Madrid, octubre de 2005:

En 1977, Gran Bretaña puso en el mercado el punk. Una música estrepitosa y una estética afilada más que inspiradas en las salvajadas que cometieron a finales de los 70 grupos como MC5 e Iggy Pop y sus Stooges desde Detroit y, más tarde, los New York Dolls y los Ramones en Nueva York. El punk, ese punk, convirtió el desparrame en una forma de vida y hasta en una manera de hacer política y sacudió los cimientos de la cosa musical para luego dejarla más o menos como estaba.

En 1979, un adolescente volvió de California a su ciudad, Washington DC. Trastocado por el rabioso sonido que carcomía el planeta, montó su primer grupo, The Teen Idles, y, un año después, se juntó con otros amigos bajo el nombre de Minor Threat. Ian MacKaye inició de esa forma una carrera que igual no ha cambiado el curso de la música pero que seguro ha transformado las vidas de muchos músicos y, lo que es más importante, de numerosas personas. Ian se hizo punk pero decidió hacerlo a su manera. Frente al abuso politoxicómano y la revolución de barra de bar, MacKaye fundó sin querer un movimiento poco conocido pero muy influyente. El straight edge proponía olvidarse del alcohol y las drogas y centrar toda la energía en la acción: música, movimiento asociativo, revolución. Por eso, quizás, Ian MacKaye ha tenido tiempo para tener su propio sello, Dischord, aún hoy activo y con una coherencia a prueba de súper ventas, y de militar en bandas como Embrace, Pailhead y, sobre todo, Fugazi. Este último nombre es el que ha hecho famoso a Ian en todo el mundo. Un nombre y un grupo asociados a música intensa pero abstracta, a ruido furioso pero intelectual, a éxito de ventas pero manteniendo los principios: discos a diez dólares, conciertos a cinco y entrevistas sólo para fanzines.

En 2005, en la sala Moby Dick de Madrid, Ian MacKaye  presenta Mt. Pleasant Isn't, la siguiente canción del concierto de su nuevo proyecto, The Evens. "Para mí punk es que estemos todos aquí juntos, punk es poder hacer música y venir a España a compartirla, punk es estar en comunidad". Y, efectivamente, fue punk haber estado allí, aunque pudiera no parecerlo. The Evens son un grupo de dos, Ian tocando una guitarra barítono, de sonido más grave que una semiacústica normal, y Amy Farina, que estuvo en un grupo llamado The Warmers, a las baquetas de una batería casi sin elementos de la que saca ritmos primitivos pero capaces de llenar un anfiteatro romano. Suenan sin pasar por la mesa de mezclas, sólo el ruido que sale del ampli de Ian y de la batería de Amy. Por eso piden a la gente silencio. Y en silencio disfrutamos de un concierto único: punk acústico, canciones que recuerdan a las últimas de Minor Threat y a las primeras de Fugazi, simples y a la vez muy complejas. Intensas. Al acabar, ellos mismos recogen sus cosas, venden discos a pie de escenario y se van. Nosotros también. Salimos de un concierto punk, pero no tenemos ganas de destrozar papeleras, sino de reciclar papel. Ya ves.

El mundo, hoy:

Obviamente, este texto es antiguo. Tiene tres años y pico. Los que hacen del concierto de The Evens en Moby Dick. Fue escrito para una revistita que editaba la librería Mairea. Pero nunca fue publicado. Quizás por eso lo saco del cajón. O, más bien, porque me apetece. Porque creo que es el momento. Porque ayer, hablando con Ángel, un amigo metido en lo más profundo de lo financiero, le escuché decir que era el fin. Que el capitalismo, este capitalismo, se había acabado. Y que ojalá fuese para bien y que hubiese un cambio de valores.

El asunto es serio y da para mucho. No sé si me apetece ponerme a pensar y escribir sobre él un sábado lluvioso como hoy. Sólo diré que siento hace tiempo que la sociedad de consumo es un asco. Que vivimos engañados por el brillo de la satisfacción inmediata. Y que nuestra continua búsqueda del placer (o beneficio) a corto plazo sin mirar al largo o el medio no sólo acelera nuestra muerte, sino que hace nuestra vida más vacía. Yo, que no soy muy viejo, aún recuerdo tiempos en los que no todo estaba en venta, la honradez era una virtud y no una estupidez y a la gente se la valoraba por lo que era y no porque lo que cobraba. O quizás no son recuerdos sino enseñanzas de mis padres. Da igual. El caso es que ojalá lleve Ángel razón y vuelvan esos tiempos. O incluso unos mejores. No sé. No lo creo. No parece que los codiciosos hayan aprendido ninguna lección.

Claro que ésos cabrones nunca han escuchado a Minor Threat, ni a Fugazi, ni a The Evens. Si no, seguramente no harían lo que hacen ni se dedicarían a lo que se dedican. Este verano conocí en Jordania a Angelo, un romano romanista que me contó que la izquierda, la verdadera izquierda italiana, ya pasaba de las elecciones y de la gran política. Que ellos en Italia se dedicaban al trabajo comunitario. A ayudar, proteger y desarrollar sus barrios. Eso es lo que lleva años haciendo y cantando Ian MacKaye. Y eso es lo que deberíamos ponernos a hacer todos si queremos sobrevivir con dignidad.

No soy yo de adorar ídolos ni de pedir autógrafos. Pero hay que reconocer la coherencia y el compromiso cuando se ven. Y, últimamente, no son cosas que hayan asomado mucho. Por eso creo que hay que tragarse el orgullo, dejar de ser los más listos y señalar a tipos como Ian MacKaye (o como Angelo). La que hemos liado sólo se soluciona cambiando. Empezando a construir las cosas para que se sostengan; sin pensar en ventas ni rentabilidades; considerando como único beneficio el que hacemos a la comunidad y, por tanto, a nosotros mismos. Repito, ojalá lleve razón mi amigo Ángel y estemos ante un cambio de valores. Tampoco es tan difícil. Basta con observar lo que lleva tiempo haciendo gente como Ian MacKaye y dejar de tener en portada a Pete Doherty.

Konzert mit Joe Lally (Fugazi – Bassist goes solo / USA) Danach: FOR THE DEAF (Indie / Noise, etc)

Datum: FR., 24.10.2008

Einlass: 20 Uhr

Beginn: 21 Uhr

Ort: White Rabbit; Leopoldring 1-3; 79098 Freiburg

Veranstalter: d&o concerts

Preis: VVK: 8€ (plus Gebühren) über www.reservix.de, BZ-Karten-Service, Flight 13 / AK: 10€

Seitdem seine Hauptband FUGAZI auf Eis liegt, hat Joe Lally an 2 Alben gearbeitet, die vor allem die ruhige und introspektive Seite des Ausnahme-Bassisten, der von 1987 - 2003 bedeutendes Mitglied bei Fugazi war, beleuchtet. Gefühlvolle, intensive Songs, nicht zwangsläufig geradlinig, weil voller Emotionen – das ist der Inhalt von seiner Songs an dem einige prominente Freunde wie beispielsweise Eddie Janny (Rites Of Spring), Ricardo Lagomasino (Capillary Action), Ian MacKaye und Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) oder Devin Ocampo (Medications) beteiligt sind. Im White Rabbit wird Joe Lally mit Band zu Gast sein.

FOR THE DEAF: Hier eine kurze Selbstbeschreiburg:

Die Wurzeln der Veranstaltung bzw. die Musikausrichtung wurde damals durch vier Bands geprägt:

Fugazi, Pixies, Wipers und den Sonic Youth.

Nur konnte man dieses Genre kaum auf einer DJ-Veranstaltung in Freiburg hören. So fing vor zwei Jahren alles an. Seitdem hat sich auch nix groß geändert, wobei der Stoner-Rock bei jeder Veranstaltung ein wesentlicher Bestandteil ist.

Es muss brummen, am besten mit basslastigem Minimalismus. Einmal pro Monat findet For The Deaf im White Rabbit statt.

LINKS:

www.joelally.com

www.myspace.com/josephlally

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=mvCPKxOSJ6A&feature=related (Joe Lally – Day Is Born)

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zc9LuqO1ZI&feature=related (Interview mit Joe Lally)

EARWAX at RAM:
In partnership with Saturation 2008

Live Multi-disciplinary music and visual projection. EARWAX is not just a concert series, it's the ultimate bootleg mix: a curated collection of artists, dancers, performers, and, musicians to create a musical tableau that could only happen in a museum. Live VJs mix video accompaniment, and performance artists round out the night.

FRIDAY, OCT. 17TH

Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound
Tim Cosner (of Circuit Scarecrow)
Performances by UCR Gluck Fellows
Doors at 7pm, Starts at 7:30pm $5 Admission

-----------------------------------------------------

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19TH
Q and A WITH IAN MACKAYE Riverside Art Museum's Members Gallery
Doors at 7pm, Starts at 7:30pm $5 Admission

Q and A with Ian MacKaye will be presented in RAM's Members Gallery in partnership with the Saturation Art  and Music Festival: a six-day DIY event in downtown Riverside dedicated to live music, visual art, performance, film and workshops.

MacKaye is best known as the front man of the influential hardcore punk and alternative rock bands Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, and The Evens. He also co-founded and co-owns the Washington, D.C.-based independent record label, Dischord Records, now in its 28th year of operation.

Ever challenging convention, MacKaye has continued to develop an ethic that holds to a staunchly independent, do it yourself (DIY) mindset, refusing to cater to or advertise in mainstream corporate media, and performing only in venues that welcome all-ages and keeping ticket prices under $10.

Using only an open, impromptu Q&A setting, MacKaye hopes to join the audience in a 'public interview' in which the topics, direction, and depth of the conversation will be driven by collaborative exchange. After all, art requires transmission as well as reception to 'work', so this might be considered a joint-painting or a co-sculpture or a group-poem. Mostly, we hope it will be an interesting experience and a pleasant way to spend an evening.

Saturation Festival encourages collaboration between artists, musicians, and the audience, through the bridging of performance and visual arts. This vision is shared by RAM's mission to promote an appreciation of the arts by presenting quality exhibitions and community educational programs for the cultural enrichment of the region.

There will be no advanced ticket sales. $5 admission at the doors will start at 7pm. The event will start promptly at 7:30pm. This event is expected to sell out so arrive early for available seating.

Thanks to Lee Tusman, Micah Carlson, Daniel Foster, and all the RAM Staff for their hard work. And stay tuned for more announcements, artist interviews, and the complete schedule of events, coming soon...

Love,
Cats Alliance

First up is a young looking Ian MacKaye talking about stuff.

Next up, is Jello Biafra winding up Jools Holland, whilst wearing a great pair of aviators. Holland comes across as a right cock (unsuprisingly).

And finally, here is Henry Rollins, being Henry Rollins.

"Take your time/Try not to forget
We never will/We're just a minor threat"

From Mean Magazine

When I get new computer in expect a review of the antelope album i got off the site.

Fucked Up

Got Ambushed

Zipped In

---------------------

I spent it all

Fuck it

Living in the Washington DC area for close to 5 years made me feel completely insane more often than not, and it wasn't the good kind of insane.  Stab-out-your-eyeballs-with-sharp-instruments insane. Counting-the-days-til'-death insane. I would take sad photos of the various bridges that lead out of the area and adorn them with paper cutouts of disturbing messages about escape. I never played dead so much in one place.

But DC also gave me many important things that shaped my life tremendously. I can attribute my Straight Edge teenage years to a movement that largely began in Washington DC. I can thank bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Fugazi and Dag Nasty for contributing their art to my upbringing as well as the musical upbringing of many other bands I love who draw their influence. But when people talk about DC music, they usually leave out one of the most important bands to come from the depths of DC's sterile archetecture - Slant 6.

I learned about bands like Bikini Kill and Huggy Bear in high school, and was desperate to find more girl-oriented bands with a sound and message that I liked. I would save up lunch money for weeks to go tape shopping. And when I really liked an album I would disappear for hours and walk up and down the railroad tracks, soaking in it, wrapping it around me like a million blankets. My 15 year old mind was completely blown by the sounds pouring into my ears from women with guitars, basses, drums, and other instruments.

And when I found Slant 6, I was hooked.

I remember walking into Vintage Vinyl and being discouraged because I couldn't find the tape on the shelves. My friend Jess coaxed me to ask the guy behind the counter, but I was nervous. This felt like Boys Territory, and this was a band I didn't know yet. But eventually I asked, and the guy handed me the album Inzombia.

When we got back into Jess's car, I secured the headphones of my portable cassette player to my ears and popped in the tape. I was completely floored. Who were these girls? Who has a voice that amazing? How can a song be so simple yet so complex? How can these 6 chords played with that dissonance make me so angry while listening to a voice that beautiful? Holy shit.

I drove home from work last night listening to Inzombia. And I was stuck in traffic when the last song ended, so I put on their first album, Soda Pop Rip Off. I learned about this album over a year after I learned of Inzombia in 1995. 

Slant 6 is no longer together, but the members have all made amazing music with other bands since (see Quixotic and The Casual Dots). I can think of a lot of bands that have done amazing things for me in terms of inspiring me to be in my own bands, inspiring me to kick a lot of ass, and inspiring me to walk or drive aimlessly for hours and do nothing but soak up their amazingness.... bands with staying power. Slant 6 is one of those bands, as simple and overlooked as they are. They will always be alive and well in my music collection.

All Dischord releases are now available in DRM free High quality mp3 format.  They system they have set up is pretty cool , with their "Digital Credits" kinda like batting cage tokens. Also all vinyl bought after May 1st, 2008 will be issued a free digital download, as will all future vinyl releases.

Stop by and check out the download store.

But what on Earth is it, I hear you ask?

For those of you that are unaware of what I'm talking about NaNoWriMo is a online creative writing challenge. Every year you have to write a novel of 50,000 words in November. A couple of years ago I decided to participate with an interesting little story called 'The Whitehall Vampire' which was based around the idea of a puritan detective investigating a series of brutal murders at the court of Charles II .

In fact it was that which started off the whole novel writing process for me. I just loved the idea of plunging into writing a novel and since I always said I was going to write one the time had come to put up or shut up. I never managed to finish my story in the right timescale (in fact I'm still kind of working on it), but I liked the story so much I carried on.

This year I've got a couple of really good ideas that I would like to explore and I really want to do this to prove to myself that I can do it and I want to work on something other than 'Dischord' . Not that I don't love my novel (which I'm not ashamed to say I do!) but I suspect a bit of a change might do me some good frankly. 'Dischord' has mutated into a bit of a 180,000 word monster which is so NOT what it was originally intended to be.

I've got a while before the challenge starts in November so I've got time to decide which story to tell and time to do research, if I need to. I also thought if I make the decision to enter for it now then I can't back out if everyone knows about it,can I?

This is where you guys come in. I'm thinking about getting sponsored possibly, I haven't decided yet. Any encouragement and comments will be welcome. This is a bit of a step into the unknown and I hope that this year I can achieve my writing goal. It might make me more motivated at work now that I have something I enjoy to work on and look forward to rather than feeling like all I do is go to work, come home and fall into bed in order to do the same thing hours later!

I feel quite stoked about it. After all, I've got the equipment I need now I've invested in my laptop, I've been finding it easier than ever writing the novel using MS Word 2007 and it should be exciting! If I manage to do it , I will feel as if I've done something worthwhile for me and that's what's important.

Scartabellando l’archivio baronale ho notato una grave mancanza storica e culturale; ci siamo completamente dimenticati dell’hardcore punk anni ’80 (alcuni direbbero dell’hardcore e basta).Dal nostro punto di vista non ci si può limitare a trattare esclusivamente le ultime derivazioni di un genere che anche in passato è stato capace di distruggere barriere e di creare vie “indipendenti” allo sviluppo di idee musicali originali e fuori schema.

Di quella stupenda stagione sono tanti gli alfieri che ancora oggi vengono giustamente incensati, basti pensare a Bad Brains, Black Flag, Misfits, Dead Kennedys, Negative Approach e appunto Minor Threat. La scelta di questi ultimi non è casuale, la band di Ian MacKaye è stata infatti nella sua breve vita la vera icona di un movimento che dura tra alti e bassi fino ai nostri giorni. I 45 secondi di Straight Edge (programmatica non credete?) e la furia di canzoni come Filler e I Don’t Wanna Hear It sono assolutamente esplicativi a riguardo; pezzi tirati e scarni certo, anche suonati male se vogliamo (‘sti cazzi aggiungo!), ma di un’intensità che raramente si è sentita altrove. E’ difficile anche solo pensare l’hardcore senza i Minor Threat, senza il fuoco sacro che è nato tra gli adolescenti bianchi e “sfigati” della Washington ottantiana e che è rimasto intatto nella sua furia fino ai giorni nostri pur mostrando tutti i suoi anni. La rivoluzione e le idee che hanno portato questi ragazzi nel mondo musicale è inversamente proporzionale allo scarsissimo successo ottenuto all’epoca dei fatti, senza quel movimento probabilmente non avremmo avuto gli Slayer, i Fugazi, i Nirvana, i Melvins, i Neurosis, i Refused e mi fermo qui per non essere prolisso.

Il Barone paga tributo all’hardcore originale, ai dischi con le produzioni da 2000 lire e al DIY, alle locandine disegnate da ebeti e ai batteristi che non portano il tempo. Invita inoltre tutti i gentili lettori a una bella dose di Minor Threat, peraltro non scomponendosi se la risposta dovesse essere: I Don’t Wanna Hear It!

Tracklist:
1. Filler
2. I Don’t Wanna Hear It
3. Seeing Red
4. Straight Edge
5. Small Man, Big Mouth
6. Screaming At A Wall
7. Bottled Violence
8. Minor Threat
9. Stand Up
10. 12XU
11. In My Eyes
12. Out Of Step (With The World)
13. Guilty Of Being White
14. Steppin’ Stone
15. Betray
16. It Follows
17. Think Again
18. Look Back And Laugh
19. Sob Story
20. No Reason
21. Little Friend
22. Out Of Step