Wax Xtatic Record Audio Stereo Shop in Marshalltown holds easily one of the largest inventories of new vinyl in Central Iowa, as well as the cleanest used vinyl section I’ve ever seen.
Owned, organized and operated by John Blaubaum, the Marshalltown staple survived a mid-pandemic move in 2021 to its new space on Main Street. This is the record store of your dreams — specifically, that dream in which you’re an audiophile magician with a sprawling vinyl palace in a Midwestern town.
There’s a poster of a Bonnie and Clyde-era Warren Beatty on the wall and a mini-fridge full of free cans of PBR in the corner. Pop art portraits of Bowie, Jager — and Sammy Hagar, for some reason — are on the walls, along with photographs of Allen Ginsberg and the Grand Funk Railroad. And they’ve got a grim reaper incense holder by the cash register where the haze comes up and out from beneath the hood.
The House of Wax, a performance space directly behind Wax Xtatic, hosts regular live shows featuring local and touring acts. Blaubaum is also working on converting the basement of the building into a recording studio.
Last time that I was there, John and I discussed a Record Store Day release from last year, Harry Chapin’s Story of a Life — The Complete Hit Singles. Chapin has been criminally forgotten, John said, and I learned the yellow vinyl he had spinning on the table was one of only 2,000 copies in existence anywhere.
As for John Blaubaum, there’s only one, and we’re pretty goddamn lucky to have him here. Just tell him what you like and watch him work. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll get it to you. There’s no way John’s letting you leave without something to feed the speakers.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s December 2023 issue as a part of Peak Iowa, a collection of fascinating state stories, sites and people.
