Wax Trax! Records

Wax Trax! Records
Founder	Jim Nash Dannie Flesher
Genre	Industrial punk new wave post-punk
Country of origin	United States
Location	Chicago
Official website	www.waxtrax.com

Wax Trax! Recordsis an Americanindependent record labelbased inChicago.It began as a record shop inDenver, Colorado,opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that year, they opened a store under the same name in theLincoln Parkneighborhood.During the 1980s and 1990s, the accompanying record label became a strong presence on theindustrialmusic scene as well as thepunk rockscene in Chicago, and an outlet for European bands. The label was purchased byTVT Recordsin 1992 and was discontinued in 2001. In 2014, it was re-established by Julia Nash, daughter of co-founder Jim Nash.

Richard Giraldi of theChicago Sun-Timeswrote, "As important asChess Recordswas to blues and soul music, Chicago's Wax Trax imprint was just as significant to the punk rock, new wave and industrial genres. "According to criticGreg Kot,the legacy of Wax Trax is trusting the artist.

Origins

The record store became a record label slowly at first, initially releasing limited edition records such asBrian Eno's “Wimoweh”/ “Deadly Seven Finns” seven inch.The first official Wax Trax! release wasStrike Under'sImmediate Actiontwelve inch EP in 1980,followed byDivine'sBorn To Be Cheapseven inch. But it was the release ofCold LifebyMinistryin 1981—along with the licensing ofFront 242'sEndless RiddanceEP—that set the stage for Wax Trax! to become America's preeminentindustriallabel of the 1980s and 1990s.

Artists

See also:Category:Wax Trax! Records artists

Among the most noteworthy artists released by Wax Trax! wereMinimal Compact(Next One Is Real),Front 242(includingJean-Luc De Meyerside projectC-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,CubanateandLaibach.The label also released a bevy of side projects byAl JourgensenandPaul BarkerofMinistry,includingRevolting Cocks,Acid Horse(a collaboration withCabaret Voltaire),Pailhead(a collaboration withIan MackayeofMinor Threat),PTP(short for "Programming The Psychodrill" ),Lead into Gold(a solo vehicle for Barker), and1000 Homo DJs.

Partnerships

Nash and Flesher licensed a number of recordings fromPlay It Again SamofBelgium,and eventually opened a North American office for the label (dubbed Play It Again Sam Records U.S.A.) as a division of Wax Trax!. Play It Again Sam, in turn, oversaw the operation of Wax Trax! Europe, although it closed abruptly when the relationship between the labels ended acrimoniously in the early 1990s. Play It Again Sam U.S.A. was subsequently absorbed byCaroline Records.

Bankruptcy and purchase

Following a bankruptcy filing, Wax Trax! was bought byNew York–basedTVT Recordsin 1992, with Nash and Flesher retaining creative control of the label. TVT continued to use the Wax Trax! imprint for years, even after Nash's death fromAIDS-related complications on October 10, 1995.

In 1994 TVT releasedBlack Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Yearsunder the Wax Trax! label. It was a 3-CD box set compilation of the label's biggest hits. However, due to licensing issues stemming from the label's bankruptcy, the set did not contain any material by Front 242, even though the band's single "Headhunter"had been the label's best-selling record to date. A video compilation of the same name was also released, containing music videos by label artists (and likewise omitting Front 242's" Headhunter "video.)

TVT closed the label's doors in 2001, with the final Wax Trax! imprint appearing on KMFDM'sBeat By Beat By BeatDVD.Dannie Flesher retired from the music business and subsequently died of pneumonia on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Hope, Arkansas. He was 58.Julia Nash owns and maintains the website titled "WaxTraxChicago.com: The Official Family Site dedicated to the memory of Jim Nash / Dannie Flesher and the History of & Wax Trax! Records."

Retrospectacle

In January 2011, the label announced "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle Comes to Metro."The Retrospectacle was the 33 & 1/3 year Wax Trax! Records Anniversary commemorative concert with proceeds that benefited the non-profit "Center on Halsted;"hosted by" The Nash Group 2449 (The Nash family and friends includingMetro Chicago's owner Joe Shanahan) "on April 15, 16 and 17th, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois; with performances by former Wax Trax! Artists:Front 242,My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult;Luc van Acker,Paul Barker,andChris Connellyformerly ofRevolting Cockswith special guestJamie Duffy;andEn Esch,Günter Schulz,Raymond Wattsformerly ofKMFDM;additional artists included Rights of the Accused, as well as Chicago DJ's and VJ's.

Notably not included in the event were Ministry's Al Jourgensen and KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko, who issued a joint statement, saying:

"Jourgensen was never asked to participate, and Sascha Konietzko's (and KMFDM's) desire to participate and perform wasdeclinedby the event organizers. However, while we are both in no way associated with this event, we want to make it clear that we do support the good works of the charity involved and honor the memory of Wax Trax! founders Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. "

Rebirth

Front side of card promoting the Wax Trax! pop-up store on June 15, 2014, at the Metro Theater in Chicago

In June 2014, Jim Nash's daughter Julia Nash re-established Wax Trax! Records with the release of a 12-inch single from Cocksure. This was followed shortly afterward with the release of a 7-inch single forFront 242to mark the band's 30th anniversary in the US.

This was accompanied by a pop-up store at theMetro Chicagomusic venue on June 15, 2014.

Documentary

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, titledINDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT: The Story of Wax Trax! Records,won numerous awards and international acclaim during the 2018 festival circuit.

After seeing the documentary,Vansbecame an executive producer on the project to help make the film commercially available. In 2019, Vans sponsored in coordination with Record Store Day, a six city North American tour to promote the film. The tour included showcasing the Wax Trax! band Ministry with an early era set.

Discography

Main article:Wax Trax! Records discography

See also

• Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years– a retrospective box set of Wax Trax!' output as an indie label
• Chicago Record Labels
• List of record labels

Bibliography

• Larkin, Colin (1998)."Wax Trax Records".The Encyclopedia of Popular Music.Vol. 7 (3rd ed.). London: Muze. p. 5734.ISBN1-56159-237-4.LCCN98-37439.OCLC1033585112– via theInternet Archive.
• Lee, Stephen (January 1995). "Re-examining the concept of the 'independent' record company: the case of Wax Trax! records".Popular Music.14(1): 13–31.doi:10.1017/S0261143000007613.eISSN1474-0095.ISSN0261-1430.JSTOR853341.
• Reed, S. Alexander (2013).Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-983260-6.LCCN2012-42281.OCLC1147729910– via the Internet Archive.
• Sawyers, June Skinner (2012)."Dannie Flesher".Chicago Portraits.Foreword by Rick Kogan (Updated ed.). Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. pp. 114–115.ISBN978-0-8101-2649-7.LCCN2011038716.OCLC1319191063– via the Internet Archive.

External links

• WaxTraxChicago.com,the official Jim Nash, Dannie Flesher, & Wax Trax! historical site
• Wax Trax! Records,the Denver record store
• Wax Trax! Recordsdiscography atDiscogs
• Rod Smith (March 27, 2014)."Wax Trax: An Introduction".Red Bull Music Academy Daily.Red Bull Music Academy.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
• Wax Trax! Revisited - Part One (Denver) and Part Two (Chicago)
• Black Box,a highly detailed discography of the label