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Gray Matter | |
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| Origin | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Genres | Post-hardcore, emo, hardcore punk |
| Years active | 1983–1986 1990–1993 |
| Labels | Dischord |
| Past members | Dante Ferrando Mark Haggerty Steve Niles Geoff Turner |
Gray Matter was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., United States, who played in the 1980s and 1990s. They disbanded in 1986, but reformed in 1990 before disbanding again in 1993.
Gray Matter officially formed in the summer of 1983 from the remnants of several Washington, D.C. area punk bands. Geoff Turner, Mark Haggerty and Dante Ferrando had been playing in bands since their early junior high school days. In 1983, Dante and Mark were playing in Iron Cross, but when the band's image began to reflect its violent supporters more than the members themselves, Dante quit. Soon after Mark also left and the two reunited with Geoff and Steve Niles and started playing shows around Washington D.C. as Gray Matter.
The band's first album, Food For Thought, was recorded at Inner Ear studio in November 1984 with Minor Threat's Ian Mackaye assisting with production. It was originally released on R&B Records in 1985, while the members were still in high school. In 1986, Dischord Records released the EP Take It Back. Shortly thereafter, Mark left the band to go to college and Gray Matter broke up. Dante went on to play drums for Ignition and Geoff, Steve, and Mark reunited and formed the band Three, with Jeff Nelson from Minor Threat. Gray Matter reformed in the spring of 1990 and released a double seven inch in 1991 and the full-length, Thog, in 1992. The band officially disbanded in 1993.
Dischord originally re-issued Food For Thought and Take It Back (DIS 49) onto one CD in 1990. [1]
Niles later gained fame for writing horror comic books, in particular 30 Days of Night . Geoff Turner went on to found WGNS recording studios, [2] and Dante Ferrando is the founder and owner of long running D.C. alternative and punk nightclub the Black Cat. [3]
On September 21, 2003, the band reunited for a one off show to celebrate to 10th anniversary of the Black Cat. Subsequently, Gray Matter has performed at the Black Cat's 15th, 20th, [4] 25th, and 30th anniversary shows.
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.
The Black Cat is a nightclub in Washington, D.C., located on 14th Street Northwest in the Shaw/U Street neighborhood. The club was founded in 1993 by former Gray Matter drummer Dante Ferrando, along with a group of investors and quickly established itself as a venue for independent music. While the Black Cat is most known for its support of indie rock, featured musical acts include metal, punk, and electronic, as well as DJ/dance nights.
Scream is an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C.; they originally formed in the suburb of Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia. Scream originally formed in 1981 within the vanguard of the Washington Hardcore explosion. In 2009, the band reunited, and as of January 2012 were on tour in Europe. As of 2017, the band was still touring in both America and the United Kingdom.
Iron Cross was a Oi!/hardcore band from Washington D.C. They played a rough form of Oi! and were the first band in the US to adopt the skinhead look and the Oi! musical style. Some of its members had close ties to the Washington hardcore punk subculture, due to its relationship with other hardcore bands, with Ian Mackaye, and with Dischord Records. Singer Sab Grey was one of the many roommates in the Dischord House in Arlington, Virginia. The band's name, and the fact that most of its members were skinheads, led to accusations of fascism, which Grey and others in the band and the original D.C. skins, always denied, declaring that they "hate Nazis".
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.
Black Eyes is an American post-punk band from Washington, D.C., United States, that initially existed from August 2001 to March 2004, disbanding two months prior to the release of their second album, Cough. The band reunited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled full-length debut, Black Eyes, announcing a 2023 reissue and their first live performances in 19 years. Black Eyes' members are Dan Caldas, Daniel Martin-McCormick, Hugh McElroy, Jacob Long, and Mike Kanin.
Soulside, also spelled Soul Side, is an American post-hardcore band from the greater Washington, D.C. area. The original name of the band was Lunchmeat which was formed by high school students Bobby Sullivan, Chris Thomson, Scott McCloud and Alexis Fleisig in 1985. Lunchmeat played their last show under that name on August 29 of the same year as the group went on hiatus while the members went to college.
Trusty is an American punk band formed in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1989. The band moved from Little Rock to Washington, D.C., in 1992. The group disbanded in early 1998.
Egg Hunt was a one-off band/project of long time friends and musicians Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, former singer and drummer of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, respectively. During a 1986 trip to England's Southern Studios to discuss European distribution of Dischord releases with owner John Loder, the three decided to make a record together, and the project was dubbed "Egg Hunt" for festive reasons. John took a seat in the producer's chair, while Ian and Jeff handled all the instruments.
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.'"
Bloody Mannequin Orchestra were an influential early 1980s punk band from Bethesda, MD. They formed around a small, but active, scene at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and were part of the larger D.C hardcore community. The band members were Colin Sears, Roger Marbury, Alex Mahoney, Sharon Cheslow and Charles Bennington.
Three was a post-hardcore band that released music on Dischord Records. The group was active from summer 1986 until its breakup in early 1988.
New Wet Kojak was an American indie rock band from New York City.
Food for Thought/Take It Back is a compilation album by American post-hardcore band Gray Matter.
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."
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.
The single play record "Me and You", also known as Egg Hunt, and 2 Songs, is the first and only stand-alone release by the American experimental post-hardcore duo Egg Hunt.
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.
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."
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