FUGAZI

Rip It Up, Issue 171, 1 October 1991, Page 22

FUGAZI

Washington DC quartet Fugazi deliver a politically charged, energetic, post-punk tirade to the kids. And on the strength of music and integrity, Fugazi sell huge numbers of albums on their own Dischord label — with no promotional fanfare, videos or event-shirts in sight.

Rip It Up spoke to Fugazi singer/guitarist lan Mac Kaye in Seattle, part way through a tour which is scheduled to reach New Zealand early next month. The 29 year old Mac Kaye formed Fugazi back in 1987. The band formed out of the ashes of two of the leading lights of Washington DCs legendary hardcore scene. lan Mac Kaye had led the justifiably hugely popular Minor Threat—for whom he had penned many US punk classics such as 'Straight Edge'. Fugazi's other frontman/singer/guitarist, Guy Piccilotto, joined the new band out of Rites of Spring — a band who earned admiration and noteriety for spreading unabashedly peace'n'love vibes towards the disintegrating, ugly hardcore scene of the mid-eighties. The left-wing leanings of both those bands have been carried on

to Fugazi. According to lan Mac Kaye, the band has played countless benefits for causes including AIDS research, homophobia, women's rights, shelters, clinics, homelessness and pro-abortion choice rallies. "It's a litany of liberal-commie shit," laughs Mac Kaye, "but I don't give a fuck. In Washington DC, we haven't taken payment for a gig for two and a half years—every show we do there is a benefit." Those concerns translate to Fugazi's songs and onstage performances too. Mac Kaye admits that both his and Piccilotto's lyrics are 'written to encourage people to think". "Some people though," he continues, "like us 'cos they think we have a good drumbeat. I don't care, that's fine. They don't have to get our message — everybody has millions of messages and so do we. But

people don't have to listen to your ideas and we don't think they should have to. We just play and they can listen — it's up to the listener every time to decide ultimately whether it has any relevance to them." Onstage, however, the band does its best to encourage listening. The song 'Suggestion' with its power to hold an entire audience with rising anguish, becomes the centre-piece of many gigs—and its anti-rape message is difficult to miss. Mac Kaye also discourages stage-diving at

Fugazi gigs. "When you're playing music like ours, which can be slow or quiet, different sounding, it is discouraging to have those stage diving rituals played out on top of that constantly. When I see people pressed against the stage and being repeatedly assaulted by people diving off the stage, I say stop—in a situation where I feel responsible for the gathering, it pleases me to try and stop people from injuring one another."

As I found stuck amongst 1500 sweaty bodies that night in Seattle, ‘ the power of Fugazi's drumbeat can be pretty enthralling too. Their ■_. sound is a mightly collision somewhere between the melodic noise squall of Husker Du and the almost funky Gang of Four. Live, it is a captivating experience, and through the course of three albums, Fugazi have reached many ears with that noise. "Our albums sell over 100,000 copies," admits Mac Kaye, "So we sell a lot of records, yeah, but to me, how many we sell isn't that important. There's a lot of McDonald's in the world — that doesn't mean they're any good though." What makes it remarkable, however, is that Fugazi have sold all those albums through the tiny independent label they themselves own. Mac Kaye founded the Dischord label back in 1980—the same time he formed Minor Threat — specifically in order to document that thriving DC hardcore scene. And despite many approaches from major labels, he "can't even imagine a situation where we would need a major label." Fugazi albums such as Repeater and the newly-released Steady Diet of Nothing come critically praised, and through Dischord, Mac Kaye also ensures that they reach the

band's eager audience at the cheapest possible price. The band also has a cheap-show policy that sees most of their US gigs priced around SUSS. As they are self-managed the band book shows and tour themselves. Their increasing popularity has caused difficulty in finding larger venues to accommodate Fugazi's wish for a fair door price, and especially their demand for no age restriction at the door. "We will only play all-ages gigs," says Mac Kaye, "It has meant it's harder to organise some shows than others but we don't have any problem with saying no. Fugazi have turned down a lot of shows, but we don't care. We're not interested in engaging in any age discrimination, we're not gonna do it. I just don't think the alcohol industry should be who decides who can see what bands." And the cheap door charges? "It opens the door, gets the PA in the room and means people's expectations aren't too high... basically, it allows us to suck," explains Mac Kaye. The good thing is that Fugazi are an interesting, challenging rock band with a great set of songs. They don't suck. Go see them. PAULMACKESSAR