Showcasing Diverse Legacies
Preserving Legacies Through Cultural Creativity
The Wax Trax! Foundation safeguards diverse histories in music, media, art, and LGBTQ+ culture, fostering connection and empowerment through archives, education, and community engagement.
Our Journey and Vision
The Wax Trax! Foundation was born out of a passion for preserving the vibrant legacy of Wax Trax! founders, Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, and the music, media, art, and LGBTQ communities they nurtured. Established as a non-profit arm of the iconic Wax Trax! Records, the WAX TRAX! FOUNDATION mission is to honor pivotal history while inspiring future generations. We are dedicated to safeguarding the stories and artifacts that define underground and counter-culture movements, ensuring they remain accessible and celebrated. Our vision is to integrate these rich traditions into the cultural mainstream, fostering a world where diversity is not only acknowledged but embraced.
Our Commitment to Community
Community Engagement
Through events and collaborations, we bring together artists, benefactors, and communities to celebrate and support under-represented stories and creative traditions.
Archival & Preservation
We meticulously preserve written and visual histories, ensuring that documents and printed memorabilia are protected for future generations.
Educational Programs
Our educational initiatives empower individuals by providing access to workshops, lectures, and resources that highlight the importance of diverse cultural narratives.
Our Journey Through Time
The Wax Trax Foundation has been a beacon for cultural advancment and advocacy.
1974
Foundation of Wax Trax! Records
Wax Trax! Records opens its doors, quickly becoming a hub for underground music and LGBTQ culture in Denver, CO. Its founders are voracious collectors giving an informal start to the Wax Trax! archives.
1978
Wax Trax! Records Crucial to Chicago
After original founders sell the Denver store to new owners (where it remains open today), Wax Trax! Records leaves Denver to opens its doors in Chicago, becoming a touchstone for the emerging underground music, fashion, video and art culture.
1980
Wax Trax! Begins Releasing Music
Wax Trax! Records broadens its mission and releases its first recordings. This music focuses on the underrepresented synthesis of the punk and dance genre.
1990
The Global influence of Wax Trax!
Due to the vision of founders Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, Wax Trax! was widely regarded as the origin for the U.S. genre “Industrial.” This genre moved from underground to global mainstream, recognizing Wax Trax! as the primary catalyst within the U.S.
2000
Shifting Goals
With the 1995 passing of co-founder Jim Nash, preservation of the existing Wax Trax! archives becomes priority for Dannie Flesher, as the label under original leadership begins to shut down.
2010
Formal Preservation
With the passing of co- founder Dannie Flesher, we begin the methodical task of cataloging the Wax Trax! archives which includes cultural documents, publications, merchandise, multimedia and ephemera dating from the 1950s through the 1990s.
2011
Community Advocacy
We introduce collaborative events aimed at empowering fringe communities through performances and charity partnerships.
2017
Archives In Motion
Our commitment to preserving underrepresented history takes a digital leap. The Wax Trax! documentary, Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records, utilized thousands of archival pieces, in order to educate and inform through film.
2019
Storytelling Through Collaboration
We begin to link financial partners with global artists as a way to expand our reach and storytelling.
2025
Working with the City of Chicago
Our dedication to preserving history expands to architecture as we work closely with the City of Chicago to secure landmark status.
Voices of Appreciation
“The catalyst and home base for radical changes in music and counterculture. There wasn’t anything like Wax Trax! before and its legacy only continues to march forward..”
” Wax Trax! is equally as significant to musical culture as Sun Records in Memphis or Chess Records in Chicago.”
“At a time when prejudice against LGBTQ+ people ran high, they normalized queerness by making people embrace their music sensibilities, and as a result, themselves as people..”
“They helped reshape the culture and musical landscape of the underground 80s everywhere.”
“A historically important hub of culture of music that’s impacted my life for 20+ years, halfway across the continent!.”
Meet Our People
The Heart Behind the Mission
Julia Nash
Executive Director
Larry Crandus
Director of Production
Liz Dennis
Education Program Coordinator
Andy Wombwell
Head of Archival Projects
Olivia Nash
Director of Communications
Emmaline Skillicorn
Director of Community Engagement
Mark Skillicorn
Creative Director