Wax Trax! Records
Encyclopedia
Wax Trax! Records was an independent record label
in the United States
. Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado
opened by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and, in November of that year, opened a new one under the same name at 2449 North Lincoln Avenue
in Chicago
, Illinois
in the Lincoln Park
neighborhood. This store would become the center of the New Wave
, punk rock
and industrial music
scenes in Chicago.
's "Wimoweh/Deadly Seven 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
— along with the licensing of Front 242
's Endless Riddance EP — that set the stage for Wax Trax! to become America's preeminent industrial
and dance music
label of the 1980s and 1990s.
(including Jean-Luc De Meyer
side project C-Tec
), KMFDM
, PIG, Underworld
, Meat Beat Manifesto
, Front Line Assembly
, Young Gods, Sister Machine Gun
, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
, Coil
, Chris & Cosey, In the Nursery
, Controlled Bleeding
, The KLF
, Braindead Soundmachine
, Cubanate
and Laibach
. The label also released a bevy of side projects by Al Jourgensen
and Paul Barker
of Ministry
, including Revolting Cocks
, Acid Horse
(a collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire
), Pailhead
(a collaboration with Ian Mackaye
of Minor Threat
), PTP
(short for "Programming The Psychodrill"), Lead Into Gold
(a solo vehicle for Barker), and 1000 Homo DJs
.
of Belgium
, 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 late 1990. Play It Again Sam U.S.A. was subsequently absorbed by Caroline Records.
-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.
In 1994, TVT released Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years
under 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.)
When TVT closed the label's doors in 2001 with the final Wax Trax! imprint appearing on KMFDM's "Beat By Beat By Beat" DVD; General Manager of Wax Trax! Records Chicago Office Bart Pfanenstiel founded WTII Records
(Wax Trax! II) in an effort to rekindle the spirit of Wax Trax!'s early music. Dannie Flesher retired from the music business and subsequently died of pneumonia on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Hope, Arkansas. He was 58. Mr. Nash is survived by his two children, Julia and Aaron Nash. 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."
On January 10, 2011; WaxTraxChicago.com announced “Wax Trax! Records Retropectacle Comes to Metro.” The Retropectacle is the 33 & 1/3 year Wax Trax! Records Anniversary commemorative concert with proceeds benefiting the non-profit “Center on Halsted
;” hosted by “The Nash Group 2449 (The Nash family and friends including Metro 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
, Chris Connelly formerly of Revolting Cocks
, and En Esch
, Günter Schulz, Raymond Watts formerly of KMFDM
; additional artists including Rights of the Accused, as well as Chicago DJ’s and VJ’s. Notably not included in the event are Ministry and KMFDM. Minstry's Al Jourgensen and KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko issued a joint statement stating:
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
opened by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and, in November of that year, opened a new one under the same name at 2449 North Lincoln Avenue
Lincoln Avenue (Chicago)
Lincoln Avenue is a major diagonal thoroughfare of the north side of city of Chicago. It runs from Clark Street on the western border of Lincoln Park largely to the northwest, ending in Morton Grove, Illinois...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in the Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park, Chicago
Lincoln Park, is one of the 77 community areas on Chicago, Illinois North Side, USA. Named after Lincoln Park, a vast park bordering Lake Michigan, the community area is anchored by the Lincoln Park Zoo and DePaul University...
neighborhood. This store would become the center of the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
scenes in Chicago.
"As important as Chess RecordsChess RecordsChess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
was to blues and soul music, Chicago’s Wax Trax imprint was just as significant to the punk rock, new wave and industrial genres." (Richard Giraldi, Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
)
Origins
The record store became a record label slowly at first, initially releasing limited edition records such as Brian EnoBrian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
's "Wimoweh/Deadly Seven Finns" seven inch. The first official Wax Trax! release was Strike Under
Strike Under
Strike Under was an influential Chicago punk rock band of the early 1980s. It was started by Steve Bjorklund after the demise of The Rabbits. The principal musicians, besides Bjorklund, were his brother Chris , Pierre Kezdy , and Bob Furem .Strike Under was founded in 1979 or 1980...
's Immediate Action twelve inch EP in 1980, followed by Divine
Divine (Glen Milstead)
Divine , born Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Described by People magazine as the "Drag Queen of the Century", Divine often performed female roles in both cinema and theater and also appeared in women's clothing in musical performances...
's Born To Be Cheap seven inch. But it was the release of Cold Life by Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
— along with the licensing of Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
's Endless Riddance EP — that set the stage for Wax Trax! to become America's preeminent industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
label of the 1980s and 1990s.
Artists
Among the most noteworthy artists released by Wax Trax! were Front 242Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
(including Jean-Luc De Meyer
Jean-Luc De Meyer
Jean-Luc De Meyer is a vocalist and lyricist who is best known as the lead vocalist of the Belgian EBM group Front 242.He started singing in the experimental group "Under Viewer" with Patrick Codenys...
side project C-Tec
C-Tec
C-Tec was a band originally formed as a side project in 1995 by Jean-Luc De Meyer , Jonathan Sharp , and Ged Denton as The Cyber-Tec Project. The name was taken from Cyber-Tec Records, who released their first album. This EP was also released on Fifth Column Records in the US...
), KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
, PIG, Underworld
Underworld (band)
Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...
, Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK...
, Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...
, Young Gods, Sister Machine Gun
Sister Machine Gun
-The early years:Sister Machine Gun was formed by Chris Randall and Guilherme Machado in New York City. They performed at New Jersey's Pipeline, and New York's Limelight. The band went on a short hiatus after Chris Randall joined KMFDM's tour as a stage technician. After the tour, Randall left...
, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
, Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, Chris & Cosey, In the Nursery
In The Nursery
In the Nursery are a neo-classical/martial electronica band, known for their cinematic sound. The duo has provided soundtracks to a variety of TV programmes and films, and is known for its rescoring of silent films.- Career :...
, Controlled Bleeding
Controlled Bleeding
Controlled Bleeding is a prolific experimental music group based in Massapequa, New York. The group was founded by Paul Lemos, the group's only consistent member...
, The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, Braindead Soundmachine
Braindead Soundmachine
Braindead Soundmachine were an industrial rock band and the brainchild of founding members Cole Coonce, Warren Croyle , and the late Ikky Shivers...
, Cubanate
Cubanate
Cubanate is a crossover band from London, founded in 1992 by Marc Heal and Graham Rayner with Phil Barry and Steve Etheridge. The group became well-known known for its early fusion of distorted metal guitars, and techno percussion .-History:Cubanate played their first UK tour in November 1992...
and Laibach
Laibach (band)
Laibach is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with industrial, martial, and neo-classical musical styles. Laibach formed June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia . Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984...
. The label also released a bevy of side projects by Al Jourgensen
Al Jourgensen
Alain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...
and Paul Barker
Paul Barker
Paul Barker , also referred to as Hermes Pan, is the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer with the industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2004...
of Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, including Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, is an American–Belgian industrial rock band and sometime supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.-History:...
, Acid Horse
Acid Horse
Acid Horse was a one-off collaborative side project between two industrial music pioneers, Ministry and Cabaret Voltaire. Only one single, "No Name, No Slogan", was released in 1989 on Wax Trax! records...
(a collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
), Pailhead
Pailhead
Pailhead was a short-lived side project of the industrial metal band Ministry, which featured Ian MacKaye on vocals...
(a collaboration with Ian Mackaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
of Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
), PTP
PTP (band)
The industrial band PTP was a short-lived side project of Ministry's Alain Jourgensen. The band's total recorded legacy consists of three songs....
(short for "Programming The Psychodrill"), Lead Into Gold
Lead Into Gold
Lead Into Gold was a side project of American industrial musician Paul Barker, best known as the bassist for Ministry. Primarily a solo project by Barker, Lead Into Gold featured occasional guest performances by his Ministry bandmates Al Jourgensen and Bill Rieflin.Lead Into Gold only released two...
(a solo vehicle for Barker), and 1000 Homo DJs
1000 Homo DJs
1000 Homo DJs was a side project of industrial music band Ministry. It is best known for its cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut." The project was released through industrial label Wax Trax! Records....
.
Partnerships
Nash and Flesher licensed a number of recordings from Play It Again SamPlay It Again Sam (record label)
[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, 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 late 1990. Play It Again Sam U.S.A. was subsequently absorbed by Caroline Records.
Bankruptcy and purchase
Following a bankruptcy filing, Wax Trax! was bought by New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
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
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related complications on October 10, 1995.
In 1994, TVT released Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years
Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years
Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years is a box set album compiling songs released on Wax Trax! Records between 1980 and 1993. Black Box commemorates Wax Trax!'s output as an independent record label prior to its purchase by TVT Records...
under 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.)
When TVT closed the label's doors in 2001 with the final Wax Trax! imprint appearing on KMFDM's "Beat By Beat By Beat" DVD; General Manager of Wax Trax! Records Chicago Office Bart Pfanenstiel founded WTII Records
WTII Records
WTII Records is an independent record label set up in 2001 by former WaxTrax! General Manager, Bart Pfanenstiel, to relive the spirit of WaxTrax!'s early music. WTII’s releases span a wide variety of musical styles, but the primary focus is electronic based pop, synthpop, electro, industrial, indie...
(Wax Trax! II) in an effort to rekindle the spirit of Wax Trax!'s early music. Dannie Flesher retired from the music business and subsequently died of pneumonia on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Hope, Arkansas. He was 58. Mr. Nash is survived by his two children, Julia and Aaron Nash. 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."
On January 10, 2011; WaxTraxChicago.com announced “Wax Trax! Records Retropectacle Comes to Metro.” The Retropectacle is the 33 & 1/3 year Wax Trax! Records Anniversary commemorative concert with proceeds benefiting the non-profit “Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community center in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest LGBT Community Center in the Midwest with more than 1,000 people walking through its doors every day....
;” hosted by “The Nash Group 2449 (The Nash family and friends including Metro Chicago
Metro Chicago
This page is about the concert hall; for the metro region surrounding Chicago, see Chicago metropolitan area.Metro is a concert hall at 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in...
’s owner Joe Shanahan
Joe Shanahan
Joe Shanahan is the founder and owner of Metro Chicago and Smart Bar in Chicago, Illinois. He is also the part owner of the Daily Bar and Grill, as well as Double Door....
)” on April 15, 16 and 17th, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois; with performances by former Wax Trax! Artists: Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
; Luc Van Acker
Luc Van Acker
Luc van Acker is a musician from Tienen, Belgium. He began writing and releasing solo material in 1982, and worked with a few other bands and with Anna Domino over the next few years. Then in 1985, he met Richard 23 of Front 242 at the DNA Club in Brussels, Belgium, and thereby became a founding...
, Paul Barker
Paul Barker
Paul Barker , also referred to as Hermes Pan, is the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer with the industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2004...
, Chris Connelly formerly of Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, is an American–Belgian industrial rock band and sometime supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.-History:...
, and En Esch
En Esch
En Esch, a.k.a. Klaus Schandelmaier, is a contemporary musician and has been a member of the bands KMFDM, Pigface, and Slick Idiot.-History:...
, Günter Schulz, Raymond Watts formerly of KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
; additional artists including Rights of the Accused, as well as Chicago DJ’s and VJ’s. Notably not included in the event are Ministry and KMFDM. Minstry's Al Jourgensen and KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko issued a joint statement stating:
"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."
See also
- List of record labels
- Chicago Record LabelsChicago record labelsThis is a list of notable record labels based in Chicago....
- Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 YearsBlack Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 YearsBlack Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years is a box set album compiling songs released on Wax Trax! Records between 1980 and 1993. Black Box commemorates Wax Trax!'s output as an independent record label prior to its purchase by TVT Records...
- a retrospective box set of Wax Trax!' output as an indie label
External links
- WaxTraxChicago.com, the official Jim Nash, Dannie Flesher, & Wax Trax! Historical site by Julia Nash (daughter of Jim Nash)
- Wax Trax! Records, the original Denver record store
- Wax Trax! Revisited - Part One (Denver) and Part Two (Chicago)
- Black Box, a highly-detailed discography of the label