That attitude helped shape the breezy, no-fucks-given attitude that made Wax Trax! the haven it became for punks, freaks, glam rockers and other societal outcasts later on in its run as a store and label. "Being an out gay couple at that time and where they lived, in Kansas and Denver, was a big deal," explains store employee Steve Knutson, "And they didn't apologize for it, they didn't hide from it, they didn't give a shit … they didn't care what anybody thought." What Jim had, Dannie didn't, and what Dannie had, Jim didn't." Close friend Bill Maney confirms, "You definitely got the sense that they really loved each other, but they had some amazing ways of showing it which included beating the shit out of each other." Their friend and photographer Patty Heffley recalls, "Jim and Dannie were an amazing couple … they fit together like glue. Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, previously carpenters and cabinet makers, weren't just record collectors with a dream: they were lovers and partners, an openly gay couple in the mid-1970s when homosexuality had been decriminalized only a decade or so earlier. Wax Trax! was an early LGBTQ haven for Midwestern glam rockers and punks See dates here - and read on to discover ten things you may not have known about the famed label and record store.ġ. These special events will also feature a panel discussion and performances by Ministry (doing a Wax Trax! era set) and Cold Cave. Throughout April, Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records will be screened at select cities across the U.S. The story of Wax Trax! centers on late founders Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher (Nash passed in 1995, Flesher in 2010), whose unique and passionate dedication to discovering - and fostering an accepting atmosphere for - new progressive, and subversive, music kick-started an industrial juggernaut: from Wax Trax!'s first physical store established in Denver in the mid-1970s, through their 1978 move to Chicago and the label's eventual sale to TVT Records in 1992. For a time, it was a revolution.Through interviews with such notable artists as Dave Grohl, Jello Biafra, Al Jourgensen, Trent Reznor, Fugazi's Ian MacKaye and many more, the history of Wax Trax! takes on new life through the pieced-together narrative formed from the memories of those who were there. Furthermore, Wax Trax! (celebrating its 40th Anniversary this month) is far more than simply a record store. That notion is at the core of Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records, and a point that Nash capitalizes upon. “I felt like I owed it to the fans, because of the people who’d come up to me and would pour their hearts out saying, ‘you have no idea, I’d be dead right now without this music and without your parents - they gave me hope, they gave me courage, they gave me purpose.’ For me that was massive, and I thought, you should know more about these people who saved your life.” Speaking a year ago, on why she created the film, Julie Nash did it for the fans. Through stories and laughs, the film came full-circle, as it was less a story about selling records as a story about helping people find their voice. Following both screenings, the audience was invited to participate in a Q&A with the director, Julie Nash and screenwriter, Mark Skillicorn, as well as those who lived right alongside the original operators and knew their story by heart. Selling out two consecutive showings at the Sie FilmCenter, the film brought nostalgia to the retired rock ‘n’ rollers in the audience and enlightenment for those who have unknowingly walked past the present-day iteration without batting an eye. Photography courtesy of the Wax Trax Facebook
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