Elementary school principal Joshua Briese is the proud owner of the iconic Phoenix record store, Tracks in Wax Records, after purchasing it in 2025. The purchase price included all the inventory in the store and approximately 7,000 records the previous owner had in storage, to which Briese added 15,000 records of his own.
Tracks and Wax has been a fixture of the Phoenix music scene since 1982, with a recent growth in success due to a resurgence in interest in records in the younger generation.
Joshua Briese joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk about his store and the growth it has had.
While being a principal comes first, it has always been Briese’s dream to own a music store.
” I knew this is what I wanted to do. A record store was the cool thing for me. Kind of also look into the future. What do I want to do when I retire? Sitting behind the counter in a record store talking to music all day sounds like a pretty fun gig,” Briese said.
Briese explained how he juggles a full-time principal job with owning the store.
“I’m very much a fan of the guide on the side, not to sage on a stage for both school and for the record store. So I’m kind of helping behind the scenes, ordering, making sure inventory is where it needs to be, keeping up on employees, my family, making sure that we’re providing a good experience for people that come in the shop,” Briese said.
