BROADCAST #40
AIR DATE: 10-02-07

Fanatics, as you know, I am on the road and tonight I am performing in the DC area, Virginia to be exact. Tonight is the 2nd of two shows at the wonderful Birchmere Theater. I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some bands from where I come from on the show. As if I don’t do enough of that already, I know, I know. So, as I am onstage explicating in front of what I hope is a swell audience, you get all this good music. I hope you enjoyed the show. STAY FANATIC!!! --Henry

Heard the rumor that Ian MacKaye was dead? He’s alive and well.

E-mail for me: Henryontheradio@aol.com

For you Fanatics who can’t live without hearing this show again or if the original broadcast time is too hard on your sleep cycle here’s the re-broadcast schedule: USA: Fridays: 0200 – 0400 hrs. PST / UK: Fridays: 1000 hrs. – 1200 hrs. / Continental Europe: Fridays 1100 hrs. – 1300 hrs./ Australia: Fridays 2100 hrs. – 2300 hrs.

The Teen Idles - I Drink Milk: From the Flex Your Head album. The Teen Idles are the perfect band to start our show and I’ll tell you why. About 27 years ago, the Teen Idles were doing their last shows. I believe the band called it quits in November of that year. There was a change happening in the DC music scene. By December of 1980 Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson had parted ways the other two members, vocalist Nathan Strejcek and guitarist Geordie Grindle. The two of them got together with Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar and formed the band Minor Threat. By December of that year, the band was playing live shows. I was at the first one. They were great from the start and everyone knew it. So, in October of that year, I paid some of my last visits to Nathan’s mother’s basement where the Teen Idles practiced. For Ian and Jeff, band practice had moved to the basement at Lyle’s. I always think of The Teen Idles in October. I got a few things right in my life, one of them was to see almost every single show this band did. Good times, as they say.

JJ Starr - Roll Call (Late Night Edition): Ian turned me onto JJ Starr who had a show on WOL AM radio in DC. Listeners would phone in and leave their names and JJ would read them on the radio with a music backing track. I tried to tape them whenever I was in DC. This was taped in 1986. I always thought the names were incredible and JJ’s delivery was amazing. I had been taping radio voices for a few years before that, mainly an LA based sports reporter named Jim Healy who was really funny. I still have hours of him. Anyway, I don’t know what happened to JJ Starr. When I put his name into the “Googles” the only reference I saw for him pertained to this show. Oh well. Great stuff though.

Government Issue - Sheer Terror: From the very handy Dischord 1981: The Year In Seven Inches CD. A very kind thing Dischord did by releasing these early Dischord records on LP and eventually CD. They are all worth a mint at this point so it’s a very cool release. The frontman of the band, John Stabb is a long time DC area presence. I remember many years ago, Ian and I encountered him at an Enzymes show I think it was, either that show or one with Ebenezer And The Bludgeons but the venue was the same. We go to talking to him and noticed he had “The Stab” written on the back of his jacket, which was a band he had I guess. I never saw that band play but I think that’s where his name came from. G.I. was there right at the beginning of the time I started playing music in DC and we both did some of our first shows together. Anyway, this track is from the band’s very first effort, The Legless Bull EP, Dischord release #4. An original is hard to find but you can hear all ten songs on this release.

Duke Ellington - Washington Wobble (Take 1): From the massive Complete RCA Victor Recordings box set. Have you noticed, we play Duke Ellington fairly often? I am a big fan of Mr. Ellington and also, he’s a DC guy, which I always thought was really cool. I think at this point, it would be quite time consuming to attempt to listen to all the recorded works of Ellington. It seems to be endless. Many years ago, his son Mercer released several CDs of live and studio recordings from his father’s private stash and there always seems to be some radio broadcast that has been newly discovered and released. In the last several years, I don’t know how well I have kept up with the output, I think I am lagging behind. Years ago when I was reading books about Ellington and doing a serious immersion into all things Duke, I was very inspired by how relentlessly the man worked. He composed with Billy Strayhorn at different times by long distance telephone calls, how cool is that?! That’s what it’s all about though. He lived for the music and little else it seemed. I also like that he loved living hotels. “I am a hotel man!” he used to say. Also, when asked about the large bags under his eyes, he said they were full of wisdom. He had a working band for over 50 years.

The Obsessed - Concrete Cancer: From the Incarnate CD. The Obsessed are one of the heaviest bands of all time and the band’s main man Scott “Wino” Weinrich is one of the undisputed heavyweights of heavy music. Amazing singer, songwriter and guitar player, ask anyone. To my knowledge, Wino’s newest release is from his band Hidden Hand and it’s called The Resurrection Of Whiskey Foote on the Southern Lord label. http://www.southernlord.com/

Joe Lally - Message From Earth: From the There To Here album on Dischord. Joe has finished another album. I don’t know when it comes out but back in August, Ian was mixing it so I imagine it won’t be all that long. Joe, as you many of you Fanatics know, was in Fugazi. Perhaps you have heard of them? This song is so Joe. I saw him play last July opening for The Evens at Fort Reno and heard a lot of the new album tracks and liked them. I am looking forward to the next serving of Joe-ness.

Void – Authority: From the Flex Your Head album on Dischord. I don’t think Void recorded much material. I think they had a lot more material than they recorded. They were one of those bands that defied description. It was more a matter of “You gotta see this band!” Everything in the band was skewed and amazing. Crazy arrangements, delivery, etc. I think there were situations where bands where some bands were somewhat cut off from a lot of musical influences and they ended up being quite original and notable. That’s Void. There was nothing like them and they blew people’s minds. Their music can be found on the very cool Faith/ Void/Faith CD on Dischord. Three more songs can be found on Flex.

Black Market Baby - Potential Suicide: From the Coulda... Shoulda... Woulda CD released on the very cool Dr. Strange label. Isn’t this a great song?! BMB had a bunch of them. I used to see them play as often as I could. I think I was at the session that rendered this song. I was so happy when Dr. Strange wrote me and said they were going to put this compilation out. BMB were a great part of the DC music scene. All these years later, the songs hold up really well. I hope you can still get the BMB CD, as of this writing the label site is showing unavailable. Here’s the label address so you can check back: http://www.drstrange.com/

Faith - Subject To Change: From the Faith/ Void/Faith CD on Dischord. After I left DC to be in Black Flag, two of my ex-bandmates, Ivor Hanson and Michael Hampton got together with Alec MacKaye and Chris Bald and formed The Faith. I always thought this was a really cool band. All of their stuff can be found on this CD. Alec was one of the best front men DC ever had. I used to see him play in his band The Untouchables. A few songs into their completely insane set, you would look around, where the hell was Alec?! He would be on the ground, singing, getting trampled. He was one of the first singers I ever saw who would taka a chance and go out into the crowd. He was a big favorite with a lot of people. One of the first shows I played with my band in 1987 was with Alec’s next band called Ignition. Another good DC band. You can find their stuff on Dischord as well. http://dischord.com/

Partyline – Nuthaus: From the Zombie Terrorist album. So happy to say that this is one of the DC bands I have seen play live and they were great. The member of the band I have spoken to the most is Allison Wolfe who was in Bratmobile and Cold Cold Hearts at least. I like those bands too. I am glad Allison moved to DC so she can be counted as a DC area musician.

The Aquarium - Slow Space: From the band’s self-titled debut album on Dischord. The band is Laura Harris on drums and Jason Hutto on keyboards and vocals. We have played a good number of the songs on this album on our show since the album came out last year. The music is very minimal but very full and lacks for nothing. This is one of my more favorite Dischord listens. I hope this isn’t a one-off record and that they make more music. The band make smart and innovative music, I hope they continue. http://www.dischord.com/

Fire Party – Cake: This track can be found on the band’s 19 Songs CD as well as the 20 Years Of Dischord box set. I don’t think I ever saw the band play but always liked the records. I see their guitarist Natalie now and then when I’m in DC and hear from Amy now and then. When you have four women in a band, they become a “girl band” which is a drag because it immediately marginalizes their music and in DC, that kind of thing is a hot button topic. So, in the final analysis, they were a good band, whose members were female.

Unrest - So Sick: We have been very Dischord heavy in this broadcast and I have somewhat marginalized another great DC area label, Teenbeat. This is the label that brought you this very fine album, Perfect Teeth. It might have to be that I will have to do an entire night of Teenbeat bands to make up for this. Now that’s a good idea. I could do some shows that focus on singles labels. Engineer X, put the coffee on, I have an idea! Of all the cool Unrest records, this is probably my most played single release of theirs. They started in the early 80’s and recorded and released prolifically for almost a decade. It’s all good stuff, although I must say, I prefer their more Pop –oriented material because they could really sing. Imperial f.f.r.r. is a good release to start with to get to know this band’s music. Perfect is also a good intro. The best thing about all this that the Teenbeat label has a ton of releases on it and I have heard a good deal of it, not nearly all and have come to the conclusion that it’s one of the coolest indie labels in America. Want to know more? Here you go: http://www.teenbeatrecords.com/

Minor Threat - Seeing Red: From the First Demo release. What a riff this song. I believe Jeff Nelson, the band’s drummer, wrote the lyric. The chorus hits like a hammer and it’s one of Ian’s best MT vocals. I am sure you have heard this song before but what the hell.

Rites Of Spring - Hain’s Point: from the End On End album. I wonder how many tracks we have played from this album in all the years we have had this show going. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time and I am afraid to think of how many times I’ve played this one. Not a bad song in the bunch. Another band I never got to see live. I don’t think they played many times. When you consider how incredibly intense the music is, it’s hard to imagine this group lasting all that long without breaking into pieces. The band was Guy Picciotto, Eddie Janney, Mike Fellows and Brendan Canty. No doubt you have heard of some of these guys. The CD version of the album has been remastered and sounds all the better for it. Also, it includes the band’s 4-track EP they released after the album and is one of my favorite EPs of all time.

The Make-Up - Come Up To The Microphone: From the In Mass Mind album. I had one chance to see this band and I blew it. They were playing in NYC when I was living there but were going on so late, I couldn’t do it and then do all the things I had to do the next day so I blew it. I have all the records, I think but I know that live, it would have been an amazing night. The band’s front man is Ian Svenonius who has one of the more active minds of anyone I have ever met. I am a fan of all the stuff he’s done so far. He has a TV show called Soft Focus which I was on but have not seen yet. I don’t know what his next music plans are or if he has any but I don’t think we’ll be waiting for too long. This Make-Up album is about ten years old and in print on Dischord. I can’t think of any one band that The Make-Up reminds me of, they definitely have their own thing. Ian S. is one of the bright lights in the DC music scene.

Beauty Pill – Copyists: From You Are Right To Be Afraid. I love this band. I heard them years after they broke up, not surprising. If you go to the Dischord site and look them up in the bands section, you can read the band’s history all the people who went in and out of the band. There’s three releases as far as I know, they’re all great of all of them, my favorite is Their album, The Unsustainable Lifestyle. Of the three releases, their EP Cigarette Girl From The Future seems to be the hardest one to locate and I suggest you do.

Trouble Funk - Part A: From the 2CD set of studio and live Trouble Funk collection that is available on my label District Line and available from my site HenryRollins.com. When this was the Live Straight Up Go-Go 2LP set, this was the first side of the four which the band called Part A. I saw them in 1982, about a year after this album came out and it was one of the best shows ever. The one thing I will never understand about TF and all the other Go Go bands from around then was why they didn’t take over the world. To this day, it’s some of the best music I have ever heard. I know this track is a little long but it really gives you an opportunity to check out the greatness of the band when they go long. As great as their singles can be, it’s live where the band rules.

Georgie James - Need Your Needs: From the Demos At Dance Place CD the band send me some time ago. I don’t know how many the band pressed up of this one but you can get it on their site as of this writing here: http://laboratoryrecords.com/news/10/need-your-needs-the-new-single-from-georgie-james-available-now. This was released in 2006. In the beginning of this year, they released the Need Your Needs single, also available on the Laboratory Records site. Recently the band, who is John Davis of the now defunct Q And Not U and Laura Burhenn who has released a couple of solo records on Laboratory, which is her label. John just sent me their new album, called Places. I have played it a couple of times and it’s really great. I am happy that the DC area has yet another good band. Georgie James is on tour! Go to their site, check out the dates and to go to the show! http://www.georgiejames.com/

The Chumps - Gogo God: From the limited pressing of 500 CD, The Problem With Saxophones on the Afterburn label out of Australia. The Chumps were around at the beginning of DC Punk Rock scene. I think I saw them only once. Previously, the only track of theirs on CD was from the :30 Over DC comp. CD on my label District Line. Their single is very hard to find so CD is a great addition to DC music history. It’s great that the brave souls at Afterburn put this out but it’s too bad that there’s only 500 made and it’s also too bad that it had to come out of Australia and not DC. I am glad they did it though and you should check this one out. Also, Afterburn did the Vile Cherubs’ The Man Who Has No Eats Has No Sweats CD, another DC band. http://www.afterburnaustralia.com/

The Young Turds - Murder One: From the :30 Over DC CD on the mighty District Line label. The Young Turds were one of the many cool bands that were around and happening right before I started going to shows in DC. I don’t think I ever saw them play. Many of us had this album though. It was released by Skip Groff of Yesterday & Today Records. It’s how many people I knew back then first heard this band. About the album: it came out in red and yellow/orange vinyl and then went out of print. A few years ago I put it out in an effort to help restore some of DC’s recorded history and get it back out there. It’s a really cool record and you should drop what you’re doing and get it from my site and support these great bands of the past.

Enzymes - New Girls: This is a demo the band did in 1979 or 1980. They never released an album or showed up on any compilations. Chris Haskett, who many of you know from The Rollins Band, was in this band. The first time I saw him play was in this band. Chris located one of the band’s demos, recorded on multi-track cassette and remixed the tracks in 1997 and this is where we pulled the track from for our show tonight. They were such a great band. The band seemed to morph every time I saw them, their music had elements of Punk, Prog and whatever else was motivating them at that moment. One of the band members, Dave Byers died a few years ago. It’s his vocal you hear on this track. I am so glad I got to see them play a few times and that some of their music survives.

Lungfish - Gorilla Monsoon: From the Pass & Stow album on Dischord. Daniel Higgs, what a heavy dude. It seems Higgs puts out something at least once a year and it’s always good.

Head-Roc - Chris Columbus: From the Negrophobia! CD. I met Hed-Roc only recently at a rally to keep music happening in venues in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of DC last July. He was part of the music that afternoon. I thought he was great. We got to talking after the thing was over and he gave me his new record. This was my favorite jam from his set and so I thought it would be perfect here. His website doesn’t seem to have anything going on but you can find it by typing in his name and see what happens.

Soccer Team - Head Outside: From the Soccer Team CD on Dischord. I listen to this one all the time. Soccer Team is Ryan Nelson on drums, guitars and vocals along with Melissa Quinley, who plays bass and does vocals as well. I think I have played almost this entire album on our show by now. Dischord has been releasing some of their best records ever lately. Here’s some info on the band: http://www.dischord.com/band/soccerteam.

Ris Paul Ric - Valerie Teardrop: From the Purple Blaze CD. I didn’t want to play Georgie James and not play Christopher Richards’ new joint as well. As you know, Georgie James features John Davis and Ris Paul Ric features Christopher Richards, both bands were in Q And Not U, another great DC band. So glad I got to see them play. I saw what became their last show. I think these two are going to make a lot of noteworthy music in the future. The LP version of Purple Blaze comes in three different colors of vinyl. I LOVE THAT. This is a cool, smart pop album. DC is happening! http://www.myspace.com/rispaulric

The Channels - Hug The Floor: from Waiting For The Next End Of The World. I got this album last year and liked it after the first play. Great guitars on this one. J Robbins is in this band, you may remember him from the band Jawbox. This record is on Dischord and is in print.