A joint effort: Metaphysical Graffiti and Bad Axe Music
Back in June of 2019, I had a profound interview with Eddy Nix, owner of Driftless Books and Music in Viroqua, Wisconsin. I titled the article, “A book and music mecca in the Driftless, with a dash of history”. Before we get into the juicy stuff, I would recommend, if you have not already, reading my article from June of 2019.
At the time I published that article, Eddy had eluded that he would eventually keep working on some sort of expansion. Well, Eddy has not disappointed, opening Metaphysical Graffiti in the building across the street from the Driftless Café.
Eddy had been eyeing the building for a couple years. “It's been empty, and I was sort of trying to figure out a way to make the finances work to the point where I could maybe purchase it and that happened this past spring. So, we bought the building.”
The building like many others in Viroqua had an amazing history. Built in 1918 as a home for returning vets from World War I, Eddy said many of them were dealing with “shell shock”, today referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The building had evolved over the years. The upstairs was turned into a rooming house for various men of numerous sorts. “So, it was always a little bit of a commune, in their own way. There was a restaurant downstairs called Little Chicago which was this sort of classic little cafe situation. Anybody who's been in town for a long, long time and is old enough to remember it, will have a bunch of stories, which is fascinating when people come in and share those stories. So, it'd be the cafe and these old guys sitting around smoking cigarettes playing Euchre and that was the scene.” The building, in most recent times, was used as a halfway house but has been empty for a few years.
Backing up a bit, at Eddy’s Driftless Books and Music located across town in a repurposed tobacco warehouse, Eddy had leased a room to Scott Klimeck who had always wanted an outlet to sell music records. “I moved here two years ago and I wanted to open a record store. I came from California but I grew up in Northern Wisconsin up by Wausau. I had lived in California for 17 years and then moved back here. When I moved back, I just started talking to people I was meeting about opening a record store and they said ‘you should go talk to Eddy at the bookstore’. So, I went over just told Eddy about my idea of selling records. He's like, ‘I love it’.” Eddy leased Scott a room to sell his records, that became a popular venue for music enthusiasts.
When the building Eddy had his eye on became available for purchase, Eddy asked if Scott wanted to move his store to a bigger spot in that building. Scott accepted, and as Scott put it, everything morphed into his brick-and-mortar Bad Axe Music. “It’s all happenstance,” Scott said smiling.
Scott said when he first got into records the first two he bought were Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits and the Rolling Stones Greatest Hits. Scott thought it would be cool to kind of start collecting LPs. Two records led to many more and it just kind of morphed into a store.
Selling predominantly used recordings Scott said he does carry some new. “I do have some new stuff. But it's all you know, mostly vintage, old used records, I try to specialize in those. I have some CDs, and I've got tapes.” I would be remiss if I did not mention that Scott even carries some 8-tracks. Yes, I said 8-tracks.
Eddy acknowledged that Scott’s business had become very popular in the other location. “Scott was doing really well with his records. And you know, it demanded a bigger space. Plus, you know, we have so many books in so many categories that we can't fit in this building (Driftless Books and Music), that we're always looking for other places to put books. So that seemed like a good place to open a second store and the second store is called Metaphysical Graffiti. The focus is on four areas: Wisconsin history and Wisconsin authors are located in the front room, and the back room is divided between metaphysics and spirituality, that whole genre of, you know, spiritual weirdness, and homesteading. Then, sort of radical politics, everything from anarchism to labor studies to hobos, and different historical events like the Sacco and Vanzetti trials or people's different movements around the world. Those four areas were things that I had been kind of squirreling away, different good books that came in on those subjects in the hope of one day, kind of having a little store that was devoted more to those things. So that's in a nutshell what's in there right now.” In addition, one of Eddy’s friends Al who used to run a comic book shop in San Francisco during the ‘70s and ‘80s, is opening a comic book shop in the back.
Eddy shared that he has a room filled with DVDs and VHS tapes that have been donated over the years and have found their way to Driftless Books and Music. He hopes to make a kind of a free little lending library for people in the community who still have VHS and DVD players.
Eddy’s ideas to share with the community seem to be endless at best. Currently a work in progress, upstairs rooms are having carpet ripped up, the floors sanded and walls repainted for office space. “We've done that to a couple rooms, but it takes a lot of work. Eventually, we may do some sort of Airbnb thing for certain people who want to come to visit the bookstores. Try to keep it on that level. There's a lot of opportunity there”.
The store has started to hold some events with the latest being Tarot card readings. Eddy is looking to encourage the use of Metaphysical Graffiti as somewhat of a community space. “I’m just trying to maintain this idea of like the third space, you know, you have work and you have home and then there's that third space where you can kind of go and not feel the pressure of having to consume something, but you can relax and enjoy the books or have a chat with someone. A space that people feel comfortable just kind of spending time in.”
If all of Eddy’s progress and ideas don’t seem enough, well, there’s even more. He made sci-fi and fantasy books available in the Mac store. “So, the Mac store (Mac Help, LLC) is still there, where you can bring your iPhones to get fixed and buy laptops and Macintosh computers. At the store, they had this huge wall that was empty and we agreed to fill it with sci-fi and fantasy and that’s available the hours that Mathias (owner) is open. That's been a real hit. We also have a whole bunch of gardening books over at Thoreau's Garden. So, we're trying to encourage different places that may have a little space to think about the idea of complementing it with some books. Could be just a few shelves, it could be a whole wall, and try to develop this idea of a book village where people would come for the experience of hunting in all these bookstores which I think in time will happen but it's not the kind of thing you could snap your fingers and have that.”
Eddy noted it is challenging to do, especially with the lack of real estate around the area or in the town. He said people are using the buildings which he stressed is great, but as he put it, “there's not a lot of empty storefronts to go cannibalize”.
Eddy said the amount of people that are coming to town for the bookstore experience is growing every year. He is excited to have a book store that can be open year-round since he closes Driftless Books and Music during the cold months.
Reading is said to open the mind, expand knowledge and perspectives. One thing is for sure, Eddy Nix is an amazing human being who believes in the magic of reading and building community.
Visit Metaphysical Graffiti on Facebook. They are open Tuesday through Saturday 10am-7pm, and Sunday 12pm-4pm.
Visit Bad Axe Music on Facebook. They are open Tuesday through Saturday 10am-6pm, and Sunday 12pm-4pm.
