Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well as The Evens.
Background
He is a co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label.A key figure in the development of hardcore punk, straightedge, and an independent-minded, do it yourself punk ethic, MacKaye also works as a producer, and 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 among others. Along with his seminal band Minor Threat, he is credited with coining the term "straight edge" to describe a personal ideology that promotes independence by countering the popular notion of drug and alcohol abuse, though MacKaye has stated many times that he did not intend to turn it into a movement.
Career
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; the senior MacKaye remains 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 first learned to play piano as a child. He eventually took lessons, but quit when his mother placed him in a more academic environment to continue his instrument. 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 correlation between piano and guitar.
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[6][dead link] when he saw The Cramps perform at nearby Georgetown University. He was particularly influenced by the California 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).
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." The band also recorded two demo tapes of covers as well as songs that would later be recorded by the Teen Idles.
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).
His brother Alec MacKaye has also been active in several notable bands, such as Untouchables, The Faith and Ignition.
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 of singer Joe Cocker in Woodstock 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 use of drugs (including alcohol). 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.
After Minor Threat broke up, MacKaye was active with several relatively short-lived groups, including Embrace (1985–1986) and Egg Hunt (1986). Pailhead (1987–1988), a collaboration between MacKaye and the industrial metal band Ministry, then consisting of Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, and William Rieflin, featured MacKaye on lead vocals.
Fugazi
In 1987, MacKaye founded Fugazi. It has been cited as one of the most important post-hardcore groups. Fugazi set itself apart from most other bands by never playing a show with high-priced tickets. They would often turn down venue options for this very rule. MacKaye estimates that for every concert Fugazi played, they turned down another 50 venue options. Fugazi were active until 2003 and have since been on an indefinite hiatus.
The Evens
MacKaye currently sings and plays baritone guitar in The Evens with drummer and vocalist Amy Farina of the Warmers. The band pride themselves on playing in non-standard locations, such as community centres, bookshops, or other atypical spaces. The Evens released their self-titled album in early 2005, breaking a three-year silence by MacKaye. Their second album, "Get Evens", was released in November 2006. On 22nd of September they announced on Dischord Records' website: "The Evens are currently mixing a new record, due out at the end of this year (or early 2013 at the latest)."The new album is called The Odds and was released November 20, 2012. Other projects
In 1982, MacKaye sang lead vocals on one version of a Government Issue song titled "Asshole". The previously unreleased track was featured on the 20 Years of Dischord collection released in 2002. Backing vocals and collaborations—as, for example, with brother Alec MacKaye's former band Ignition—are numerous.
Ian MacKaye in 2007.
MacKaye contributed an extra guitar track to "Youth Against Fascism", the second single from Sonic Youth's 1992 album Dirty.
In 1988, he recorded vocals with Ministry's Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, and Bill Rieflin for the band Pailhead's EP titled "Trait." He also co-wrote the song "I Will Refuse" which was also released by the Wax Trax! record label.
In February 2004, MacKaye produced the recording sessions for John Frusciante's solo album titled DC EP. After working with MacKaye, Frusciante states "Ian is one of the only living people who I really respect and look up to, so it was an honor and a pleasure as well as a great learning experience to hear his perspective."
MacKaye has also contributed guitar and backing vocals to Joe Lally's solo albums There to Here, released in October 2006, and Nothing Is Underrated, released in November 2007.
Throughout his music career MacKaye has engineered and produced releases by a number of bands primarily on his Dischord label including 7 Seconds, Antelope, Bikini Kill, Black Eyes, Lungfish, Nation of Ulysses, One Last Wish, Q and Not U, Rites of Spring, Rollins Band, and others.
Dischord Records
MacKaye co-founded Dischord Records with Jeff Nelson in 1980 and it continued as a DIY project where he and his friends learned how to literally make records. MacKaye claims that they crafted 10,000 singles by hand for a Teen Idles single. 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. MacKaye notes that the focus on Washington, D.C. musicians was inspired by folk labels such as Folkways and Arhoolie. Today more than 150 titles have been released by Dischord. The label has become notorious for its success despite its tendency to stray away from major label tactics for attracting monetary gains.
Views
"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. The song came about through MacKaye witnessing his friends abusing alcohol/drugs and acting reckless. He decided early on that it was not the lifestyle for him, having never fit in with it. MacKaye's main goal was to fight against the people around him that abused substances. His decision to abstain from substances 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 regards it as a logical progression of his straight edge views. He follows a strict vegetarian or vegan diet.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."