Wax Trax! Records: Difference between revisions

| location = [[Chicago]], Illinois

| website = {{URL|www.waxtraxchicago.com}}<br>{{URL|www.waxtrax.com}}

'''Wax Trax! Records''' is an American [[independent record label]] based in [[Chicago]]. It began as a record shop in [[Denver, 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 the [[Lincoln Park, Chicago|Lincoln Park]] neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-wax-trax-queer-industrial-history-chicago-0414-story.html |title=Wax Trax! Records' pioneering LGBTQ history is explored in new 'Industrial Accident' documentary |last=Roti |first=Jessi |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US |access-date=2019-04-14}}</ref> During the 1980s and 1990s, the accompanying record label became a strong presence on the [[New waveindustrial music|new waveindustrial]] andmusic scene as well as the [[punk rock]] scenessceneinthe cityChicago, and an outlet for European bands. The label was purchased in 1992 by [[TVT Records]] in 1992 and was discontinued in 2001. In 2014, it was re-established by Julia Nash, daughter of co-founder Jim Nash.

Richard Giraldi of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' wrote, "As important as [[Chess Records]] was to blues and soul music, Chicago's Wax Trax imprint was just as significant to the punk rock, new wave and industrial genres."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Giraldi |first=Richard |title=Wax Trax Records long gone, but pulse of its music is strong |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |pages=21A |date=April 17, 2011 |url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/4863427-421/wax-trax-records-long-gone-but-pulse-of-its-music-is-strong.html |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010182602/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/4863427-421/wax-trax-records-long-gone-but-pulse-of-its-music-is-strong.html |archivedatearchive-date=October 10, 2012 |url-status=dead |accessdateaccess-date=April 17, 2011}}</ref> According to critic [[Greg Kot]], the legacy of Wax Trax is trusting the artist.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-wax-trax-legacy-0412-story.html |title=Wax Trax! Records radical legacy: Trust the artists |last=Kot |first=Greg |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US |access-date=2019-04-14}}</ref>

The record store became a record label slowly at first, initially releasing limited edition records such as [[Brian Eno]]'s "“[[The Lion Sleeps Tonight|Wimoweh]]”/Deadly“Deadly Seven Finns"Finns” seven inch.<ref name="Eno-JuliaNash">{{cite web | last=Nash | first=Julia | title=HISTORY-1979 | work=waxtraxchicago.com |accessdate date=21 December 2010 |access-date=March 24, 2011 | url=http://cherryberry321.wordpress.com/history/1979-2/}}</ref><ref name="Eno-Discogs">{{Discogs release |1297556 |ENO – Lion Sleeps Tonite (Wimoweh)/Seven Deadly Fins |type=single }}</ref> The first official Wax Trax! release was [[Strike Under]]'s ''Immediate Action'' twelve inch EP in 1980,<ref>{{Discogs label |Wax Trax! Records |Wax Trax! Records}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last = Weld| first = Henry| title = Punk Rock In Illinois| work = CollectorScum.com| url = http://www.collectorscum.com/volume3/illinois/| accessdateaccess-date = April 15, 2011}}</ref> followed by [[Divine (Glen Milstead)|Divine]]'s ''Born To Be Cheap'' seven inch. But it was the release of ''[[Cold Life]]'' by [[Ministry (band)|Ministry]] in 1981—along with the licensing of [[Front 242]]'s ''Endless Riddance'' EP—that set the stage for Wax Trax! to become America's preeminent [[industrial music|industrial]] label of the 1980s and 1990s.

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]], [[Raymond Watts|PIG]], [[VNV Nation]], [[Underworld (band)|Underworld]], [[Meat Beat Manifesto]], [[Front Line Assembly]], [[Young Gods]], [[Sister Machine Gun]], [[My Life Withwith the Thrill Kill Kult]], [[Coil (band)|Coil]], [[Chris & Cosey]], [[Chris Connelly (musician)|Chris Connelly]], [[Die Warzau]], [[In the Nursery]], [[Controlled Bleeding]], [[The KLF]], [[Braindead Soundmachine]], [[Cubanate]] and [[Laibach (band)|Laibach]]. The label also released a bevy of side projects by [[Al Jourgensen]] and [[Paul Barker]] of [[Ministry (band)|Ministry]], including [[Revolting Cocks]], [[Acid Horse]] (a collaboration with [[Cabaret Voltaire (band)|Cabaret Voltaire]]), [[Pailhead]] (a collaboration with [[Ian Mackaye]] of [[Minor Threat]]), [[PTP (band)|PTP]] (short for "Programming The Psychodrill"), [[Lead into Gold]] (a solo vehicle for Barker), and [[1000 Homo DJs]].

Following a bankruptcy filing, Wax Trax! was bought by [[New York City|New York]]-based–based [[TVT Records]] in 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 from [[AIDS]]-related complications on October 10, 1995.<ref name="Reader-Wyman">{{Cite news|last = Wyman| first = Bill | title = The Ballad of Jim and Dannie - Wax Trax' Jim Nash/RIP| newspaper = [[Chicago Reader]]| date = October 27, 1995| url = http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-ballad-of-jim-and-dannie/Content?oid=888822| accessdateaccess-date = April 15, 2011}}</ref><ref name="SunTimes-Sachs">{{Cite news| last=Sachs| first=Lloyd| title = Jim Nash, Co-Founder Of Wax Trax! Records|newspaper = [[Chicago Sun-Times]]| page = 64| date = October 12, 1995| url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4304253.html| archivedatearchive-date = November 5, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105205950/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4304253.html| url-status=dead| accessdateaccess-date = April 15, 2011}}

| newspaper = [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=107|issue=42|page = 10|date = October 21, 1995| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mw4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10|accessdateaccess-date = October 6, 2018|via=Google Books}}

TVT closed the label's doors in 2001, with the final Wax Trax! imprint appearing on KMFDM's ''[[Beat By Beat By Beat]]'' DVD.<ref name="BeatByBeat">{{citation | title= KMFDM – Beat By Beat By Beat | url=http://www.discogs.com/KMFDM-Beat-By-Beat-By-Beat/release/326459 |publisher= on [[Discogs]] |accessdateaccess-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> Dannie Flesher retired from the music business and subsequently died of pneumonia on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Hope, Arkansas. He was 58.<ref>{{cite web|last=Marlowe |first=Sam |url=http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2010/01/wax-trax-cofounder-dannie-flesher-dies-at-57.html |title=Theater Loop: Chicago Theater News, Reviews & More - chicagotribune.com |publisher=Leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com |access-date= |accessdate=2014-07-28}}</ref> Mr. Nash is survived by his two children, Julia and Aaron Nash.<ref name="Reader-Wyman"/><ref name="SunTimes-Sachs"/><ref name="Billboard-Rosenblum"/> 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."<ref name="JuliaNash">{{citation | last=Nash | first=Julia | title=WaxTraxChicago.com: The Official Jim Nash, Dannie Flesher, & Wax Trax! Historical Site | url=http://www.waxtraxchicago.com |accessdateaccess-date=March 24, 2011 }}</ref>

OnIn January 102011, 2011the WaxTraxChicago.comlabel announced “Wax"Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle Comes to Metro.”"<ref name="Retrospectacle">{{citation | last=Nash | first=Julia | title=Wax Trax! Records Retropectacle Comes to Metro April 15 & 16, 2011 |accessdate date=10 January 2011 |access-date=March 24, 2011 | url=http://cherryberry321.wordpress.com/retrospectacle/}}</ref> 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"The Nash Group 2449 (The Nash family and friends including [[Metro Chicago]]’s'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]], and [[Chris Connelly (musician)|Chris Connelly]] formerly of [[Revolting Cocks]] with special guest [[Jamie Duffy (American musician)|Jamie Duffy]]; and [[En Esch]], [[Günter Schulz]], [[Raymond Watts]] formerly of [[KMFDM]]; additional artists included Rights of the Accused, as well as Chicago DJ's and VJ's.<ref name="JuliaNash"/><ref>{{Cite news

| title = Wax Trax! Records’Records' ongoing influence celebrated at Metro

| archiveurlarchive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121010182533/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/conner/4817009-421/wax-trax-records-ongoing-influence-celebrated-at-metro.html

| archivedatearchive-date = October 10, 2012

| accessdateaccess-date = April 15, 2011}}

Notably not included in the event were Ministry's Al Jourgensen and KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko, who issued a joint statement, saying:<blockquote>"Jourgensen was never asked to participate, and Sascha Konietzko's (and KMFDM's) desire to participate and perform was ''declined'' by 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." <ref>{{Cite news|last = Conner|first = Thomas|title = Where’sWhere's Al Jourgensen?|newspaper = [[Chicago Sun-Times]]|pages = 13–14 (Weekend)|date = April 14, 2011|url = http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/weekend/4817008-421/story.html|archiveurlarchive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121010182544/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/weekend/4817008-421/story.html|archivedatearchive-date = October 10, 2012|url-status = dead|accessdateaccess-date = April 15, 2011}}

[[File:Wax Trax! Popup store card face.jpg|thumb|Front side of card promoting the Wax Trax! pop-up store on June 15, 2014, at the Metro Theater in Chicago, IL]]

Inmid-June 2014, Jim Nash's daughter Julia Nash reopenedre-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 for [[Front 242]] to mark the band's 30th anniversary in the US.

* ''[[Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years]]'' -– a retrospective box set of Wax Trax!' output as an indie label

* {{cite journal|last=Lee|first=Stephen|title=Re-examining the concept of the 'independent' record company: the case of Wax Trax! records|workjournal=Popular Music|date=January 1995|volume=14|issue=1|pages=13-3113–31|refdoi=harv10.1017/S0261143000007613|jstor=853341|issn=026114300261-1430|eissn=14740095}}

* {{cite book|last1=Reed|first1=S. Alexander|title=Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music|year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/assimilatecritic0000reed|refurl-access=harvregistration|isbn=9780199832606978-0-19-983260-6|oclc=1147729910|lccn=2012-42281|via=Googlethe Internet BooksArchive}}

* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/chicagoportraits0000sawy_b4a8/|url-access=registration|title=Chicago Portraits: New Edition |edition=Updated|last=Sawyers |first=June Skinner |publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=9780810126497978-0-8101-2649-7 |location=Evanston, Illinois |publication-date=2012 |ref=harv|pages=114–115|chapter=Dannie Flesher|viachapter-url=Google Bookshttps://archive.org/details/chicagoportraits0000sawy_b4a8/page/n129/mode/2up|idothers=Foreword by Rick Kogan|lccn=2011038716|oclc=1319191063|via=the Internet Archive}}

* {{cite web|author=Rod Smith|title=Wax Trax: An Introduction|url=http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2014/03/wax-trax-feature|website=Red Bull Music Academy Daily|publisher=[[Red Bull Music Academy]]|date=March 27, 2014|accessdateaccess-date=December 10, 2017}}