I was 16 the first time I set foot in Denver’s Wax Trax Records. It was the late 80s. Pretty in Pink had recently taught all my friends what I already knew – that record stores are where the cool, artsy people hang out. I was lucky that my small hometown, Greeley, had a great independent Colorado record shop – The Finest Records and Tapes. I grew up flipping through the bins next to my dad, looking for the best blues albums, all kinds of country, Americana and classic rock, and always, always Dylan.
But in 1988, I was on the hunt for the stuff that was hard to find in Greeley: The Cure, David Bowie singles, Dead or Alive remixes– weird, cool stuff. Wax Trax in Denver had all that and more. An afternoon at Wax Trax was an educational experience – somebody who seemed to know EVERYTHING wrote witty, informative little blurbs about the bands and records in Sharpie on the divider cards in the bins. If you came of age before the internet – you’ll understand – it was WAY harder to learn about music outside of the mainstream in the before times, but the Wax Trax staff knew it all, and helped me navigate and explore the bounty of offerings that went way beyond what I had access to in Greeley.
My first trip to Wax Trax is a foundational memory. Big city driving is stressful for small town kids but we braved Capitol Hill’s narrow maze of one-ways to land at 13th and Washington where we scoped out clothes for the hip set at Imi Jimi and the newly opened Fashion Nation, perused Wax Trax, and then walked down the hill to check out the Denver Art Museum.
I was deeply exhilarated by the urban, artsy cool of the whole situation – the BEST record store! Urban fashion! Art! I became super motivated to convince friends with cars to chauffeur my Denver weekend adventures – which always started with Wax Trax and usually ended with Rock Island teen night or late night coffees at Paris on the Platte to fuel the long drive home to cow town.
These teenage escapades led me to conclude that I must be, in fact, a city person – and after I graduated college in the early 90s, I decided that Denver was my place. It was affordable on my new teacher salary, had tons of live music, good art museums, used bookstores, and it had Wax Trax Records. My instincts were good – all of those things are still true about Denver – except the affordability part (sorry, kids). And I was a lucky young teacher to land, in the late 90’s, at Denver’s new public art school – Denver School of the Arts, where I have had the astonishing fortune to get to teach, learn from, grow up with, and geek out about music, art and film with several generations of incredible young Denver artists.
As I leaned into teacher life, then married life and mom life – record store life was still a constant. I married a music photographer who came to the table with a serious record collection. My first outing as a new mom was a record buying trip with a days-old newborn strapped to my chest. Denver’s other great record store, Twist and Shout, was a launch pad for my husband Michael’s music photography, and in-store performances served as the perfect, free, short, day-time shows that offered perfect early concert experiences for my young children. As we began to travel with our kids, hitting up record stores in new places became a cherished family tradition, and records have served as the perfect souvenirs from many adventures.
Just before the pandemic, we sent our oldest child off to a fancy liberal arts college where she received a world-class education. Molly graduated last year and has considered, at various points, law school, art history school, medical school and/or taking off to Europe. During this time of contemplation, she landed a job at, you guessed it, Wax Trax Records. We couldn’t be more proud.
Last week, we had the honor of hosting the Wax Trax team at an employee party on our patio. We shared a meal and a good time while we listened to some of the hundreds of records we have bought over the years from Wax Trax. It was a gloriously all-ages affair that included babies, toddlers, the 20- and 30-somethings who are living their best lives as Wax Trax employees, and the “old timers,” – several of whom worked at Wax Trax in the late 80’s when I discovered it for myself, including DA – the guy who’s sharpie inscriptions taught me so much about what was cool in music back in the 80’s.
My inner teenage fangirl was tripping out – there’s no way I could have imagined that 30 some years after stepping foot into the place, I’d be hosting a party for the cool kids (of all ages) who keep Wax Trax running. It was a joyful night.
In a city where SO much has changed, and not all for the better – I’m so grateful that Wax Trax has served as a touchstone in our lives. I’m learning to accept that life, and especially city life, means embracing constant change. If there’s anything I know for sure, it’s that life will throw some surprises at you, and they’re not all good. Best laid plans can go topsy turvy in an instant, and a lot of getting through life is just hanging on for the ride. But if you’re lucky, the best things in life – like records – have a magical way of coming around again.
-Amy McGrath is a writer and teacher at Denver School of the Arts. She is the managing editor of Audiovore (https://www.facebook.com/Audiovore/ and audiovore.us)
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