Music
John Davis, Harris Klahr, Christopher Richards, and Matt Borlik formed Q and Not U in the summer of 1998 and began playing shows in the D.C. area later that November. They released their first album, No Kill No Beep Beep , in late 2000. It was marked by strongly rhythmic compositions with dissonant guitar and bass, though each song was built around unique melodies and danceable beats that cut through and rode on top of the swells of noise. Several reviewers described the music as "catchy", and this quality of oblique yet upbeat and endearing musicality would be a trademark of the band's future work, setting them apart from their aurally less forgiving D.C. hardcore peers and bringing them more into line with the budding dance-punk scene. [1]
Following extensive touring in 2000 and 2001, alongside bands like Engine Down, Milemarker, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, and El Guapo, bassist Borlik was dismissed in November 2001. His absence prompted a more slimmed-down sound as reflected in 2002's Different Damage . Guitarist Richards occasionally took a turn on bass guitar or keyboard and Klahr also incorporated keyboards, as well as a baritone guitar, though they left bass instruments out of some songs altogether, and the album is instead driven by ever-more complex and propulsive dance beats, razor sharp guitar licks ("So Many Animal Calls", "When the Lines Go Down"), and pronounced use of multiple overlapping vocals from each member of the band ("Snow Patterns", "No Damage Nocturne"). The album also expanded upon the small patches of hushed tapping cultivated on No Kill... ("We Heart Our Hive") into fully grown bodies of delicate rhythm ("Soft Pyramids"). The band toured extensively following the release, making their way through the U.S., Europe, South Africa, Canada, and Japan.
While Different Damage pulled a lot of sound out of very little equipment, the band put together Power (2004) using a greater variety of instruments, most notably synths, melodicas and recorders and integrated these new sounds into more delicate, multi-faceted, and ever-more variegated songs. The use of guttural and aggressive bass synth rafts on "Wonderful People" and other songs is especially prominent and adds greater depth to the songs, as well as giving heightened value to the bass-less, jangly interludes throughout the album. The tensed and urgent vocal delivery that had been part of each previous release was also pushed to new limits, now developing into falsetto ("Throw Back Your Head") and startling choral arrangements ("District Night Prayer") that had been previously unexplored.
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.
Lungfish is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Baltimore, Maryland. All of their music has been released by the Washington, D.C. punk label Dischord, except for their first album.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Different Damage is a Q and Not U album that was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in May/June 2002 and released in October 2002 on Dischord Records. It was engineered and produced by Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara and mastered by Chad Clark at Silver Sonya. The front cover and insert photography was taken by Shawn Brackbill in the accident inspection bay at the Geico headquarters in NW Washington, D.C. The back cover was shot by Brackbill at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. Different Damage was the band's first full-length album as a trio, following the dismissal of bassist Matt Borlik in November 2001.
On Play Patterns is a Q and Not U EP that was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in January 2002 and released on Dischord Records in April 2002 on both CD and 7" formats. It was produced and engineered by Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara. Cover art photography was taken by Shawn Brackbill at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. "Soft Pyramids" was re-recorded for Different Damage, the full-length album that followed in the fall of 2002. It is often mistakenly thought that "Ten Thousand Animal Calls" was re-recorded for Different Damage as well, under the title "So Many Animal Calls." However, "So Many Animal Calls" is merely a "lyrical sequel" and the music is wholly different from "Ten Thousand Animal Calls." On Play Patterns was the first release for Q And Not U in its trio formation, following the dismissal of bassist Matt Borlik. As a result, there is no bass guitar on this recording, although the band did use bass guitar on future recordings.
Georgie James was an American indie pop/rock group from Washington D.C. composed of John Davis and Laura Burhenn.
Void was an American hardcore punk band formed in Columbia, Maryland, in 1980. The group was a pioneering force in the thriving Washington, D.C., hardcore scene during the early 1980s, successfully combining elements of punk with heavy metal in a style that was accepted by the scene's otherwise exclusive community. Void's punk metal fusion sound was marked by guitarist Bubba Dupree's innovative guitar work and the "unhinged" vocals of John Weiffenbach, which resonated in the band's chaotic but popular live performances. Like many of their contemporaries, Void had a short-lived recording career, limited to the split album Faith/Void Split with the Faith on Dischord Records. However, they have enjoyed an enduring cult following among hardcore aficionados.
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".
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.'"
Title Tracks is an American power pop/indie rock solo project from Washington, D.C.-based musician John Davis.
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."
Tone is an instrumental post-rock band that formed in Washington, DC, in 1991. The group creates dynamic instrumental music using multiple electric guitars. While its two founding members, guitarist Norm Veenstra and drummer Gregg Hudson, have remained constant through most of the group’s history, Tone has also included former, current, or future members of Government Issue, Edsel, Pitchblende, Velocity Girl, Thud, Teen Idles, Unrest, Wharton Tiers Ensemble, Strange Boutique, Caligari, Smart Went Crazy, Raymi, and Night Streets. Veenstra has stated in interviews that the band would never have fewer than three guitarists.
The Most Secret Method was an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1995. Combining styles from groups of the first wave of punk with newer indie rock influences, the band was a major part of the vanguard which represented the D.C. music scene's new direction in the aftermath of the Revolution Summer movement. In addition to their music, the Most Secret Method developed a signature visual art style on their concert posters and 1998 album, Get Lovely, thanks to drums player Ryan Nelson.
The Capitol City Dusters were an American post -hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1996. The group's 1998 debut album combined elements of the hardcore punk movement in D.C., as well as sentiments reminiscent of the first wave of punk music. In 2002, after a brief hiatus, the band released a second full-length, Rock Creek.
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."
