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.
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 band, the Faith: guitarist Michael Hampton, drummer Ivor Hanson, and bassist Chris Bald.
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.
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term "post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Initially taking inspiration from post-punk and noise rock, post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black, Jawbox, Quicksand, and Shellac that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. Dischord Records became a major nexus of post-hardcore during this period.
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.
Fire Party was a band from Washington, D.C. They were together from the autumn of 1986 to the spring of 1990. The band members were Amy Pickering (vocals), Natalie Avery (guitar), Kate Samworth (bass), and Nicky Thomas (drums).
The Evens are an American indie rock duo, comprising Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina. Formed in Washington, D.C. in 2001 after MacKaye's band Fugazi entered a hiatus, the Evens began practicing extensively, and eventually played a few shows and recorded a self-titled album, released in March 2005 on MacKaye's label, Dischord Records. The Evens are known for their unusual choices in venues for performances and the stylistic change from what many have dubbed the "D.C." or "Dischord" sound. The Washington Post has described the sound as "what happens when post-hardcore becomes post-post-hardcore".
Soulside, also spelled Soul Side, is an American post-hardcore band from the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Banging the Drum is the third studio album by American hardcore punk band Scream, released in 1986 through Dischord Records.
Fumble is the fifth studio album by American hardcore band Scream. It was recorded in December 1989 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, and released in July 1993 through Dischord. It is notable for showcasing the band's expansion in style, towards a more post-hardcore sound.
Fugazi, also known as the EP 7 Songs, is the debut eponymous release by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. As with subsequent release Margin Walker, Guy Picciotto did not contribute guitar to this record; all guitar was performed by Ian MacKaye. It was originally recorded in June 1988 and released in November 1988 on vinyl and again in 1989 on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the following EP Margin Walker. The photo used for the album cover was taken on June 30, 1988 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Rhythm Pigs were an American punk band, originally from El Paso, Texas, United States, later relocated to San Francisco. Their first two albums were among the first to be released by the influential independent Mordam Records label. Their first 7-inch EP is a classic example of early hardcore, welding driving rock and roll with broad melodies and varied tempos and hooks. Their first two studio albums showed more "big tent" punk, with varied musical styles happily shoehorned into melodic punk songs.
Flex Your Head is a sampler album featuring early hardcore punk bands from the Washington, D.C., area. It was originally released in January 1982 on Dischord Records, with a pressing of 4,000 copies on vinyl record that sold out within one week; an additional 3,000 copies were released shortly after. In 1982, a third pressing of 2,000 copies was released under license in the United Kingdom by Alternative Tentacles. Each of the first three pressings featured a different front cover.
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.
3 Songs is a 7-inch EP by Washington, D.C., post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was originally released in a collectors edition of 2,000 copies by Sub Pop Records as the December 1989 issue of their Singles Club. Dischord Records gave the record wider release one month later with different cover and label art. Later that year Dischord coupled the 3 Songs EP with the LP Repeater to make up the Repeater + 3 Songs CD.
Marginal Man was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C., that formed in 1982. Three of its members—Steve Polcari (vocals), Pete Murray (guitar), and Mike Manos (drums)—had previously played together in the Bethesda, Maryland hardcore band Artificial Peace, a notable part of D.C.'s early hardcore scene, appearing on Dischord Records' "landmark" Flex Your Head compilation. After Artificial Peace disbanded, the trio would join up with Andre Lee (bass) and Kenny Inouye (guitar) to form Marginal Man. The band's first performance occurred on November 19, 1982 at a basement show with Scream, Insurrection, Double-O, United Mutation, and others. According to Polcari, the name 'Marginal Man' referred to the concept of "having friends in two or more groups, but not being part of any individual group. Kind of like 'outside looking in.'"
Revolution Summer was a phrase coined by an employee of Dischord Records in an effort to revive and innovate the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1985. The bands associated with the effort are retrospectively credited with the development of the punk subgenres post-hardcore and emo.
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980–90) is a documentary written and directed by Scott Crawford. Released on December 19, 2014, the Kickstarter-funded film features early pioneers of the Washington, DC hardcore punk music scene over a decade (1980–1990) including Minor Threat, Fugazi, Bad Brains, Government Issue, Youth Brigade, Teen Idles, Rites of Spring, and others.
Suture was an American punk rock and indie rock trio based in Washington, D.C., affiliated with early riot grrrl. Suture consisted of Kathleen Hanna, Sharon Cheslow, and Dug E. Bird aka Doug Birdzell.
