DC MUSIC HISTORY
THE EIGHTIES - PAGE 2
HENRY ROLLINS TYRONE BRUNSON JUNK YARD BAND
TROUBLE FUNK GAYLE ADAMS STACY LATTISAW MINOR THREAT
DAG NASTY VELVET MONKEYS UNREST JOE HASSELVANDER
PUSSY GALORE RITES OF SPRING FUGAZI DANA STRUMMER
MICHAEL MANRING TOM PRINCIPATO RON HOLLOWAY
TORI AMOS JOHNNY GILL BOYS AGAINST GIRLS THE NATION OF ULYSSES
PUSSY GALORE MARY CHAPMAN CARPENTER GRIN
NILS LOFGREN ROY BUCHANAN 4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS
TROUBLE FUNK GAYLE ADAMS STACY LATTISAW MINOR THREAT
DAG NASTY VELVET MONKEYS UNREST JOE HASSELVANDER
PUSSY GALORE RITES OF SPRING FUGAZI DANA STRUMMER
MICHAEL MANRING TOM PRINCIPATO RON HOLLOWAY
TORI AMOS JOHNNY GILL BOYS AGAINST GIRLS THE NATION OF ULYSSES
PUSSY GALORE MARY CHAPMAN CARPENTER GRIN
NILS LOFGREN ROY BUCHANAN 4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS
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EVA CASSIDY - Live at Blues Alley
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Henry Rollins was born in Washington DC in 1961. He grew up in the Glover Park neighborhood, and attended the Bullis School - a private school in Potomac, Maryland. Rollins attended American University for one year before dropping out in 1979. In 1979 and 1980, he was a roadie for Teen Idles. During this time he was occasionally invited to sing with bands his friends played in - Ian MacKaye and HR. He started a short lived hardcore band called State Of Alert, and he managed the Haagen-Dazs ice cream store in Georgetown. When California hardcore band Black Flag was playing in New York, Rollins managed to get on stage to sing with the band. The next day the band asked him to join as lead vocalist, Rollins quit his Hagaan-Dazs job and moved to California. After Black Flag broke up in 1986, Rollins formed The Rollins Band
THE SMURPH
IN LOVE WITH YOU
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FRESH - Tyrone Brunson
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Tyrone Brunson was born in Washington DC in 1956, he is best known for his 1983 instrumental electro single The Smurph. In the mid-1970's he led a DC funk band called The Family, and in the late 1970's he was bassist for the funk band Osiris. In 1983 he released his solo debut album Sticky Situation, featuring his hit single The Smurph. In 1984, he released his second of three albums - Fresh.
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Junkyard Band at The Capital Center - 1987
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Junkyard Band formed in a Washington DC housing project in 1980. The oldest member of band was thirteen years old, and the youngest was eight. Inspired by local go-go bands, and not able to afford real instruments, the band found objects in the neighborhood that they could make sound like instruments - plastic buckets, hubcaps, crates, etc. In the early 1980's, the band was often seen playing for tourists in downtown DC. After being featured in DC Cab and Tougher Than Leather, and with the growing popularity popularity of go-go, DefJam released their song Sardines - their most popular song.
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HEY FELLAS - Trouble Funk
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Go-go funk pioneers Trouble Funk formed in Washington DC in 1978, and released their first singles in 1980. In 1982 they released their first album Drop The Bomb, featuring their first big hit Hey Fellas. The record was released on Sugar Hill Records, their first major label record, and it played a big roll in the growing popularity of the go-go sound.
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CHECK OUT THE GROOVE - Bobby Thurston
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I FOUND LOVE ON A TWO WAY STREET
Stacy Lattisaw |
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Wa and house singer Bobby Thurston was born in US dance charts.
Soul singer Bobby Thurston was a native of Washington, D.C., and got his start singing and playing congas with a group called Spectrum Ltd. in his high school years. He caught his break when writers/producers Willie Lester and Rodney Brown heard him sing live, and signed him as part of their attempt to forge a stable of artists in the vein of Philadelphia International. Thurston recorded his first album, Sweetest Piece of the Pie, in 1978, and it was very much in the smooth, mellow Philly soul vein, with help from keyboardist/arranger Al Johnson. Thurston's subsequent recordings for Prelude were more consistently disco-oriented, starting with 1980's double-sided 12" club smash "You Got What It Takes"/"Check Out the Groove." The accompanying LP, You Got What It Takes, became his biggest seller, but the 1981 follow-up, The Main Attraction, was less successful, and Thurston faded from view as disco died out. R&B and gospel singer Stacy Lattisaw was born in Washington DC in 1966. When Lattisaw debuted as a teenager in 1979, she recorded pop and R&B music. She recorded her first album when she was twelve, produced by Van McCoy. In 1981, she opened for The Jacksons on their Triumph Tour. Since 1990, Lattisaw has sung exclusively gospel music. |
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GWAR - Live in Washington DC
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GWAR was for
reet location. |
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DAG NASTY - Under Your Influence
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In 1985 Dag Nasty was formed by ex-Minor Threat guitarist Brian Baker, joined by Shawn Brown, Colin Sears and Roger Marbury. The group has sporadically re-formed side it broke up in 1988.
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EVERYTHING IS RIGHT - Velvet Monkeys
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91st CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN - Unrest
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The Velvet Monkeys formed in Washington DC in 1980. By the end of the 1980's, the group had disbanded, and re-formed in New York City. They have never officially broken up, and they continue to do shows whenever it feels right. Founding member Don Fleming is also know as a record producer for Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Hole and the Posies. In 1994, Fleming was guitarist and vocalist of The Backbeat Band, featuring Dave Grohl on drums.
Indie rock group Unrest formed in Washington DC in 1983. The groups founding member Mark Robinson was also the founder of TeenBeat Records - releasing music from Unrest and other projects. The label was started when Robinson was a student at Wakefield High School. TeenBeat Records has turned into an important label, and it is home to many Washington DC-area indie bands. |
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ELECTRO SCHOCK THERAPY - Raven (full movie)
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Joe Hasselvander was born in Washington DC in 1956. He is best known as drummer of Raven, a British heavy metal band he joined in 1988. He continues to play with the Band - which form in 1974. Before joining Raven, Hasselvander had a long history of performing in Washington DC - since he started playing the military club circuit in 1973. When he was in high school, Hasselvander turned down an invitation to join with vocal group The Platters - he did not want to drop out of school. Since the late 1970's, Hasselvander has also been a founding member of heavy metal doom band Pentagram.
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DICK JOHNSON - Pussy Galore
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Garage rock band Pussy Galore was formed in Washington DC in 1985. The band's line-up changed several times before they disbanded in 1990. In 1987 they released their debut album Right Now! Early on, Pussy Galore was known for employing sampling in it's recordings, taking clips for songs including Public Enemy's Don't BelieveThe Hype.
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FOR WANT OF - Rites Of Spring (live at 930 Club)
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DRINK DEEP - Rites Of Spring
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In the mid-1980's, post-hardcore band Rites Of Spring formed in Washington DC. The band was active between 1984 - 1986, after that vocalist Guy Picciotto and drummer Brendan Canty joined Fugazi. Rites Of Spring had a reputation for their energetic live performances - they only did about fifteen shows in the DC area. They are considered to be the first Emo band - a style of rock that originated in DC's hardcore community. Emo, also known as emo-core, is a style of emotional hardcore. Other examples of Emo rock bands are Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids and Dashboard Confessional. Rites Of Spring recorded one studio album, it was produced by Ian MacKaye.
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Fugazi formed in Washington DC in 1987. After Minor Threat dissolved, Ian MacKaye recruited the drummer and guitarist from Dag Nasty - Colin Sears and Joe Lally - to form the group. After a few months Sears left and was replaced by Brendan Cantey, formerly of Rites Of Spring. They band later included Cantey's former bandmate Guy Picciotto.
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FUGAZI - Waiting Room
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BOYZ ARE GONNA ROCK - Vinnie Vincent Invasion
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Dana Strumwasser, also known as Dana Strum, was born in Washington DC in 1958. He is best known as bassist for the heavy metal band Slaughter. In the mid-1980's he played bass for the Vinnie Vincent Invasion - a band fronted by future Slaughter bandmate Mike Slaughter. Vinnie Vincent had perviously been known as "The Ankh Warrior" in the band KISS. Before his success as a musician, Strum was an influential talent scout in the Los Angeles metal scene. He is credited with making placements in some major rock bands.
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Michael Manring was born in Annapolis, Maryland in 1960. He grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, until his family moved to the Washington DC suburbs when he was nine. In high school he had a band with his brother, who played the drums. In the late 1970's, Manring moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College Of Music. He had to drop out, however, because he was too busy touring with several different bands. In the 1980's, Manring was house bassist for Windham Hill Records, and he spent time touring with Jaco Pastorius. In the nineties he toured extensively with Michael Hedges, and appeared most of his albums.
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PAINT IT BLACK - Michael Manring & deMania
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BLAZING TELECASTERS - Danny Gatton & Tom Principato
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Tom Principato was born in Washington DC in 1952. In the 1970's, he led a group called Powerhouse, and in the early 1980's he appeared on a few recording. He made his official solo debut with Blazing Telecasters - a live album with Danny Gatton, The album was considered for a Grammy nomination. Principato had won over 20 Washington Area Music Awards (WAMMYS).
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WASHINGTON DC - Gil Scott-Heron
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MANTECA - Dizzy Gillespie ft Ron Holloway
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Legendary tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway was born in Washington DC in 1953. His parents met while attending Howard University, where they were both big fans of jazz music. After graduating from high school, Holloway 8-12 hours a day, sitting in with a wide variety of groups - rock, jazz, country and other genres. In the 1970's, he was able to get himself invited onstage with both Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie (on separate occasions) after persuading them to listen to a audio cassette demo. In the early 1980's, Holloway was a member of Root Boy Slim's band, after that he was a member of Gil Scott Heron's band 1982-1989. By the end of the 1980's, he had joined with Gillespie's band - who he toured the world with. Today he is a member of The Warren Haynes Band. Holloway has won a total of 42 Washington Area Music Awards (WAMIES) in his career.
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PRECIOUS THINGS - Tori Amos (live at Montreux 1992)
Tori Amos was born in North Carolina in 1973, her Washington DC family was on vacation. By the time she was five she had moved from Georgetown to Baltimore, and then to Rockville. At five, already composing music on the piano, she became the first person granted a scholarship at Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins. After becoming interested in rock and pop music, she was asked to leave at age eleven. At thirteen, Amos was living in Silver Spring playing gigs at gay bars and piano bars. Her first break big came when she was a student at Richard Montgomery High School. A song she wrote with her brother won a contest and was released as a single. After that, Amos spent several years playing the piano bar circuit in DC before moving to LA to pursue music there.
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RUB YOU THE RIGHT WAY - Johnny Gill
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Johnny Gill was born in Washington DC in 1966. In the 1980's, he joined New Edition as their sixth and final member. At age five, Gill began singing in church in his family's gospel group - his father was a minister. Gill attended Kimball Elementary, Sousa Junior High School and Duke Ellington School Of The Arts. When Gill was seventeen, his long-time friend Stacy Lattisaw convinced him to record a demo that lead to his recording debut - a 1983 self-titled debut album on Atlantic Records.
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SHE'S LOST CONTROL - Girl's Against Boys
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SPECTRA SONIC SOUND - The Nation Of Ulysses
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In 1988, the indie rock/post-hardcore band Boys Against Girls formed in Washington DC. The group was originally formed by Eli Janney and Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. In 1990, after Canty left the group because he was too busy with Fugazi, the lineup was completed with three former members of DC punk rock band Soulside. Boys Against Girls currently based out of New York City.
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> THIS IS NOT A "BEST-OF" LIST, AND IT IS NOT INTENDED TO INCLUDE EVERYONE IMPORTANT <
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