![]() In his early teens, MacKaye saw the negative effects of drug abuse on several close friends and one immediate family member, and he vowed to never use tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs. 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 use of drugs (including alcohol), tobacco, and sex. MacKaye cited the dynamic performance of singer Joe Cocker in Woodstock as a major influence on his own animated stage persona. He founded Minor Threat (1980–1983) with Nelson founded after the break up of their previous band. MacKaye (bottom right, with microphone) performing with Minor Threat in 1981Īfter feeling creatively limited in the Teen Idles, MacKaye was determined to be the frontman and primary lyricist for his own band. The band was short-lived, breaking up in 1980, but released an EP, Minor Disturbance, the first record from MacKaye and bandmate Jeff Nelson's newly-founded label, Dischord Records. The Slinkees evolved into the Teen Idles, in which MacKaye played bass guitar and sang back up vocals. MacKaye's first band consisted of one performance as the Slinkees in the summer of 1979, performing a song titled "I Drink Milk." The band also recorded two demo tapes of covers as well as songs that would later be recorded by the Teen Idles. 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). He was particularly influenced by the California hardcore scene. ![]() MacKaye listened to many types of music, but was especially fond of mainstream hard rock such as Ted Nugent and Queen before discovering punk music in 1979 when he saw The Cramps perform at nearby Georgetown University. He first attempted guitar at around ten due to inspirations such as Jimi Hendrix, but again he quit when he was unable to understand the connection between piano and guitar. He eventually took lessons, but quit when his mother placed him in a more academic environment. MacKaye first learned to play piano as a child. According to MacKaye's longtime friend, singer Henry Rollins, MacKaye's parents "raised their kids in a tolerant, super-intellectual, open-minded atmosphere." His grandfather was Milton MacKaye, also a magazine writer as well as an executive with the Office of War Information. She worked with Paul Popenoe on marriage advice columns and was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club. Mackaye's paternal grandmother was Dorothy Cameron Disney Mackaye. In his capacities as a journalist in the White House Press Corps, MacKaye's father was in the presidential motorcade when John F. His father was a writer for the Washington Post, first as a White House reporter, then as a religion specialist the senior MacKaye remains active with the socially progressive St. on April 16, 1962, and grew up in the Glover Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. 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.Īlong with his seminal band Minor Threat, he is credited with coining the term " straight edge" to describe a personal philosophy that promotes abstinence from alcohol and other drugs, though MacKaye has stated that he did not intend to turn it into a movement.Ī key figure in the development of hardcore punk and an independent-minded, do-it-yourself punk ethic, MacKaye has produced releases by Q and Not U, John Frusciante, 7 Seconds, Nation of Ulysses, Bikini Kill, Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty and Rollins Band. MacKaye was also the frontman for the short-lived bands the Teen Idles, Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. 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. Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye ( / m ə ˈ k aɪ/ born April 16, 1962) is an American musician.
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