Ian MacKaye
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
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| Homebase | Washington, D.C. |
| Born | April 16, 1962 |
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Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye, 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 and Fugazi, and The Evens. He is a founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label.
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.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] 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. According to MacKaye's longtime friend singer Henry Rollins, MacKaye's parents "raised their kids in a tolerant, super intellectual, open-minded atmosphere."
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 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).
[edit] 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".
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).
[edit] 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. 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 casual drinking and drug use. 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.
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.
[edit] Fugazi
In 1987, MacKaye founded Fugazi. Cited as one of the most important post-hardcore groups, Fugazi were active until 2002.
[edit] The Evens and future projects
He currently sings and plays baritone guitar in The Evens with the 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.
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".
[edit] Dischord Records
In 1980, MacKaye co-founded Dischord Records. 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.
