Better Know a Record Store Vol. 1

WaxPax Records--Berwick, Pennsylvania

Semi-regularly I visit record stores. Since record stores can use all the foot traffic they can get, I want to share with all of you my visits, so that you too might visit that store if nearby.

An idea that I have been kicking around in my head is to shine a light on various record stores. This is not a unique idea, of course, however its not as though I visit a new one every single day or that it’s somehow my job to visit records stores.¹ So, in order to shine that light, my plan is to write about ones I do visit here.

For the inaugural “Better Know a Record Store” I visited WaxPax Records in the little ‘ol town of Berwick, Pennsylvania.

WaxPax’s Storefront

Owner/operator Mark Collier moved to Berwick, actually Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) in general, from West Virginia by “throwing a dart at a map.” I contacted Mark a few days after Black Friday Record Store Day to see if he had one particular record left over. He was kind enough to set aside a leftover Record Store Day exclusive reissue of Yuma by Justin Townes Earle for me. I, of course, picked up a few more titles while I was there. How could I resist?² I even got some free stickers from the sticker table.

Before COVID, Mark ran a martial arts school for ten years. Like a lot of small businesses, he had to fold. He then decided to start a record store. However, the first iteration of WaxPax met with another setback, a burst pipe that wiped out most of the existing stock. The location I visited is the second location and is going strong.

I asked Mark how he came up with the name and he told me that he was into some trouble as a young man, and as a way of rewarding him for good behavior, his parents would get him Garbage Pail Kids. Those came in the wax packages that a lot of trading cards came in. Thus, WaxPax. Along with the storefront, Mr. Collier has a record label, a skateboard company, and a booking agency.

One of the things that stood out to me was the store decor. All the walls are adorned with murals and canvases painted by local artists. There are even a few skateboard decks and some musical instruments. Mark has a pressure-free and guilt-free zone philosophy in his shop.³ “No record shaming,” says Mark. “If someone wants to pick up a Taylor Swift record, I think that’s great.”

In my time spent flipping through the bins, I was quite happy to see a robust mix of artists and genres. All of which were reasonably priced. Mark doesn’t let a lot of the used records hit the floor before thoroughly checking them out and researching a range of pricing before setting his—which I found to be more than fair for the LPs I picked up.

WaxPax is an official Record Store Day location which, as I mentioned before, was one of the reasons I went there. While I missed out on the festivities, it included a line out the door and live music. In fact, the store often hosts live music from a wide array of local musicians and bands.

Speaking of wide array, I mentioned before that the store contains a great selection of artists and genres. Mark’s favorites, if he had to pick, fall into the punk, rockabilly, and surf punk genres. He also plays in a couple of local punk and psychobilly bands when not running the shop.

You can catch the mobile version of WaxPax throughout the NEPA region in the next few months and some upcoming events at the store including a Krampus celebration on December 9 featuring an in-store performance by members of the band One Revived, and the Punk Rock Flea Market in Stroudsburg, PA on January 19, 2024. Coming up in February, Matt Pless will be recording a live album at WaxPax—which will be pressed to vinyl.

WaxPax Records is located at 230 W. Front Street Berwick, PA 18603. They can be found on instagram and online at waxpaxrecords.com.

1. If someone can make this happen, please let me know.

2. Yuma by Justin Townes Earle, Levitation Sessions by The Black Angels, Out of Exile by Audioslave, A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by The Beatles, and Fragile by Yes

3. He did convince me to go home with Levitation Sessions by The Black Angels due to my undying love for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, no pressure required though.