Wax Trax, a brick-and-mortar record store, has been a fixture in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood for nearly five decades, standing as the city's oldest record store. Founded in 1975 by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, the store was sold to Dave Stidman and Duane Davis in 1978. Nash and Flesher then moved to Chicago to launch the Wax Trax! record label. Since then, Wax Trax has specialized in bringing the best in independent music to Colorado.
In the 1970s, Wax Trax was one of the few stores in Denver importing punk and new wave music from England. According to Westword, "Wax Trax distinguished itself as the center of the universe for a new kind of fan, obsessed with whatever was new and fashion-forward, and the people they hired fit the niche and met that public with a famous attitude."
One patron recalls discovering Wax Trax accidentally in the Capitol Hill area of Denver, describing it as "seedy with traces of hipness." Drawn in by the music and atmosphere, she became a regular, finding a community and discovering new music. She recounts hearing the Ramones' first album blaring in the store and feeling ecstatic to be among others who had even heard of the band.
Wax Trax became more than just a record store; it was the center of the burgeoning Denver punk scene. Jim Nash, according to one patron, was "the coolest man in town." The store fostered a sense of community, with staff feeling more like family.
Wax Trax played a vital role in supporting local bands like the Jonny Three. The Jonny Three, with Leroy "X" Smith on drums, became a driving force in the scene, playing rock and roll and melodious, supercharged bubblegum pop songs. The band gained a devoted following, even having an unofficial fan club.
The Jonny Three played at venues like the Malfunction Junction and the Summit Tavern, though sometimes with challenges, such as biker crowds at the Summit Tavern. The band also experienced the DIY nature of the early punk scene, playing house parties and dealing with unexpected issues like floors nearly collapsing.
As the punk scene evolved, so did Wax Trax. Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher expanded their reach, bringing in out-of-town bands. However, by the end of 1978, Nash and Flesher decided to move to Chicago, leaving a void in the Denver scene. A farewell party was held at the German Turnverein Hall, where many, including the Jonny Three, bid a tearful goodbye.
Stidman recalls hearing a commercial on the radio about a record store that had used records. When Stidman went down to the store, he spent the whole day playing records with one of the employees and struck up a friendship with the owners, Nash and Flesher.
Davis was Stidman’s favorite guy at work because he could talk about music with him. But the idea to buy the record store didn’t come up until the annual juvenile probation chili and beer picnic. “Dave and I had both had a couple of beers,” Davis said. “Dave says, ‘Hey let’s get a record store.’ And I said, ‘Well, open another beer and let’s do it!’”
A few months later, Stidman had worked out the details with Nash and Flesher. Nash and Flesher wanted to make sure the new owners would carry on their tradition of exposing Denver to music it had never heard before. Stidman and Davis were confident they could preserve the culture the original owners had created - a culture that had attracted some famous regulars.
One of the challenges Stidman and Davis faced early on was car crashes, with cars veering off the road and smashing into the store on several occasions.
In Chicago, Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher opened a new Wax Trax! store and launched the Wax Trax! record label. The label became a significant force in the industrial music scene, exposing the world to experimental and electronic artists. Seminal bands such as Ministry, Front 242, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, and Coil all got their US start on the Wax Trax! Records label.
The store became a record label slowly at first, initially releasing limited edition records such as Brian Eno's “Wimoweh”/“Seven Deadly Finns” seven inch. The first official Wax Trax! release was Strike Under's Immediate Action twelve inch EP in 1980, followed by Divine's Born To Be Cheap seven inch. But it was the release of Cold Life by Ministry in 1981-along with the licensing of Front 242's Endless Riddance EP-that set the stage for Wax Trax!
Among the most noteworthy artists released by Wax Trax! were Minimal Compact (Next One Is Real), Front 242 (including Jean-Luc De Meyer side project C-Tec), KMFDM, PIG, VNV Nation, Underworld, Meat Beat Manifesto, Front Line Assembly, Young Gods, Sister Machine Gun, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Coil, Chris & Cosey, Chris Connelly, Die Warzau, In the Nursery, Controlled Bleeding, The KLF, Braindead Soundmachine, Cubanate and Laibach.
Following a bankruptcy filing, Wax Trax! was bought by New York-based TVT Records in 1992, with Nash and Flesher retaining creative control of the label. TVT continued to use the Wax Trax! In 1994 TVT released Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years under the Wax Trax! label.
TVT closed the label's doors in 2001, with the final Wax Trax! imprint appearing on KMFDM's Beat By Beat By Beat DVD. Dannie Flesher retired from the music business and subsequently died of pneumonia on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Hope, Arkansas. Jim Nash, co-founder/owner of Wax Trax! died in October 1995.
Despite the challenges and changes, Wax Trax has persevered. In January 2011, the label announced "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle Comes to Metro." In June 2014, Jim Nash's daughter Julia Nash re-established Wax Trax! Records with the release of a 12-inch single from Cocksure. In 2016 Julia Nash began work on directing and producing a documentary about the history and impact of her father and his partner's independent store and label. The film, titled INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT: The Story of Wax Trax!
Back in Denver, Stidman and Davis navigated the changing music landscape, facing challenges from the digital-music revolution. However, the resurgence of vinyl in the early 2000s brought new life to the store.
Davis recalls the difficulties of the digital-music revolution, saying, “Dave and I were just absorbing body blow after body blow with the store declining.” But as vinyl sales started to increase in the early 2000s, so did Wax Trax’s business. “Things were really starting to pick up, and we were thinking that was kind of a snowballing,” Davis says.
The store has seen a new wave of popularity with the recent resurgence of vinyl. In a recent Forbes report, vinyl record sales in the US brought in more than $700 million in 2017.
After spending the past two decades in Boston, Pete, son of Duane Davis, moved back to Denver in March 2020 to work at Wax Trax again, this time as general manager. Since Davis has been semi-retired for the past few years, coming in only a few days a week, Pete has taken over the business end of things, including accounting.
When the store was closed for a month and a half at the start of the pandemic last year, Pete used the time to restore Wax Trax to its ’80s layout, when new vinyl was sold at the corner store and used records were at the other Wax Trax storefront a few doors down. Pete and Wax Trax staffers moved all the new vinyl from the vinyl shop to the corner storefront. They also removed all the CD racks that were behind the counter, hiding the wall. Pete even lugged the old Coke machine back toward the front of the store. Also, there’s a new sign above the front door with the same Wax Trax logo that defined the shop in 1978. Pete thinks the last time a similar sign hung there was in 1989.
With a surge in vinyl sales, record sales are up considerably at Wax Trax. The store also launched an online store.
tags: #wax #trax #denver #history
