AMIA 2014 Keynote: Ian MacKaye

Ian MacKaye is currently the front man of The Evens and formerly of the influential D.C. punk bands Minor Threat and Fugazi. He is the founder of the Dischord Records music label and the mastermind behind the Fugazi Live Series project, which is in the process of digitizing and publishing over 800 Fugazi shows performed and recorded internationally dating back to 1987.

Ian Mackaye founded Dischord Records as a teenager in 1980 with partner Jeff Nelson. Their original intent was simply to release a single to document their recently defunct band, Teen Idles. However, the label has gone on to release music from more than 60 bands, with more than 160 albums over the last 25 years and counting.

As musicians Ian and Jeff went on to form Minor Threat, who along with Bad Brains are credited in the early 80s with introducing the D.C. hardcore ethic to an audience well beyond Washington, D.C.

In 1986, Ian formed Fugazi with Joe Lally, Brendan Canty and Guy Picciotto. Over 20+ years the band has released seven albums and toured the world extensively covering all fifty United States, Europe, Australia, South America, Japan and many points in between. Fugazi is self managed and maintains a policy of affordable access to their work through low record and ticket prices and all concerts are all-ages. In 2003 Fugazi decided to take an indefinite hiatus from recording and touring as young families and other priorities began to take center stage.

Since 2001, Ian has played in The Evens, a duo with Amy Farina. The Evens revel in short-circuiting the conventions of rock music and perform mostly in non-traditional music spaces — libraries, art spaces, schools, theaters, etc. They have released two albums and have toured extensively in North America, Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. – www.dischord.com/band/ian-mackaye

Recorded November 9, 2014 in Savannah, Georgia.