Why Wax Trax Won't Be Participating in Record Store Day This Year

Wax Trax, an iconic record store here in Denver, will have more vinyl than you can browse through this Saturday, but nothing in stock will be an exclusive Record Store Day release. Because the store sold an exclusive release online for Black Friday, it was contacted by the head of Record Store Day, Michael Kurtz, informing them that they wouldn't be allowed to participate in this spring's April 18 event, as online sales are strictly against the rules.

"There was a mishap," says Wax Trax employee Sherry Gray. "We did something that we weren't supposed to do. He just wrote us an e-mail saying we can't participate this year, but we can reapply for next year."

"We made a mistake," says owner Duane Davis. "We thought it was a piggy-back Record Store Day release, but it was an actual exclusive."

Davis reached out to the Record Store Day organizers to try to sort out the mishap, but they never responded.

"It seems like they're making a mountain out of a molehill," says Gray. "To say we can't participate and then to not hear our side of the story is just rude."

Davis, however, isn't too upset about the whole thing, saying it's just "one day of the year." Last year was the third year the store participated, after a few years of debate over whether or not they should join. He says that anything negative he has to say about Record Store Day at this point would just be seen "as sour grapes," and he honestly has no hard feelings. "It's a lot of fun and a lot of work," he says of the holiday. "But It's all done to promote a good cause."

For this year, at least, it's just another weekend at Wax Trax. There are worse things. "Every day is Record Store Day at Wax Trax," says Davis. "We're expecting our usual weekend. We'll roll right along."