\u201d said Sexton\u2019s longtime friend Keith Ulrey, owner of Tampa\u2019s Microgroove Records. \u201cBut the guy cared very much for his community, his bands and his friends. He would do anything for anybody, really. He just didn\u2019t put up with any sh\u2013.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sexton and Ulrey met as students at King High School in Tampa. \u201cHe and I talked almost every day on Facebook Messenger,\u201d Ulrey said.<\/p>\n

He began his retail career by selling vinyl online, then upstairs in the Furnish Me Vintage store on Central Avenue.<\/p>\n

Sexton opened the first standalone Planet Retro on Central in August 2013, but a combination of factors including escalating rent and the increase in neighborhood burglaries sent him looking for a new location after three years.<\/p>\n

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Sexton, second from left, in Slap of Reality. Photo provided.<\/p>\n

The second Planet Retro, at 226 Dr. MLK Jr St N., opened in late 2016.<\/p>\n

Sexton often hosted live bands at his store, as well as vendor market events. Artist Derek Donnelly pained a mural on Planet Retro\u2019s outside real wall in 2022.<\/p>\n

Said Manny Matalon, aka Manny Kool, owner of St. Pete\u2019s Daddy Kool Records: \u201cThe things that Rob did, with the bands and the markets, those really were a great addition to our scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the really nice things about our record store community is that the stores all get along. We all send people to each other\u2019s stores, and we recommend each other\u2019s stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Rob was a part of that. And that was important, to have that camaraderie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019d been a record collector in his younger years, Sexton \u2013 who dealt almost exclusively in used vinyl \u2013 was not about taking \u201cthe good stuff\u201d home and hoarding it for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t that guy,\u201d Ulray said. \u201cHe\u2019d rather give it back to the community \u2013 let somebody get really excited about finding their white whale in his shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a respected member of the business community as well,\u201d said Ulrey.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Microgroove Records.<\/p>\n

People who go into the independent record store business, Ulrey believes, are simply unable to stay away from music. \u201cMusic is just in me,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t speak for anybody else. Rob, same thing. He comes from the DIY punk music scene, he\u2019s been in bands for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, starting in the \u201890s, he got involved in the toy selling and trading business, and did that for a long time. And I think that\u2019s what transitioned into records.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he and Sexton weren\u2019t close friends, said Matalon, they had much in common. \u201cIn a lot of ways,\u201d reflected Daddy Kool, \u201cI kind of lived vicariously through him, with his posts about \u2018Oh man, this person came in today and said the stupidest f\u2014ing thing!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was like, thank you. Somebody had to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The members of Slap of Reality posted a collective message on Facebook: \u201cHe was not just a drummer, he was our friend, our brother. 39 years of friendship, music, travels, ups and downs, and laughter. There are no words we can find to express the emptiness and shock we are feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful that the last time we were all together was rehearsal doing what brought us all together so many years ago. We were able to play a few more songs together not knowing it would be the last time and that memory will last forever in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information about a memorial service was not available from Sexton\u2019s family at press time.<\/p>\n

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Planet Retro, 226 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N. , St. Petersburg. Photo by Bill DeYoung.<\/p>\n

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