For most, it was a part-time job during high school or college. But for a unique group, working at Tower Records was a full-time passion and home of sorts for Isle musicphiles.

Tower today and tomorrow will shutter its three O'ahu stores, sounding another note saluting a bygone era when music wasn't digital and neither were the databases of knowledge that could tell you the name of a song, album or musical group.

Many local Tower employees have already moved on, and the few remaining likely won't have much trouble finding work because unemployment is so low that businesses are scrambling to find employees.

But for people like Scott Ikei, who until recently was product manager for records and video at Tower's Ke'eaumoku Street store, life won't be the same.

"Tower has been a pretty big part of my life," said Ikei, who's 35 and had worked roughly 15 years at Tower developing his talent as a movie expert. "A lot of people at Tower knew their stuff."

Tower in Hawai'i and across the country employed a small army who often started as budding musicians or amateur music or movie buffs and developed into gurus of music and movies at Tower.

Hawaiian musician Pakala Fernandes was one of Tower's eclectic employees. A member of Maui's musical Farden family, Fernandes played principal French horn for the Honolulu Symphony during its 1968 summer season when he was 17, and went on to play symphonies in big Mainland cities.

Ten years ago, Fernandes, then 45, decided to seek a job at Tower. "I used to be a regular customer, and go in there all the time and buy music," he said. "And I used to say to myself, 'Wouldn't it be cool to work here and listen to all this music?' "

Over the past decade, Fernandes has been a walking classical music reference encyclopedia mostly at Tower's Ke'eaumoku store. Over the same period, he learned to play the bass, and began playing Hawaiian music.

Fernandes is well-accomplished now, playing at the Halekulani hotel with the group Pa'ahana, but he remained passionate about Tower and the customers who became friends seeking his advice about classical music.

"Classical music is still my love," he said. "There's a lot of people who need help. They won't have it because people like me won't be there."

IT ALL BEGAN IN 1980

Tower opened its first store in Hawai'i in 1980, taking over the store of another Mainland chain, Odyssey Records, at 611 Ke'eaumoku St.

The company quickly became the biggest retailer of phonograph records in the state, and added two more stores on O'ahu — in Pearl City in 1988 and in Kahala in 1993.

No one has been with Tower in Hawai'i since it opened here 26 years ago, but Roy Fukushima comes close.

Fukushima, 58, runs the Ke'eaumoku store and joined Tower in 1989 after an envisioned career as a musician failed to take off.

As a Kalani High School student in the mid-'60s, Fukushima played drums in a rock band called Mark IV, and developed into a music buff. He studied music composition at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa in the early '80s, but couldn't get a good band together after that.

"Things didn't work out as I planned," he said. "The next best thing was working in a record shop. It's not work. I thought it'd be total fun for me."

Fukushima started as a classical department clerk, became a supervisor, helped open the Kahala store in 1993 and also became a jazz expert. For the most part, he said, his job has been fun.

Tower, however, has had some painful recent years in business. The California-based chain started by Russ Solomon in 1960 grew into an industry giant, but lately had run into financial trouble competing with online and big-box retailers of music.

The company reorganized its finances in a 2004 bankruptcy, but in August had to file bankruptcy again under the strain of debts totaling $200 million. In October, a bid to liquidate the company was deemed the best alternative to pay creditors.

About 70 employees worked at the three Hawai'i Tower stores before liquidation began. Many have already moved on, though a few old-timers have stayed to the end.

CAREER CHANGES

Dave Watanabe, 40, product manager and rock and pop expert at the Pearl City store, said he isn't sure what he'll do next, though it probably won't be retail.

A 16-year Tower employee, Watanabe at one time thought he'd be a music teacher after studying at the Hollywood-based Musicians Institute in 1989. He also is a guitar player who got his start with the local heavy-metal band Dorian Gray while attending classes at Leeward Community College in the 1980s.

Watanabe now plays in a cover band called 4D a couple of times a month, mostly at Moose McGillycuddy's in Waikiki. But that won't pay the bills.

"I'll probably take a break till the new year, then see what's out there," he said.

Ikei, Tower's former product manager at Ke'eaumoku, found another retail job around Thanksgiving, but has continued volunteering his time at Tower to help wind down store operations. "Just to help," he said. "Just because history."

Ke'eaumoku store boss Fukushima said he hasn't started looking for another job. "I plan to spend Christmas with my wife," he said. "It's been awhile."

Fernandes' last day at work was Wednesday at Kahala. "I thought I would never leave," he said. "I thought I'd stay there to the end. I guess I did."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.