Storied Denver vinyl shop opens 2nd location in time for Record Store Day
Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and the Eagles all launched main albums in 1975. So did Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, Paul Simon and Led Zeppelin. And you may nonetheless discover a few of them (in all probability most of them) at Wax Trax Data, which opened in Denver that 12 months and has been Capitol Hill’s neighborhood report store for 3 generations of music followers.
However you’ll additionally discover vinyl pressings by trendy stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Kinds and Taylor Swift, to not point out fringe bands and native acts, which isn’t one thing most individuals would have predicted within the Nineties as CD gross sales and on-line music put an finish to the report enterprise.
Or so it appeared – a resurgence in curiosity in bodily data started a few decade in the past when shops like City Outfitters started promoting low cost turntables to Gen Z. In 2013, 6.8 million vinyl albums have been offered in the USA, in keeping with Statista. 5 years later, annual gross sales had reached 16.1 million, and in 2023, report makers offered 49.6 million vinyl albums.
“The report trade has had its ups and downs and now we have been there for lots of that,” mentioned Pete Stidman, the bulk proprietor of Wax Trax, 638 E. thirteenth Ave.
“Proper now, issues have actually come again. … Folks have began to crave one thing greater than ethereal, digital, have-it-whenever-you-want-it musical experiences,” he added. “Vinyl will not be solely a direct connection to the music as a result of it’s analog, however it’s a bodily object – and the quilt artwork is a variety of it. That bodily piece is vital to individuals.”
So vital that Stidman has opened a second, satellite tv for pc retailer, Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar, alongside a pal’s classic clothes enterprise at 200 S. Broadway. Each areas will host huge events for Report Retailer Day on Saturday, April 20 (see under for particulars).
The brand new store started as a vacation popup final November, nevertheless it did so effectively, Stidman determined to maintain it going with further hours; he’ll open up the complete area for the primary time this weekend. “Folks like having a report store of their neighborhood, with the ability to stroll to it,” he defined. “It doesn’t have the depth that the opposite retailer has, nevertheless it has what individuals need.”
Stidman took over at Wax Trax in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, after spending 20 years in Boston. However he was very aware of the shop. His father, Dave, and Dave’s enterprise accomplice Duane Davis, had run it since 1978 once they purchased it from its earlier house owners.
Throughout the pandemic closure, he set about cleansing it up and reorganizing the format – “restoring it to its former glory from the ‘80s and ‘90s,” as he phrased it – and commenced desirous about opening a second location. South Broadway was the plain selection, he figured, due to its ties to Denver’s music scene, its location close to varied venues and its counter-culture vibe.
He wished to new spot to have its personal persona, nonetheless. “The Capitol Hill location has a variety of mud on it. Among the posters on the wall return to the Nineteen Seventies. The Broadway location is loads cleaner and has much more sunshine in it. Every place might be distinctive.”
Report Retailer Day
Wax Trax will characteristic a whole bunch of official RSD releases at each areas and newbie turntable giveaways from Denver-based Victrola. The thirteenth Avenue retailer will characteristic 4 Denver bands: The Tammy Shine, Quits, Dangerous Boy Bug, and Cherry Spit. It opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 20. The Broadway retailer, opening at 10 a.m., will characteristic DJ Moe Velez from KUVO Jazz radio.
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