Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (/məˈkaɪ/;[1] born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. 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. MacKaye was also the bassist for the short-lived band the Teen Idles, and frontman for Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. MacKaye is a member of The Evens, a two-piece indie rock group he formed with his wife Amy Farina in 2001[2] and in 2018 formed the band Coriky with Farina and his Fugazi band mate Joe Lally.
For the album by Poison Idea, see Ian MacKaye (album).
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye
April 16, 1962
Washington, D.C., U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- musician
- record producer
- record label owner
- archivist
- Vocals
- guitar
1979–present
Along with his seminal band Minor Threat, he is credited with coining the term "straight edge"[2] a philosophy that promotes abstinence from alcohol and other drugs, though MacKaye has stated that he did not intend to turn it into a movement.
A 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.
Biography[edit]
Youth[edit]
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.[3] In his capacities as a journalist in the White House Press Corps, MacKaye's father was in the presidential motorcade when John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963.[4] MacKaye's paternal grandmother was Dorothy Cameron Disney MacKaye. She worked with Paul Popenoe on marriage advice columns and was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club. His grandfather was Milton MacKaye, also a magazine writer as well as an executive with the Office of War Information.[5] According to MacKaye's longtime friend, singer Henry Rollins, MacKaye's parents "raised their kids in a tolerant, super-intellectual, open-minded atmosphere."[6]
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. 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.[7]
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[8] when he saw The Cramps perform at nearby Georgetown University.[9] He was particularly influenced by the California hardcore scene. MacKaye looked up to hardcore bands like Bad Brains[9] and Black Flag and was childhood friends with Henry Garfield (who later changed his name to Henry Rollins).[9]
Early bands[edit]
MacKaye's first band consisted of one performance as the Slinkees in the summer of 1979, performing a song titled "I Drink Milk."[10] The band also recorded two demo tapes of covers as well as songs that would later be recorded by the Teen Idles.
The Slinkees evolved into the Teen Idles, in which MacKaye played bass guitar and sang back up vocals. 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.
Works outside of music[edit]
Filmography[edit]
MacKaye was interviewed in the documentary films Roll Up Your Sleeves, DIY America, American Hardcore, 930 F, Another State of Mind, Instrument, Dogtown and Z-Boys, D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist, Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl, Punk's Not Dead, We Jam Econo, I Need That Record!, EDGE: Perspectives on Drug Free Culture, Salad Days, Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records, and the K Records documentary The Shield Around the K. In 2014, MacKaye was featured in the documentary Foo Fighters Sonic Highways, which follows and celebrates the Foo Fighters on their 20th anniversary and the making of their 8th studio album Sonic Highways. The documentary revisits the band's sources of inspiration, with MacKaye playing a defining role. He was also interviewed in the documentary film Breadcrumb Trail: The Story of Slint, made about the band Slint.
MacKaye was also featured in professional skateboarder Mike Vallely's documentary film Drive (2002).[43]
In 2024 MacKaye was featured in the documentary Cover Your Ears produced by Prairie Coast Films and directed by Sean Patrick Shaul, discussing music censorship. [44]
Books[edit]
MacKaye has contributed to several books, including The Idealist by Glen E. Friedman (Burning Flags Press, 1998, updated 2004, ISBN 0-9641916-5-2); a foreword to indie-punk band photographer Pat Graham's photobook Silent Pictures; an introduction to Susie Horgan's photobook Punk Love, Interrobang?! Anthology on Music and Family, edited by Sharon Cheslow; and is interviewed in American Heretics: Rebel Voices In Music by Ben Myers (Codex Books, 2002). MacKaye is also featured in the Friedman book Keep Your Eyes Open (ISBN 0-9641916-8-7), a collection of Fugazi photos taken by Friedman over the course of the band's career.
He also had a conversation with photographer Jim Saah, included in the photozine In My Eyes,(ISBN 978-987-46715-1-6) published by Argentinian publishing house Walden Editora in 2018.