David Wax Museum
David Wax Museum perform in Somerville, Massachusetts in 2023
Background information
GenresFolk
Years active2009 (2009)–present
MembersDavid Wax
Suz Slezak
Websitewww.davidwaxmuseum.com

David Wax Museum is a folk and roots rock band blending traditional Mexican son music with Americana in what they call "Mexo-Americana".[1] Husband and wife, David Wax and Suz Slezak, are its core members. Most of the band's albums have been self-released, supported by grassroots efforts and an active touring schedule.

History

David Wax Museum released its first album, I Turned Off Thinking About, in 2008. Its second album, Carpenter Bird (2009), included many tracks that would become staples in the band's live shows.

The band had its breakthrough after winning a contest for a spot at the 2010 Newport Folk Festival.[2] Paste magazine dubbed the band "the breakout act" of the festival.[3] The band was the winner in the Americana category in the 2010 Boston Music Awards.

In 2011, the band released the critically acclaimed album Everything Is Saved, featuring the song "Born with a Broken Heart", which was named Song of the Year in the Boston Music Awards. After playing South by Southwest in 2011, Craig Duff of Time magazine dubbed David Wax Museum one of the "Ten Acts That Rocked South by Southwest".[4] They went on to play the main stage on the final day of the Newport Folk Festival. On the night of their performance, The Huffington Post ran a profile of the band in which Rob Kirkpatrick called them "The Best Band You Might Not Know".[5]

The band released its fourth full-length album, Knock Knock Get Up, in late summer 2012. The Huffington Post called it "louder, richer, fuller, less minimalist and more mature" than the band's previous releases and described it as "an album that will challenge fans" and "leav[e] [them] wanting to play it again."[6] On the day of the official album release, The New York Times published a Q & A with band members Wax and Slezak.

Musical style

David Wax Museum play at the Newport Folk Festival in 2010 (credit Jess Hodge)

David Wax became interested in rural Mexican folk music after attending Deep Springs College and Harvard University and focuses on different styles of son music. Wax, who hails from Columbia, Missouri, sings and primarily plays the jarana, a Mexican instrument similar to a guitar.[5]

Slezak is a fiddler and vocalist who in the Museum also plays quijada, a percussion instrument made from a donkey's jawbone.[7]

New York Times writer James C. McKinley Jr. described the band's style as "a lively and rustic cross-border mix: lonesome Appalachian harmonies over mariachi horn lines and rhythms you might hear at a rural dance in Veracruz or San Luis Potosí."[8]


Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
Folk
[9]		 US
Heat
[10]		 US
Indie
[11]
I Turned Off Thinking About
  • Release date: February 7, 2008
  • Label: David Wax Museum
 — — —
Carpenter Bird
  • Release date: September 18, 2009
  • Label: David Wax Museum
 — — —
Everything Is Saved
  • Release date: February 3, 2011
  • Label: David Wax Museum
 — — —
Knock Knock Get Up
  • Release date: September 4, 2012
  • Label: Mark of the Leopard
 — — —
Guesthouse
  • Release date: October 16, 2015
  • Label: Mark of the Leopard
 20 9 —
Electric Artifacts
  • Release date: September 8, 2017
  • Label: Mark of the Leopard
 — — —
Line of Light
  • Release date: August 23, 2019
  • Label: Nine Mile Records
 — 15 47
You Must Change Your Life * Release Date: May 05, 2023
  • Label: Nine Mile Records
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
2012 "Born with a Broken Heart" Dina Rudick
2012 "Will You Be Sleeping?" Part 1 and Part 2 Monkeywhale Productions
2012 "Harder Before It Gets Easier" Shutter & String
2023 "You Must Change Your Life" Annie Temmink

References

  1. ↑ Gewertz, Daniel (January 31, 2011). "Night at the David Wax Museum". Boston Herald. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ Mitchell, Shantel (August 1, 2010). "David Wax Museum In Concert: Newport Folk Festival 2010". NPR. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ Jackson, Josh (January 19, 2011). "MP3 Premiere: David Wax Museum's 'Chuchumbe'". Paste. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  4. ↑ Duff, Craig (March 23, 2011). "Ten Acts That Rocked South by Southwest". Time. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Kirkpatrick, Rob (July 31, 2011). "The David Wax Museum: The Best Band You Might Not Know". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Kirkpatrick, Rob (August 30, 2012). "David Wax Museum Moves to More Mature Sound on New Album Knock Knock Get Up". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  7. ↑ Berndtson, Chad. "Spend a night at the David Wax Museum". The Patriot Ledger. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  8. ↑ McKinley, James C. Jr. (September 4, 2012). "Finding a Path to Mexico in Appalachia". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  9. ↑ "David Wax Museum > Chart History > Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard.
  10. ↑ "David Wax Museum > Chart History > Heatseekers Albums". Billboard.
  11. ↑ "David Wax Museum > Chart History > Independent Albums". Billboard.
  12. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (September 4, 2019). "Top 10 Country Album Sales Chart: September 4, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
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