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48-517: The concept behind WTII began in 1999, while Bart Pfanenstiel was employed at Wax Trax! During Wax Trax!'s final year, Pfanenstiel and Dannie Flesher (co-founder of Wax Trax!) were moving Wax Trax into the modern era of electro/industrial music. They did this by tapping into a new breed of bands that were making their way to the US from Europe. Pfanenstiel had made a connection with Stefan Herwig, from Offbeat Records . The two discussed licensing possibilities;

96-612: A Candle and Dammerung Im Traum, Trigger 10d remix album But the Girl's the Same, State of the Union's sophomore album Inpendum and the debut of PTI. In 2005, Stromkern released their DAC #1 single Stand Up, followed by the critically acclaimed album Light it Up. The band attended several festival dates and a full North American Tour with fellow label mates PTI. Additionally, they released a second single from their album Reminders, and began 2006 with

144-675: A Division of the Allegro Media Group and Planetworks Entertainment. Dannie Flesher Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago . It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado , opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that year, they opened a store under the same name in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. During

192-472: A SpikeTV's webisode called Death Guild as well as being included in the video game Project Gotham Racing 3 . Monstrum Sepsis' song "Mace" appeared in The Matrix: Reloaded and Monstrum Sepsis scored the soundtrack to the online Matrix: Reloaded video game. Trigger 10d and HMB appeared in the independent film Shut-eye with HMB's song "Impulse" included as the title track. During this time period

240-480: A bankruptcy filing, Wax Trax! was bought by New York –based TVT Records in 1992, with Nash and Flesher retaining creative control of the label. TVT continued to use the Wax Trax! imprint for years, even after Nash's death from AIDS -related complications on October 10, 1995. In 1994 TVT released Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years under the Wax Trax! label. It was a 3-CD box set compilation of

288-967: A corner, drafting, or getting two or four wheels off the ground. When combos are linked up, the player is given a bonus for keeping them linked together, and this builds up to huge amounts if the combo is held for a substantial length of time. This bonus is, however, lost if the player crashes into any barriers, though the base Kudos (all but the combo bonus) are kept. Project Gotham Racing 3 allows multiplayer offline with up to two players on one Xbox 360 console or more players via System Link . Project Gotham Racing 3 offers online integrated scoreboards for single player career events as well as Time Trials and test track times. Gamers with Xbox Live Gold are able to race with up to seven other competitors in races online. Online career (ranked) and playtime (unranked) are both offered as online multiplayer modes. Scoreboards also track standings for online career. Project Gotham Racing 3 , similar to Project Gotham Racing 2 , has

336-414: A label that would rekindle the spirit of Wax Trax!'s early years. With a roster of available artists, Pfanenstiel sought out the help of David Schock, who had experience working at a small independent music distributor. Schock had built strong relationships with mom-n-pop, brick and mortar and chain stores nationwide. . WTII Records, LLC was officially launched on January 1, 2001. The label's initial plan

384-566: A number of recordings from Play It Again Sam of Belgium , and eventually opened a North American office for the label (dubbed Play It Again Sam Records U.S.A.) as a division of Wax Trax!. Play It Again Sam, in turn, oversaw the operation of Wax Trax! Europe, although it closed abruptly when the relationship between the labels ended acrimoniously in the early 1990s. Play It Again Sam U.S.A. was subsequently absorbed by Caroline Records . Following

432-471: A pop-up store at the Metro Chicago music venue on June 15, 2014. In 2016 Julia Nash began work on directing and producing a documentary about the history and impact of her father and his partner's independent store and label.  The film, titled INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT: The Story of Wax Trax! Records , won numerous awards and international acclaim during the 2018 festival circuit. After seeing

480-489: A remastered version of Mechanical Cabaret's debut album which included unreleased tracks and bonus remixes. As the label headed into the fall, the label welcomed tribal/noise powerhouse ESA to the fold and released the third album of their Themes of Carnal Empowerment trilogy to rave reviews. The label also entered into a new partnership with Austin Texas' CHANT and saw them hit the road with industrial legends KMFDM. CHANT raised

528-536: A score of nine-and-a-half stars out of ten and said it "offers plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" with impressive graphics and sound. But luckily this game still plays very well too. And with a robust online package and plenty of racing options, it becomes a 360 must-have." The Sydney Morning Herald gave it four stars out of five and said that "despite Gotham' s obliging nature, high-speed thrills and gorgeous graphical sheen, it's hard not to feel that we have seen its best tricks before." However, Detroit Free Press gave it

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576-695: A score of three stars out of four and stated that "online play is as hectic, though perhaps not as friendly, as the previous Xbox version." During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , Project Gotham Racing 3 received nominations for " Racing Game of the Year " and " Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay ". Project Gotham Racing 3 received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in

624-615: A second tour in support of the Re-align EP. In 2003 the label held its first festival, WTII Minifest, a two-day celebration of the label's first two years. The event was held at the Underground Lounge on Friday and the Bottom Lounge on Saturday; it featured performances from Monstrum Sepsis, Trigger 10d, cut.rate.box, State of the Union and HMB. Album releases in 2004 included Stromkern's back catalog, Flicker Like

672-597: A second tour of the US and Europe with industrial band Front Line Assembly . In 2006, the label celebrated its 5th anniversary via a promotional compilation entitled "The 5 Year Hits," also known as the "WTII 5th Anniversary Compilation." The album was a mix CD which featured the labels club hits. It also contained a track from every artist on the WTII roster. Mixing was accomplished by Chicago DJs Jeff Moyer and DJ Pulz-8; mastering by Chris Randall of Sister Machine Gun . The CDs were given away at shows, clubs and conventions across

720-545: A secret easter egg in the garage. If you walk in the garage, there are 2 arcade cabinet 's with the Demo versions of the games Geometry Wars and Geometry Wars Retro Evolved , which were available in the Xbox Live Marketplace . In 2006, several DLCs were released: Project Gotham Racing 3 received "generally favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic . USA Today gave it

768-676: A top speed of over 170 mph). One of the starter cars is the Acura NSX . Similar to its predecessors, each car in Project Gotham Racing 3 is allocated to a specific class. There are five classes, A through E, the high performance cars being Class A, and the low performance cars in Class E. Kudos once again play an important part in Project Gotham . Kudos points are given for stylish driving, for example drifting around

816-501: The Nürburgring to race through. Project Gotham Racing 3 features 80 licensed cars from over 30 manufacturers such as Ferrari , Dodge , and Lamborghini . The polygons used to make up a car model increases in Project Gotham Racing 3 , to between 80,000 and 100,000. The increased polygon count allows for smoother, less jagged-shaped cars than in earlier games. Of the 80 cars in the game, 71 are unlocked and available for play at

864-455: The 15th Anniversary of the label. The first release for 2016 will be the debut from Canadian EBM powerhouse nTTx. Over the years the label roster has continued to grow with artists that vary in sound and style. With releases from artists like Stromkern , Autoclav1.1, Prometheus Burning , SMP, Slave Unit, Sister Machine Gun , Deathproof, Beborn Beton , Deviant UK, AlterRed, ESA (Electronic Substance Abuse), Mechanical Cabaret, Blume , State of

912-550: The 1980s and 1990s, the accompanying record label became a strong presence on the industrial music scene as well as the punk rock scene in Chicago, and an outlet for European bands. The label was purchased by TVT Records in 1992 and was discontinued in 2001. In 2014, it was re-established by Julia Nash, daughter of co-founder Jim Nash. Richard Giraldi of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "As important as Chess Records

960-504: The Accused, as well as Chicago DJ's and VJ's. Notably not included in the event were Ministry's Al Jourgensen and KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko, who issued a joint statement, saying: "Jourgensen was never asked to participate, and Sascha Konietzko's (and KMFDM's) desire to participate and perform was declined by the event organizers. However, while we are both in no way associated with this event, we want to make it clear that we do support

1008-570: The Format. Two new acts, Blume and Die Sektor, released albums in the fall and both bands have quickly become two of the hottest acts on the scene. Both Blume's Autumn Ruins and Die Sektor's (-)existence have quickly climbed to the top 10 in album charts across the globe and led to several festival and one-off dates around the world. In the fall of 2013 the label made another significant step forward when it entered into an overseas distribution agreement with Planetworks Entertainment. Now with Nail handling

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1056-835: The History of & Wax Trax! Records." In January 2011, the label announced "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle Comes to Metro." The Retrospectacle was the 33 & 1/3 year Wax Trax! Records Anniversary commemorative concert with proceeds that benefited the non-profit " Center on Halsted ;" hosted by "The Nash Group 2449 (The Nash family and friends including Metro Chicago 's owner Joe Shanahan)" on April 15, 16 and 17th, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois; with performances by former Wax Trax! Artists: Front 242 , My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult ; Luc van Acker , Paul Barker , and Chris Connelly formerly of Revolting Cocks with special guest Jamie Duffy ; and En Esch , Günter Schulz , Raymond Watts formerly of KMFDM ; additional artists included Rights of

1104-705: The Thrill Kill Kult , Coil , Chris & Cosey , Chris Connelly , Die Warzau , In the Nursery , Controlled Bleeding , The KLF , Braindead Soundmachine , Cubanate and Laibach . The label also released a bevy of side projects by Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker of Ministry , including Revolting Cocks , Acid Horse (a collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire ), Pailhead (a collaboration with Ian Mackaye of Minor Threat ), PTP (short for "Programming The Psychodrill"), Lead into Gold (a solo vehicle for Barker), and 1000 Homo DJs . Nash and Flesher licensed

1152-478: The Union, Trigger 10d, Monstrum Sepsis, and PTI. The label's first two major tours occurred in 2002, as Beborn Beton toured the United States as the opening act for Apoptygma Berzerk. The tour coincided with the release of Beborn Beton's greatest hits album, Tales From Another World. The band Stromkern initially toured the country in support of their Armageddon release; they then followed the first tour with

1200-554: The Union, Trigger 10d, The Thought Criminals, The Gothsicles, Dessau, Die Sektor, Frontal Boundary, Attrition, In Strict Confidence, Monstrum Sepsis, Klutae, Trigger 10d, Stiff Valentine, Method Cell, Lowe, Stars Crusaders, The Qualia, cut.rate.box, Dead on TV, Rein Forced, PTI, Backlash, am.psych, and HMB, WTII has been pushing the electronic spectrum to new limits. The label is currently distributed worldwide by MVD (Music and Video Distribution) former distributors include NAIL Distribution

1248-593: The United States. They can still be downloaded for free on the WTII website. Over these first 5 years of existence WTII experienced success in licensing tracks and musical snippets to high-profile TV stations, independent films and video games. Signed bands such as State of the Union, Stromkern, Trigger 10d and Monstrum Sepsis had tracks appear in episodes of MTV's Made, My Super Sweet 16, and Trailer Fabulous. Monstrum Sepsis' music appeared on A&E's Biography and Vh1's Driven. Stromkern's song "Stand Up" appeared in

1296-401: The attention of members from Nail Distribution. The label began negotiating a deal that would provide full distribution coverage across North America. In December 2010 an agreement was reached between the two parties. This international agreement was a notable step forward for the label. This increase in success allowed the label to begin focusing on on artist promotion and development. In 2011,

1344-498: The band created a new distribution network and catalog of upcoming releases. The label signed UK band Method Cell, their album Curse of a Modern Age was the first album released using the new distribution network. Later that year, the label signed and released albums from Canadian hardcore industrial artist Stiff Valentine, Claus Larsen's ( Leæther Strip ) alter ego Klutae, Swedish synthpop/electronic rock band Lowe, and Pittsburgh's industrial act Rein[Forced]. In addition to these new acts,

1392-664: The bands Method Cell and The Thought Criminals. In 2013, WTII signed two of London's popular local bands, Mechanical Cabaret and Deviant UK. Signing both artists included multiple releases. Mechanical Cabaret released a "Best of" compilation album called Selective Hearing in March. They also released a new album in October. Deviant UK released North American versions of two of their albums. The label added another legendary act in SMP (Sounds of Mass Production) and released their album called Death of

1440-585: The bar with a drum infused, high energy live set that garnered praise and new fans across North America. Die Sektor hit the road for most of the fall and crossed the continent twice on two separate tours. Chicago's Comasoft closed out the physical release schedule with the Let's Go All the Way EP which included 3 versions of the Sly Fox classic. ESA and Stars Crusaders finished 2015 with two new digital EPs. 2016 marks

1488-495: The documentary, Vans became an executive producer on the project to help make the film commercially available. In 2019, Vans sponsored in coordination with Record Store Day, a six city North American tour to promote the film. The tour included showcasing the Wax Trax! band Ministry with an early era set. Project Gotham Racing 3 Project Gotham Racing 3 is a 2005 arcade-style racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios as

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1536-419: The end of 2008, the band The Gothsicles was signed. In 2009, the label signed and released a greatest hits collection from industrial band Dessau, released a single from The Thought Criminals and signed gothic band Attrition. In 2010 the label added another new artist, Cold wave (music) band Am.Psych. They also released sophomore albums from The Qualia and Trigger10d. At the end of 2010, WTII's success caught

1584-589: The fall with the release of Kill it With Fire. The label compiled its first free mp3 compilations which included tracks from all artists signed to the label. This compilation was available for download on their website, Amazon.com, iTunes and several others. Near the end of the year, the label released a remix album from Stiff Valentine as well as a new album from Rein[Forced]. Over the years the UK has continued to produce notable artists within this music scene. WTII discovered this talented pool several years prior when they signed

1632-499: The first of those opportunities came with the signing of VNV Nation to Wax Trax!. At the time TVT (Wax Trax! parent label) had decided to move in a different direction, shutting down the Wax Trax! offices in Chicago, Pfanenstiel created a new label to capitalize on these opportunities. Jim Nash (co-founder of Wax Trax!) and Dannie Flesher had taught Pfanenstiel how to manage a label. After Jim Nash's death, Bart worked with Flesher on all label activities. Bart Pfanenstiel wanted to create

1680-405: The good works of the charity involved and honor the memory of Wax Trax! founders Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher." In June 2014, Jim Nash's daughter Julia Nash re-established Wax Trax! Records with the release of a 12-inch single from Cocksure. This was followed shortly afterward with the release of a 7-inch single for Front 242 to mark the band's 30th anniversary in the US. This was accompanied by

1728-502: The label continued to grow and build a solid catalog and fan base. The label adhered to its initial plan and added well-established artists, including: Stromkern, Beborn Beton, HMB, Arcanta, cut.rate.box, La Floa Maldita, Backlash, Acumen Nation and Regenerator. When the core roster was solidified, the labels expansion changed focus and the goal transitioned from signing established artists towards developing new talent. The label signed and released debut albums from newer bands such as State of

1776-563: The label released music from The Gothsicles and The Qualia. In the summer of 2011, WTII celebrated its 10th anniversary with Minifest 2, a 4-day festival which featured performances from WTII artists Trigger 10d, Am.Psych, Rein[Forced], The Gothsicles, Stiff Valentine, Dead on TV, Stromkern and other local and national acts. Throughout the year there were also performances worldwide from The Gothsicles, The Qualia, Stiff Valentine, Rein[Forced], Method Cell, Klutae and Attrition. The year ended with an east coast tour from Lowe. The highlight of their tour

1824-408: The label's biggest hits. However, due to licensing issues stemming from the label's bankruptcy, the set did not contain any material by Front 242, even though the band's single " Headhunter " had been the label's best-selling record to date. A video compilation of the same name was also released, containing music videos by label artists (and likewise omitting Front 242's "Headhunter" video.) TVT closed

1872-457: The label's doors in 2001, with the final Wax Trax! imprint appearing on KMFDM's Beat By Beat By Beat DVD. Dannie Flesher retired from the music business and subsequently died of pneumonia on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Hope, Arkansas. He was 58. Julia Nash owns and maintains the website titled "WaxTraxChicago.com: The Official Family Site dedicated to the memory of Jim Nash / Dannie Flesher and

1920-462: The label's musical focus and roster continued to diversify; however the emphasis remained on developing new artists. In 2007 the label included electronic rock in their music with the signing of New York-based band The Qualia. They also released the third and final single from Stromkern's Light it Up album. In 2008 the label released albums from State of the Union and Monstrum Sepsis. They also signed electro/alternative act The Thought Criminals. Towards

1968-420: The labels North American network and Planetworks taking care of the overseas markets, the label now has complete coverage across the globe. 2014 was another stellar year as the label saw new releases from State of the Union and Mechanical Cabaret and welcomed coldwave legends Slave Unit and well established UK stalwarts Autoclav1.1 and AlterRed and newcomers Stars Crusaders. The label entered 2015 with probably

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2016-512: The start of a new game, while the remaining 9 (prototypes, one-offs, and concept) cars are left for the player to unlock. Sound quality is improved from the previous game, with Bizarre dedicating a sound team to record and implement car audio in the game using the Xbox 360's new audio capabilities. In a change from the previous two games, Project Gotham Racing 3 emphasizes supercars and special models instead of generic production cars (cars with

2064-571: The strongest release schedule to date. Mechanical Cabaret and The Gothsicles kicked off the year with a new single and EP, respectively. That was followed by the long-awaited digital release of Stromkern's limited edition version of Armageddon. Things went into high gear in March as the label released the first new material from Sister Machine Gun in 7 years and Regenerator rejoined the label releasing their first new album in 6 years. Industrial super group Deathproof made their debut and Autoclav1.1, Stars Crusaders both had new material. The label re-issued

2112-689: The third entry of the Project Gotham Racing series. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 as a launch title in November 2005. The game was rated by Official Xbox Magazine as Xbox 360 "Game of the Year" (2005), as well as "Best 1st Person (Not Shooter) of the Year", because of its realistic inside-car view. A sequel, Project Gotham Racing 4 , was released in October 2007. Project Gotham Racing 3 offers players four cities— Las Vegas , London , New York City , and Tokyo —as well as

2160-661: Was Strike Under 's Immediate Action twelve inch EP in 1980, followed by Divine 's Born To Be Cheap seven inch. But it was the release of Cold Life by Ministry in 1981—along with the licensing of Front 242 's Endless Riddance EP—that set the stage for Wax Trax! to become America's preeminent industrial label of the 1980s and 1990s. Among the most noteworthy artists released by Wax Trax! were Minimal Compact ( Next One Is Real ), Front 242 (including Jean-Luc De Meyer side project C-Tec ), KMFDM , PIG , VNV Nation , Underworld , Meat Beat Manifesto , Front Line Assembly , Young Gods , Sister Machine Gun , My Life with

2208-617: Was a CMJ (College Music Journal) showcase in New York City. Beginning in 2012, Stromkern made their anticipated return with the release of a new EP. The label expansion and diversity continued as a larger mix of new and established artists was added. Following their performance at the Minifest 2, electro-punk band Dead on TV made their WTII debut in the spring, along with the release of their EP Fuck You, I'm Famous. Analog noise manipulator band Prometheus Burning made their label debut in

2256-420: Was to blues and soul music, Chicago's Wax Trax imprint was just as significant to the punk rock, new wave and industrial genres." According to critic Greg Kot , the legacy of Wax Trax is trusting the artist. The record store became a record label slowly at first, initially releasing limited edition records such as Brian Eno 's “ Wimoweh ”/“Deadly Seven Finns” seven inch. The first official Wax Trax! release

2304-408: Was to build a roster and catalog through licensing established artists from Europe. The first three artists licensed by WTII were In Strict Confidence , Melotron , and Controlled Fusion. WTII 001, In Strict Confidence's Love Kills! was officially released on March 14, 2001. The booklet for Love Kills! was a limited run 20 page velum booklet that had to be specially printed. Over the first five years,

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