Last Updated on 05/12/2020
Washington, D.C.’s duality will always offer itself as a petri dish for great ideas. Although it might be relatively small compared to the likes of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, it may potentially have the most spirit of any American city, being the site for so many inspirational moments of history. That being said, living in a city previously referred to as the ‘murder capital’ of America also comes with the real threat of dealing with drug-related violence and moral corruption. What results is both the creation of a young, street smart, tuned-in tribe always on the lookout for something new and an urban blight that allows for live music to flourish.
This was exactly the situation in the early 80s which allowed for punk, an aged genre at the time, to evolve into something new. In the nation’s capital, it found the perfect host with a pocket of smart D.C. kids willing to turn up its tempo and intensity. Here are five bands hailing from the US capital that had the largest impact on hardcore punk.
5. State of Alert.
What’s more DIY than deciding to go skint in order to bankroll the recording of your first EP? This is the decision that frontman Henry Garfield took, desperate to get his band State of Alert onto the emerging hardcore scene as fast as possible. Forming in October 1980, it comprised of Henry on vocals, Michael Hampton on guitar, Wendel Blow on bass and Simon Jacobsen on drums, before Simon was later replaced by Ivor Hanson. If all that D.C. is known for is its government buildings, these guys couldn’t have been more D.C. if they tried, actually needing to be let into their rehearsal room by Secret Service agents. Ivor had a dad in the US Navy, so practice took place in the Naval Observatory. S.O.A. may have been short lived, playing a whopping total of nine gigs and each gig may have only lasted between 11 to 14 minutes, but the band were just the second to release an EP on the first independent hardcore label, Dischord Records, and in turn had a profound impact on the type of noise to come out of the scene. Yes, all the songs on No Policy (1980) sound pretty similar, and the EP is shorter in time than your average prog rock song, but THAT’S THE POINT. And, you know what, the music still holds up today. Henry’s vocals are mean and juiced with energy, the drumming is tight throughout, and you just know that the distortion of Wendel’s bass on stuff like “Riot” would have just ripped your face off live. Riffs on “Gonna Have To Fight” to name just one song are also ear bleeding.
So, what’s sonically not to like? Black Flag liked the band so much that a few days after they saw S.O.A. live they stole their singer. Henry Garfield would jump into the Californian band’s tour van and for the rest of time would make his fame under a new name, Henry Rollins. Don’t feel too upset for the others though. Michael and Ivor would go onto form The Faith in 1981 with Alec MacKaye, a band which Thuston Moore of Sonic Youth calls “the most core of hardcore”, and then later Embrace with Ian MacKaye, an excellent post-hardcore band. Wendel on the other hand would join Iron Cross, another great hardcore band. All worth a listen if you enjoy S.O.A., and worth a listen even if you don’t.
4. Chalk Circle.
As its sound was so loud and new, it’s so easy to forget that the main voices of the hardcore genre were juvinile male teenagers with naive perspectives of what gender inclusivity looked like. That is why Chalk Circle, made up mainly of guitarist and vocalist Sharon Cheslow, drummer Anne Bonafede and guitarist Mary Green, are such an important and incredibly undervalued part of the D.C. hardcore narrative. Their presence as D.C.’s first all-female punk band served as an invaluable reminder that hardcore’s true purpose was to develop new, energising music that was anarchic, exciting and anti-establishment. It wasn’t to perform for violent, ‘straight-edge’ crowds, which by the mid eighties had ironically formed their own patriarchal order. Largely thanks to Chalk Circle and female figures like Monica Richards and Amy Pickering, other hardcore bands caught on and decided to eventually force the crowd’s hand. As a result, Washington, D.C.’s Summer of 1985 is now known as ‘Revolution Summer’. The bands attached to the movement were largely made up of the usual suspects from before, but this time they were older, smarter, more mature. Their transformed sound challenged audiences, opened up crowds to new realisations and essentially became incredibly healing, live therapy. As a Guardian article writes: “the speed, and the passion remained, but all shred of machismo was excised, replaced by startling melody, stark expressions of vulnerability and lyrics that reached for the existential”. There was a political awakening too, with 1985 seeing D.C. bands spreading awareness for many important local issues. Information about the AIDS virus was widely distributed and benefit gigs were set up in aid of the homeless. If you want to hear from this slice of history, put on some Rites of Spring, Beefeater or Fire Party.
But listen to Chalk Circle first. On Reflection (2011), a twelve-song collection of early 1980s studio recordings, illustrates beautifully their raw, rhythmic sound that is as energetic, pulsating and percussive as anything to come out of the hardcore scene, especially with regards to tracks likes “The Slap” and “Scrambled”. There is variety on the album too, with other good post-punk tracks, such as “Reflection” and “The Look”. Mary’s lyrics are so stirring that it is no wonder that their act formed an embryonic model for the vitally influential riot grrl movement that later graced America.
3. Scream.
Forming in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia, a few miles out of D.C., Scream were always a tad detached from the rest of the capital’s hardcore scene. But that didn’t necessarily burden them. Instead, rather than break up after a few gigs like most bands in the circuit, they’d be the first on the Dischord record label to release a full album, and the first from the scene to tour abroad, going for a full nine years before breaking up. They were also able to evolve their sound more successfully than other bands, playing hardcore to begin with, but then taking inspiration from the likes of Parliament-Funkadelic and Johnny Cash to venture into different directions. Although the band was originally founded by vocalist Peter Stahl, guitarist Franz Stahl, bassist Skeeter Thompson and drummer Kent Stax, metal guitarist Robert Davidson would also join the ranks to give their live presence more bite. It pissed off the self-righteous members of the crowd who thought it was very un-punk, but if anything their annoyance would spur the band on even more.
Each of Scream’s albums contain hits so fast and tight that you will assume the first time listening to them that you had your playback speed on x2; I had to check twice. The title of Still Screaming’s (1983) opening track, “Came Without Warning”, is prophetic of both the amount of time you will unexpectedly spend listening to Scream’s first LP and also of the noise complaint posted by neighbours not wanting to become partially deaf. This Side Up (1985) and Banging The Drum (1986), Scream’s following two albums, are equally as menacing, mainly thanks to Kent being one of the best drummers on the scene. His departure, however, was not too upsetting because, as luck would have it, he’d be replaced by the person who most would consider to be the best punk drummer of all time. That’s right, Scream were the ones who would introduce the world to a seventeen year old Dave Grohl before he’d shoot off to stardom with Nirvana.
2. Minor Threat.
No one had a greater role in ensuring the longevity of D.C. hardcore than Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson. Both just 18 years old, together they co-founded Dischord Records as a way of releasing Minor Disturbance (1980), an EP they were working on with The Teen Idles. However, what they didn’t realise at the time was that their crafty, DIY approach to getting their own music released would quickly lead to others thinking they could do the same. Right away the hardcore dream became a reality and, with next to no business experience, the two would find themselves releasing records for the rest of the city. They cut, folded and assembled the records themselves and sold them at a cut price. There was never a suggestion that it ought to be a profit-making scheme, it was just done for the love of making music. Nor were Ian and Jeff the types to take a seat and simply gaze at bands from the sidelines. During the early eighties, Ian was foremost the frontman and lyricist for Minor Threat, with Jeff on drums, Brian Baker on bass and Lyle Preslar on guitar. Minor Threat (1981) and In My Eyes (1981) were the band’s first two EPs and, although it is also true that the song “Straight Edge” unwantingly led to the creation of a disdainful, snobbish and hyper-masculine philosophy amongst some teenagers, the group’s gritty, up-tempo sound still holds up brilliantly today and shouldn’t be criticised because of the actions of some d*ckheads. Nothing captures teenage angst and experience better than their eponymous hit “Minor Threat.”
To the band’s credit, they never wanted the scene to grow out of control and when they saw it becoming too violent, they checked out. Before calling it a day, however, there was still time to release Out of Step (1983), their only album. Bringing in Steven Hangsen onto the recording, today the album is hailed as one of the most important and influential pieces of punk music, helping to shape the future of genres such as grunge and thrash metal as well as, of course, post-hardcore. Although it stayed true to the hardcore sound, it was more melodic than anything that Minor Threat had previously released, containing greater complexities in its instrumentation, and focusing lyrically much more on Ian’s introspective thoughts. The final product was a release very much stamped with a D.C. imprint, yet something that would end up being fully appreciated by the rest of the world. Only Salad Days (1985), an EP released two years after Minor Threat’s break-up, could be considered more iconic, offering that bridge between the Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and the Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, another awesome project, but one we’ll talk about another time.
1. Bad Brains.
So, which D.C. hardcore band was more important to the movement than the one which enabled the scene to blossom throughout the eighties? The pioneers, of course, which means that we have to talk about Bad Brains. Although they didn’t stay in D.C. for long, it is seriously no exaggeration that every single hardcore band mentioned thus far was majory influenced by the fast-fingered four-piece, comprising of H.R. on vocals, his brother Earl Hudson on drums, Dr. Know on guitar and Darryl Jenifer on bass. Originally a talented jazz fusion band called Mind Power, they instantly became fixated with punk after becoming turned onto the likes of the Dickies and Sex Pistols. Their rejuvenated sound was so brutal and unexpected that D.C. venue managers were terrified of letting them play. Before long, Bad Brains would quickly find themselves blacklisted from most of the capital’s clubs, leading to an eventual relocation to New York City in 1981. By then, however, it was too late. The D.C. hardcore revolution had begun.
Listening to their eponymous album Bad Brains (1982), you can hear right away just how much of a cut above the rest they were in terms of ability. The album art BEAUTIFULLY captures the electricity that surges throughout its song selection. Let’s start with “Banned In D.C.” and the thunderous drum roll which makes way for H.R.’s feral screeching. If you’re not familiar with Bad Brains, it’s truly something that you’ll have never heard before no matter how heavy your music taste. H.R.’s vocals are also complemented with Dr. Know’s outrageous riffing and an equally as emotional guitar solo. Who knew that solos and punk would mix! Hits with similar intensity are “Sailin’ On”, making use of effective backing vocals, “Don’t Need It” and “Pay To Cum”, but I could quite easily list the whole album. It’s just so quick and cool. Even if you’re not into hardcore, Bad Brains have got you covered with smooth, easy to listen to reggae tracks like “Jah Calling” and “I And I Survive”. They just go to show how big a range H.R. had. Bad Brains’ second album I Against I (1986) is another must listen with the album’s eponymous track being credited as one of their best. This is at least the view of Denzel Curry who’s own version can be listened to on spotify. Also, wonder why the vocals on “Sacred Love” sound so distorted? That’s H.R. singing over the phone from prison. Now that’s dedication.
Make your own mind up on whether you dig our suggestions by listening to our playlist below.
