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Fugazi is a United States punk band that formed in Washington, D.C. The band's continual members are guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty. MacKaye decided he wanted a project that was "like the Stooges with reggae," but was wary about forming another band after Embrace's break up. MacKaye recalled, "My interests were not necessarily to be in a band, but to be with people who wanted to play music with me." The group still needed a name, so MacKaye chose the word "fugazi" from Mark Baker's Nam, a compilation of stories of Vietnam War veterans, where it was used as slang for "fucked up", or, to be precise, "Fucked Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In ('... After his band Happy Go Licky broke up, he became more involved with Fugazi. Albums and tours
Fugazi embarked on its first tour in January 1988. In June 1988 the band recorded its debut EP Fugazi (or 7 Songs) with producer Ted Nicely, and shortly afterwards embarked on an arduous tour of Europe. Upon the band's return from Europe, Picciotto, unsatisfied with merely singing, began playing guitar. While major labels began to court Fugazi, the band decided that Dischord was distributing their records well enough and refused the offers. For the band's second album Steady Diet of Nothing (1991), the band once again asked Ted Nicely to produce. Fugazi recorded its third album In on the Kill Taker (1993) with Steve Albini in Chicago; Hiatus Fugazi is currently on what the band describes as a "hiatus", partly brought on by Canty wanting to spend more time with his family. Canty has been doing a variety of soundtrack scores and playing bass in the trio Garland Of Hours alongside frequent Fugazi guest contributors Jerry Busher and Amy Domingues, and has played bass live with Mary Timony. Musical style Fugazi's music was an intentional departure from that of the hardcore punk bands the members had played in previously. Though clearly rooted in punk and hardcore, there is arguably more than punk to be found in Fugazi's music; Fugazi incorporated funk and reggae beats, irregular stop-start song structures, and heavy riffs inspired by popular rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and Queen, bands that the punk community of the time largely disdained. Picciotto became the group's second guitarist when he realized MacKaye's typically chunky, low-end riffs and Lally's dub-influenced basslines allowed him to focus on high-pitched parts. Picciotto's assumption of guitar duties allowed all four members of the band to jam together and write songs that way, where previously they had played songs largely as MacKaye had arranged them. Generally, MacKaye's lyrics and singing are more direct and anthemic (MacKaye admits that he loves audience sing-alongs and writes songs with shoutable slogans), while Picciotto usually favors a more abstract, oblique approach. Lally has contributed vocals to a few songs as well, in which he sings in a more relaxed, quiet style as opposed to MacKaye and Picciotto, whose lyrics and vocals often feature strong emotional intensity. Later, Fugazi more fully integrated elements of punk rock, hardcore, soul and noise with an inventively syncopated rhythm section. Notable is MacKaye and Picciotto's inventive, interlocking guitar playing, which often defies the traditional notion of "lead" and "rhythm" guitars. Most of Fugazi albums have featured an instrumental song or two. With Red Medicine, critics Ian McCaleb and Ira Robbins declared that Fugazi combined an "unprecedented dynamic range ... Business practice and ethics On their first tours, Fugazi worked out their DIY aesthetic by trial and error. Their decisions were partly motivated by pragmatic considerations that were essentially a punk rock version of simple living: for example, selling merchandise on tour would require a full-time merchandise salesperson who would require lodging, food, and other costs, so Fugazi decided to simplify their touring by not selling merchandise. They were also motivated by moral or ethical considerations: for example, Fugazi's members regarded pricey admission for rock concerts as tantamount to price gouging a performer's most loyal fans. Unlike some similar, small-scale independent rock contemporaries, Fugazi's performances and tours were nearly always profitable, due to their low business overhead costs, and MacKaye's keen sense of audience response in given regions. Fugazi's early tours earned them a strong word-of-mouth reputation, both for their powerful performances, and for their eagerness to play in unusual venues. Occasionally, Fugazi would escort an unrepentant slam-dancer from the concert, and give them an envelope containing a $5 refund (they kept a stock of such envelopes in their tour van for these occasions). During the summer of 1990 MacKaye formed the corporation Lunar Atrocities Ltd in order to shield his own and his band mates' personal assets from the threat of lawsuits. ISBN0-316-78753-1.
Repeater (1990) Steady Diet of Nothing (1991) In on the Kill Taker (1993) Red Medicine (1995) End Hits (1998) The Argument (2001)
State of the Union (1989) International Pop Underground Convention (1992) 20 Years of Dischord (2002)