Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat. They added a fifth member, Steve Hansgen, in 1982, playing bass, while Baker switched to second guitar.
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore punk band Minor Threat and post-hardcore band Fugazi. MacKaye was also the bassist for the short-lived band the Teen Idles, and frontman for Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. MacKaye is a member of The Evens, a two-piece indie rock group he formed with his wife Amy Farina in 2001 and in 2018 formed the band Coriky with Farina and his Fugazi band mate Joe Lally.
Minor Threat is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Minor Threat. It was released in March 1984 through Dischord Records. The compilation consisted of the group's first and second extended plays, Minor Threat and In My Eyes. The 1984 Minor Threat LP featured the same cover as the 1981 Minor Threat EP, depicting vocalist Ian MacKaye's younger brother Alec. The image has been imitated by punk bands such as Rancid on their album ...And Out Come the Wolves and in the Major Threat ad campaign by Nike.
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by their band the Teen Idles. With other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the 1980s indie rock scene. These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.
Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene.
Embrace was a short-lived American hardcore band from Washington, D.C., active from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. Along with Rites of Spring, and Beefeater, it was one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement, and was one of the first bands to be dubbed in the press as emotional hardcore, though the members had rejected the term since its creation. The band included lead vocalist Ian MacKaye of the defunct hardcore punk act Minor Threat and three former members of his brother Alec's band, the Faith: guitarist Michael Hampton, drummer Ivor Hanson, and bassist Chris Bald. Hampton and Hanson had also previously played together in S.O.A. The band played their first show on July 28, 1985, at Food for Thought, a former restaurant and music venue located on Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle; their ninth and final show was held at the 9:30 Club in March 1986. The only recording released by the quartet was their posthumous 1987 self-titled album, Embrace, being influenced by the Faith EP Subject to Change.
Lyle Preslar is an American musician best known for being the guitar player and songwriter for the hardcore punk band Minor Threat. Before that, he was the vocalist for The Extorts, who later became State of Alert after he quit. Despite not performing on any State of Alert recordings, Preslar received co-writing credit for the songs "Draw Blank" from the No Policy EP and "I Hate the Kids" from the Dischord Records compilation Flex Your Head.
Brian Baker is an American punk rock musician. He is best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994. In Minor Threat, he originally played bass guitar before switching to guitar in 1982 when Steve Hansgen joined the band, and then moved back to bass after Hansgen's departure. He also founded Dag Nasty in 1985, was part of the original line-up of Samhain, and has had stints in Doggy Style, The Meatmen, Government Issue, and Junkyard.
Dag Nasty is an American hardcore punk band from Washington D.C., formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown. Their style of less aggressive, melodic hardcore was influential to post-hardcore; their sound was partly influenced by The Faith and their 1983 EP Subject to Change. Other influences include Descendents, Buzzcocks, and The Clash.
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C., in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.
Jeff Nelson is an American musician, graphic designer, and record-label owner. He is best known as the drummer for the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk band Minor Threat.
Washington, D.C., hardcore, commonly referred to as D.C. hardcore, sometimes styled in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in the United States.
No Policy is the debut studio EP by the American hardcore punk band State of Alert, the first band to be fronted by Henry Rollins. Consisting of eight tracks, it was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, produced by Skip Groff and engineered by Inner Ear owner Don Zientara. No Policy was released on Dischord Records in March 1981, as the label's second release. No Policy was financed by Rollins, as Dischord was tied up in releasing Minor Threat's debut EP.
"Straight Edge" is a track from Minor Threat's 1981 eponymous debut 7-inch EP, later reissued both as part of the 1984 collection Minor Threat, then as part of 1989's Complete Discography. The song was the inspiration for a movement in the punk subculture known as straight edge.
Colin Sears is an American drummer who has performed in Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, Dag Nasty, The Marshes, Rumblepuppy, Grave Goods, Bloodbats, Los Vampiros, Thundering Asteroids! and currently Handgun Bravado and The Valley Floor. He was in the original incarnation of Fugazi. In the early 1990s he joined Vic Bondi's band Alloy to record & tour Europe and the US.
The Faith was an early American hardcore punk band, from Washington D.C., with strong connections to the scene centered on the Dischord label. Along with Minor Threat, the Faith were key players in the early development of hardcore, with a (later) melodic approach that would influence not just associated acts like Rites of Spring, Embrace and Fugazi, but also a subsequent generation of bands such as Nirvana, whose Kurt Cobain was a vocal fan.
The Untouchables were an American hardcore punk band that arose from the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band existed from October 1979 until January 1981 and released four tracks.
Minor Disturbance is the debut EP by the American hardcore punk band the Teen Idles, released in December 1980. It was the first release by Dischord Records. Comprising eight songs, Minor Disturbance referenced a number of issues pertinent to the band, from being turned away at local concerts due to their age to what they felt was the increasing complacency of many first wave punk bands. Upon its release, Minor Disturbance received positive reviews from local fanzines and gained airplay on local radio stations.
Walk Together, Rock Together is a studio album by hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, released in 1985. The album was originally released as an EP, but was later expanded into a full-length album.
Youth Brigade was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1980 and disbanded in 1981. They released the Possible EP and appeared on the Flex Your Head compilation, both on Dischord Records. Although active for less than a year, they were nevertheless contributors to the development of D.C. hardcore punk and have influenced many other bands. Several members briefly reunited for performances in 2012 and 2013.
