Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (pronounced /məˈkaɪ/), born April 16, 1962), is an American singer and guitarist. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known as the frontman of the influential hardcore punk and alternative rock bands Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, and The Evens. He is a founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 3456 pixel, file size: 226 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hardcore punk, now commonly known as hardcore, is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... Post-hardcore; this specific genre was created by others as a sourse to relaese the emotion that builds inside, making the music intimate and touching to listeners. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... For the drawing or cutting tool, see Straightedge. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Main article: Emo Emocore (abbreviated from emotional hardcore) was a term that was used most popularly in the 1980s and 1990s to describe a genre of music that was an offshoot of the hardcore music scene. ... Experimental rock or Avant rock is a type of art music based on rock and roll which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, and/or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Mustapick Deep Baritone Guitar The baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Dischord founders Ian Mackaye and Jeff Nelson Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based record label specializing in D.C.-area independent punk, hardcore, and post-hardcore music. ... Fugazi may refer to: an Italian slang term for something that is fake/not authentic. ... Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band that formed in Washington DC in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. ... The Teen Idles were a hardcore punk band that existed only for about fourteen months. ... The Evens are a Washington, D.C. duo, formed in the fall of 2001, comprising partners Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi, formerly of Minor Threat) and Amy Farina (formerly of The Warmers). ... Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. ... Egg Hunt was a small project of long time friends Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson. ... Skewbald/Grand Union (commonly called Skewbald), was a hardcore punk band from the Washington, D.C. area founded by former Minor Threat members Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson. ... Pailhead was a short-lived side-project of the industrial music metal band Ministry, which featured the vocals of Ian MacKaye, formerly of The Teen Idles and Minor Threat, and currently of Fugazi and The Evens. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hardcore punk, now commonly known as hardcore, is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band that formed in Washington DC in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. ... Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. ... Fugazi redirects here. ... The Evens are a Washington, D.C. duo, formed in the fall of 2001, comprising partners Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi, formerly of Minor Threat) and Amy Farina (formerly of The Warmers). ... Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in D.C.-area independent punk, hardcore, and post-hardcore music. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... An independent record label is variously described as a record label operating without the funding (or outside the organizations) of the major record labels, and/or a label that subscribes to indie philosophies such as DIY and anti-corporate art. ...

A key figure in the development of hardcore punk and a staunch promoter of an independent-minded, do it yourself ethic, MacKaye also worked as a recording engineer, and produced releases by 7 Seconds, Nation of Ulysses, Bikini Kill, Rites of Spring, and Rollins Band. Hardcore punk, now commonly known as hardcore, is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... See also: DIY Network, a cable TV network. ... Audio engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with the production of sound through mechanical means. ... 7 Seconds are a hardcore punk band from Reno, Nevada. ... Nation of Ulysses was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C.. The band formed in spring 1988, with four members and known as simply Ulysses, drawing inspiration from MC5s mix of revolutionary rhetoric and rock music. ... Bikini Kill was a punk band of the Riot Grrrl movement formed in Olympia, Washington in October of 1990. ... Rites of Spring was an punk band from Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s known for their energetic, cathartic live performances. ... Rollins Band is a rock music group led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins. ...

Biography

Youth

Ian MacKaye was born in Washington D.C. on April 16, 1962, and grew up in the Glover Park neighborhood of Washington D.C. His father was a writer for the Washington Post, first as a White House reporter, then as a religion specialist; he was also active with the socially progressive St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.^[1] According to MacKaye's longtime friend singer Henry Rollins, MacKaye's parents "raised their kids in a tolerant, super intellectual, open-minded atmosphere."^[2] Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Washington, D.C., with Glover Park highlighted in red 39th Place in Glover Park, Washington, D.C. Glover Park is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., about a half mile north of Georgetown and just west of the Vice Presidents Mansion and the U.S. Naval... ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... Henry Rollins (born February 13, 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer and songwriter, spoken word artist, author, and actor. ... Literati redirects here. ...

MacKaye listened to many types of music, but was especially fond of mainstream hard rock like Ted Nugent and Queen before discovering punk music in 1979^[3] when he saw The Cramps perform at nearby Georgetown University. He was particularly influenced by the Californian hardcore scene. MacKaye looked up to hardcore bands like Bad Brains and Black Flag and was childhood friends with Henry Garfield (who later changed his name to Henry Rollins). Hard Rock redirects here. ... Theodore Ted Nugent (born December 13, 1948) (a. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... The Cramps are a punk rock band originally formed in 1972. ... Georgetown University is a Jesuit private university located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Bishop John Carroll founded the school in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Bad Brains are an American punk rock band, originally formed in Washington, D.C. in 1979 . ... Black Flag was a hardcore punk band formed in 1976 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes. ... Henry Rollins (born February 13, 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer and songwriter, spoken word artist, author, and actor. ...

Early bands

Ian MacKaye's first band consisted of one performance as The Slinkees in the summer of 1979, performing a song titled "I Drink Milk".^[4]

In MacKaye's next project, The Teen Idles, he played bass guitar and sang back up vocals in from 1979-1980, and the short-lived Skewbald/Grand Union (1981-1982). The Teen Idles were a hardcore punk band that existed only for about fourteen months. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Skewbald/Grand Union (commonly called Skewbald), was a hardcore punk band from the Washington, D.C. area founded by former Minor Threat members Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson. ...

His brother Alec MacKaye has also been active in several notable bands. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Minor Threat

After feeling creatively limited in the Teen Idles, MacKaye was determined to be the frontman and primary lyricist for Minor Threat (1980-1983). MacKaye cited the dynamic performance British singer Joe Cocker in the Woodstock motion picture as a major influence on his own animated stage persona.^[5] The Teen Idles and Minor Threat were modestly successful in and around Washington D.C., but would later be cited as two of the earliest and most influential hardcore punk groups, and as pioneers of the straight edge philosophy that rejects alcohol, illicit drug use and casual sex. In his early teens, MacKaye saw the negative effects of drug and alcohol abuse on several close friends and one immediate family member, and he vowed to never use tobacco, drugs or alcohol. Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band that formed in Washington DC in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. ... Joe Cocker OBE (born 20 May 1944) is an English rock/blues singer who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice and his cover versions of popular songs. ... Woodstock (subtitled 3 Days of Peace & Music) is a 1970 documentary on the Woodstock Festival in 1969. ... Hardcore punk, now commonly known as hardcore, is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... For the drawing or cutting tool, see Straightedge. ...

After Minor Threat broke up, MacKaye was active with several relatively short-lived groups, including Embrace (1985-1986) and Egg Hunt (1986). Pailhead (1988), a collaboration between MacKaye and Al Jourgensen of the industrial band Ministry, featured MacKaye on lead vocals. Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. ... Egg Hunt was a small project of long time friends Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson. ... Pailhead was a short-lived side-project of the industrial music metal band Ministry, which featured the vocals of Ian MacKaye, formerly of The Teen Idles and Minor Threat, and currently of Fugazi and The Evens. ... Al Jourgensen (born October 9, 1958 in Havana, Cuba), is an American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. ... Ministry is an influential, Grammy-nominated American industrial metal band founded by frontman Al Jourgensen in 1981. ...

Fugazi

In 1987, MacKaye founded Fugazi. Cited as one of the most important post-hardcore groups, Fugazi were active until 2002 and have since been on indefinite hiatus. Fugazi redirects here. ...

The Evens and future projects

He currently sings and plays baritone guitar in The Evens with drummer and vocalist Amy Farina of the Warmers. The Evens released their self-titled album in early 2005, breaking a four-year silence by MacKaye. Their second album, "Get Evens," was released in November 2006. The Evens are a Washington, D.C. duo, formed in the fall of 2001, comprising partners Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi, formerly of Minor Threat) and Amy Farina (formerly of The Warmers). ... The Warmers were an indie-rock band based in Washington, D.C. that recorded and performed from July of 1994 through December of 1997. ...

Additionally, MacKaye sang lead vocals on a Government Issue demo, one track of which is featured on the 20 Years of Dischord collection. Backing vocals and collaborations -- as, for example, with brother Alec MacKaye's former band Ignition -- are numerous. MacKaye, along with guitarist Sonic Boom (formerly of Spacemen 3), co-wrote the music to the 2003 documentary The Weather Underground. Government Issue (often just GI) were an American straight edge hardcore punk band originating from the Washington DC scene, formed in 1980 and signed to Dischord Records. ... 20 Years of Dischord is a 3 CD box set featuring 73 songs, 6 video clips and a 134 page booklet. ... Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965) is a British musician, more usually known as Sonic Boom. ... Spacemen 3 were an English rock band who formed in 1982 and whose career spanned from the post-punk to acid house eras. ... This article is about the 2004 film. ...

In the fall of 2007, MacKaye was the subject of a death hoax. The false claims were posted on sites such as MySpace and Wikipedia before he was confirmed to be alive and well. [1]

Dischord Records

In 1980, MacKaye co-founded Dischord Records with Jeff Nelson. The label was originally meant only as a means for distributing the Teen Idles 7 inch EP, but over the years it became a very well-established independent record label, as well as a source for a variety of different Washington, D.C. area artists. Today more than 150 titles have been released by Dischord. Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in D.C.-area independent punk, hardcore, and post-hardcore music. ... Jeff Nelson was the drummer for the hardcore punk rock band Minor Threat. ... The Teen Idles were a hardcore punk band that existed only for about fourteen months. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ...

Campaigning and activism

MacKaye refused to advertise in mainstream or corporate media, has rarely performed at events where admission was more than $5-$10, and consistently promoted anti-war and civil rights causes alongside his music. He regularly attended left-wing organized protests and events, working closely with the Positive Force collective in Washington D.C.^[6] Corporate media is a term used by some political progressives which refers to a system of media production, distribution, ownership, and funding which is dominated by corporations, and is governed by the capitalist imperatives of maximizing profits for the investors, stockholders, and advertisers. ... Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... Positive Force DC is an activist organization founded in 1985 by members of the punk community in Washington, D.C. It has organized hundreds of benefit concerts for community and activist groups, and worked alongside Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Nation of Ulysses, Girls Against Boys, Q and Not U and other...

MacKaye has also been known for his stance against concert violence and his confrontations with moshers, crowd surfers, and people who start fights at shows. This is especially true of his days with Fugazi. When people became belligerent or violent at a Fugazi show, the band would stop playing (sometimes right in the middle of a song) and MacKaye would tell them to stop. If those people continued their behavior, he would give them their money back and kick them out.^[7] Because of this, MacKaye gained a reputation as a killjoy with some fans, and a misconception that he was against all dancing surfaced. MacKaye has said on numerous occasions that he has no problem with dancing but he simply does not feel comfortable letting people get hurt at his shows, and he wants to make sure everyone can have a good time. Fugazi may refer to: an Italian slang term for something that is fake/not authentic. ...

MacKaye recently assisted in the investigation of the Kent State shootings when he helped clean up a field recording made by a Kent State student who recorded audio of the incident on a reel-to-reel tape machine from his dormitory windowsill. According to Alan Canfora, a Kent State student who was injured in the wrist that day by a gunshot, a voice can be heard on the tape yelling, "Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!" before there is the 13-second volley of gunfire.^[8][9] John Filos iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio, a fourteen-year-old runaway, kneeling over the dead body of Jeffrey Miller after he was shot by the National Guard. ...

Straight edge philosophy

Main article: Straight edge

The song "Straight Edge" was written by MacKaye for his band, Minor Threat, and was released in 1981 on Minor Threat's self-titled EP. It was a song that described his personal life free of the "drugs" and the self-destructive idea of "sex as a conquest" which served as a part of the "sex, drugs and rock'n roll" banner originating as a rebellion in the 1960s - smoking, drinking, and drug use - to what wasn't socially tolerated previously. It began to influence youth culture as Minor Threat gained popularity through numerous live shows and through sales of the song on their EP. Although to MacKaye the song did not represent a philosophy or a movement, over time people adopted the philosophy of the song and many bands began to label themselves straight edge, founding the straight edge movement. Although straight edge is not explicitly supportive of vegetarianism, MacKaye has stated that he is a vegetarian because he feels it's a logical progression from his view of straight edge.^[2] For the drawing or cutting tool, see Straightedge. ... Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band that formed in Washington DC in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. ... Look up rebellion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The cigarette is the most common method of smoking tobacco. ... A lion drinking Cygnus olor (mute swan) drinking Drinking is the act of consuming a liquid through the mouth. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... For the drawing or cutting tool, see Straightedge. ... A variety of vegetarian food ingredients Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products. ...

Although "Straight Edge" gets the most attention, MacKaye wrote other songs with Minor Threat describing his clean lifestyle as well, most notably "Out of Step (With the World)," in which he said "I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't fuck. At least I can fucking think." "In My Eyes" is also at least partially about his philosophies, with lines such as "You tell me it calms your nerves; you just think it looks cool."

Works

Filmography

Mackaye was in the documentary films, "Another State of Mind", Instrument, Dogtown and Z-Boys, D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist, Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl, American Hardcore, We Jam Econo and the K Records documentary, The Shield Around the K. Mackaye is also featured in professional skateboarder Mike Vallely's film Drive. Instrument is a documentary film by Jem Cohen about the band Fugazi. ... Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) is a documentary about the history of skateboarding. ... American Hardcore is a documentary directed by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. ... We Jam Econo - The Story Of The Minutemen, is a full-length documentary on the popular 1980s punk rock band The Minutemen, created by director Tim Irwin and producer Keith Schieron in association with Rocket Fuel Films. ... K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and, at present, in the band Dub Narcotic Sound System. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ...

Books

The Idealist, Glen E. Friedman (with Ian MacKaye contribution), Burning Flags Press, 1998, updated 2004, ISBN 0-9641916-5-2. He also wrote a foreword for indie-punk band photographer Pat Graham's photobook Silent Pictures. MacKaye also features in the Friedman book "Keep Your Eyes Open" (ISBN 09641916-8-7), a collection of Fugazi photos taken by Friedman over the course of the band's career. Glen E. Friedman (born 1962) is an American photographer and artist. ... Pat Graham is an American photographer specializing in indie-punk bands, with whom he often tours. ...

Notes and references

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

External links

• Dischord Records
• Interview at The Land Salmon
• Interview: Ian MacKaye from Downhill Battle