Capitol Crisis

Last updated

Capitol Crisis was a fanzine from the Washington, D.C. punk scene created by musician and disc jockey, Xyra Harper. [1] [2] [3] The zine published five issues from November 1980 to May 1981 and was part of the foundation for D.C.'s emerging punk music scene. [4] According to scholar Shayna Maskell, Harper and Capitol Crisis "worked to contest the dominant maleness of D.C. hardcore and its cultural production." [5]

Issues included reviews of recordings, bands, and venues in the area, some of which were sent in by readers. [6] [7] Capitol Crisis satirized advice columns with a section dubbed "Ask Auntie Xyra," where Harper responded to readers' questions on a variety of topics ranging from music taste to life advice. [5] [7] Some of the bands interviewed in Capitol Crisis included Black Market Baby, Black Flag, Tuxedomoon, Joan Jett, and the Mighty Invaders.

Punk scholar and historian Kevin Mattson was later critical of Capitol Crisis for its "surprisingly conservative" coverage of punk within the D.C. scene, noting that Harper initially favored older bands in the scene like the Slickee Boys and Insect Surfers, rather than extensively covering the newer hardcore punk bands like the Teen Idles or Bad Brains. [2] Harper received push back on this at the time, too, when young hardcore punks like Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, Alec MacKaye, and others involved with the emerging Dischord Records scene wrote in to complain about the slant of Capitol Crisis' coverage. [6] Harper urged the younger punks to contribute writings to the zine, which several of them did. [6] [7]

A complete run of the zine can be found at the University of Maryland, College Park's Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA). [8] It was also included SCPA's “Persistent Vision” online exhibition on archival materials from the Washington, D.C. punk community. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanzine</span> Magazine published by fans

A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and first popularized within science fiction fandom, and from there the term was adopted by other communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zine</span> Collection of self-published work reproduced by photocopying

A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and popularized within science fiction fandom, entering the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punk zine</span> Fanzines of punk rock

A punk zine is a zine related to the punk subculture and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary, punk poetry, news, gossip, music reviews and articles about punk rock bands or regional punk scenes.

Maximumrocknroll, often written as Maximum Rocknroll and usually abbreviated as MRR, is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, MRR focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily features artist interviews and music reviews. Op/ed columns and news roundups are regular features as well, including submissions from international contributors. By 1990, it "had become the de facto bible of the scene". MRR is considered to be one of the most important zines in punk, not only because of its wide-ranging coverage, but because it has been a consistent and influential presence in the ever-changing punk community for over three decades. From 1992 to 2011, it published a guide called Book Your Own Fuckin' Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Teen Idles</span> American hardcore punk band

The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in September 1979. Consisting of teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, they recorded two demo sessions and the 1980 Minor Disturbance EP before breaking up in November 1980. The influential independent record label Dischord Records was originally created with the sole purpose of releasing The Teen Idles Minor Disturbance 7" record. They were an early landmark in the D.C. hardcore movement, and MacKaye and Nelson would later form the seminal punk rock outfit Minor Threat.

Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous noise rock by the likes of Big Black, the Butthole Surfers, and The Jesus Lizard. Touch & Go helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the pre-Nirvana indie rock scene, and helped preside over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock emerging at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington, D.C., hardcore</span> Hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C.

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.

WMUC-FM is the student-run non-commercial radio station licensed to the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, broadcasting at 30 watts. It is a freeform radio station staffed entirely by UMD students and volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Maryland Libraries</span> Academic library in Maryland, United States

The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an off-site storage facility, is located just outside campus, and the Priddy Library is located on the University System of Maryland satellite campus in Shady Grove.

Christina Billotte is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for her involvement in the punk music scene in Washington, D.C., as a performer and organizer. She is included in Venus Zine's list The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time.

Sharon Ann Cheslow is an American musician, composer, artist, writer, photographer, educator, and archivist. In 1981, she formed Chalk Circle, Washington, D.C.'s first all-female punk band. She has since become an accomplished artist who works between different mediums, mostly sound-based.

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.'"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tesco Vee</span> American singer

Tesco Vee is an American, Michigan-based punk rock musician, and co-founder of Touch and Go Records zine. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he is a former elementary school teacher and the founding member, and front man, of punk bands The Meatmen, Tesco Vee's Hate Police, Blight, and Dutch Hercules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton Theater</span> United States historic place

The Newton Theater is located at 3601 12th Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C., in the Brookland neighborhood. The Art Deco building was designed by John Jacob Zink and opened on July 29, 1937. Zink is credited with more than 200 movie theater projects in this region. The first film shown at the Newton Theater was I Met Him in Paris, starring Claudette Colbert and Robert Young.

Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music, and politics. It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement and has recently been seen in fourth-wave feminist punk music that rose in the 2010s. The genre has also been described as coming out of indie rock, with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express anger, rage, and frustration, emotions considered socially acceptable for male songwriters but less common for women.

The High Back Chairs was a band from Washington, DC. Initially consisting of guitarist/vocalist Peter Hayes, guitarist Jim Spellman, bassist/vocalist Charles Steck, and drummer/vocalist Jeff Nelson, the group released its music on the Washington, D.C. punk record label, Dischord Records. The band eschewed the post-hardcore and hardcore punk sounds that Dischord was known for. Instead, the High-Back Chairs' music was highly melodic indie rock, owing more to power pop and jangle pop than to the band's punk rock roots. This was all the more notable since Nelson was a co-founder of Dischord and had played in the influential hardcore punk band, Minor Threat from 1980 to 1983. "Coming out at a time when grunge held a lot of sway in Amerindie land," Trouser Press later said of the band, "this breezy, supremely melodic, gutsy rock seemed almost noble."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth Brigade (Washington, D.C., band)</span> Punk rock band from Washington, D.C.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skip Groff</span> American record producer and DJ (1948-2019)

Frank "Skip" Groff was an American record producer, disc jockey, and owner of Yesterday and Today record store in Rockville, Maryland, at the center of much of Washington D.C.'s punk and alternative music scenes.

<i>Ox-Fanzine</i> German punk fanzine

Ox-Fanzine is a monthly punk zine from Solingen, Germany, founded in 1988. It is edited by Joachim Hiller and has had many contributors. Besides its focus on punk subculture, it also covers similar genres, reviews of comics, books and films, and has included serial novels by authors such as Klaus N. Frick.

Holy Rollers was an American punk band that formed in 1988 in Washington, D.C. The band initially was composed of guitarist/vocalist Marc Lambiotte, bassist/vocalist Joe Aronstamn, and drummer/vocalist Max Micozzi. Band members alternated lead vocals and Holy Rollers were the first D.C. punk band to incorporate three-part harmonies. Music historians and authors Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins described the band's sound as "kinetic punk-funk" with "passionate, message-driven songs." Holy Rollers were a part of new trend in post-hardcore artistic diversity that developed within the D.C. punk scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. They released three albums on Dischord Records, an American punk label that Noisey described as "one of the most respected and revered [record labels], punk or otherwise, in the world." As AllMusic declared, "[w]ithout being an arena act or coming off with the aggrandizing air of one, the Holy Rollers still make big music that can inspire and go beyond simple post-hardcore approaches."

References

  1. ↑ Maskell, Shayna L. (2021). Politics as sound : the Washington, DC, hardcore scene, 1978-1983. Urbana. ISBN   978-0-252-05312-2. OCLC   1242021459.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 Mattson, Kevin (2020-05-14). We're Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America. Oxford University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN   978-0-19-090825-6.
  3. ↑ Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (2009-12-01). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. Akashic Books. ISBN   978-1-933354-99-6.
  4. ↑ "Zines Deserve a Bigger Place in DC Punk History. Here's Why - Washingtonian". 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  5. 1 2 Maskell, Shayna L. (2021-09-28). Politics as Sound: The Washington, DC, Hardcore Scene, 1978-1983. University of Illinois Press. pp. 142–147. ISBN   978-0-252-05312-2.
  6. 1 2 3 "Capitol Crisis fanzine, Issue 4, March 1981 | Digital Collections @ the University of Maryland". digital.lib.umd.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  7. 1 2 3 "Capitol Crisis fanzine, Issue 5, May 1981 | Digital Collections @ the University of Maryland". digital.lib.umd.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  8. ↑ Davis, John R. (2019). "Fill a Void". Notes. 76 (1): 7–26. doi:10.1353/not.2019.0087. ISSN   0027-4380. JSTOR   26800902. S2CID   213297452.
  9. ↑ Kelly, John (October 10, 2022). "D.C.'s punk rock past is explored in a new online exhibit". Washington Post.
  10. ↑ "S.O.A. | Persistent Vision". exhibitions.lib.umd.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.