Recently, Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye announced the upcoming release of previously unknown recordings by the seminal psychobilly band the Cramps. Now MacKaye is at it again. This time, the grand master of Washington, DC’s historic punk rock scene, is reintroducing one of the greatest bands to ever call DC home. This time, MacKaye is presenting Bad Brains.
Bad Brains were among the brightest lightning flashes from the early days of punk. Their first album was not released until 1982, and their iconic third album – I Against I – didn’t arrive until 1986. But they first entered the recording studio in 1979, shortly after the quartet had switched directions from their early Mindpower days and embraced punk in the guise of Bad Brains.
Come November 6, you’ll be able to hear those original recordings. MacKaye,
frontman of Minor Threat and Fugazi, has worked with the band to remix the tracks for release on Trust Records.
Turning back the clock on DC’s greatest hard rock band, Bad Brains
The collection of songs, called Are You Ready: The First Studio Recordings, will include the original studio recording of the single, “Pay to C**.” The song introduced the band to the broader public a few years before their self-titled album debut.
If you grew up in Washington, DC, in the 1970s, Bad Brains was a legend. They looked different from the other punks of the day. Following Detroit’s Death, they were one of the very few African American punk bands to make a mark. And they sounded different. In an era where every new hardcore punk outfit strove to play louder and faster, no one was louder and faster than Bad Brains.
One of the fundamental problems producers had in capitalizing on their early buzz was the difficulty in translating their explosive live sets onto vinyl. That is one reason why this primitive collection of recordings is so promising. This is Bad Brains in their rawest form, and that seems like a good way to hear them.
Bad Brains formed in DC in the late 1970s, when friends Paul Hudson and Gary Miller formed Mindpower. Hudson had graduated from high school and quickly determined that the medical school path that his parents had in mind for him would not work.
He was a fan of mainstream ‘70s rock as well as the burgeoning metal of Black Sabbath. Miller, who began on bass, had very eclectic tastes and blended jazz and funk with the hard rock that Hudson liked.
That all changed in the late ‘70s when they were first introduced to Ramones, Sex Pistols, the Damned, and the Slits. They found a direction and transformed almost overnight.
They quickly settled on their classic lineup … Hudson (now rechristened as H. R.) serving as the fronting vocalist, Miller (now known as Dr. Know) on guitar, Hudson’s friend Darryl Jenifer (briefly known as Darryl Cyanide, before reverting to his given name) playing bass, and Hudson’s younger brother Earl on drums. Earl never adopted a new name.
They were immediate sensations in the insular world of Washington, DC punk. Within a few weeks of relaunching, the group found themselves in Arlington, Virginia, in the new home recording studio of Don Zientara, called Inner Ear.
Kim Kane, founder of another DC hybrid punk institution, the Slickee Boys, produced the session. He was stunned by Miller’s technical skill on guitar and the sheer energy of the performance. It was March 1979. That is the session that Ian MacKaye has remixed for a new release.
Bad Brains blitzed through Washington in 1979. They amazed and angered listeners at every turn. They amazed based on their passion and skill. They angered listeners based on their volume and the reckless abandon that often left their venue a mess. And for some, based on their race.
For a while, it seemed as if anywhere the band played would eventually get around to banning them from ever appearing there again. The song “Banned in DC” chronicled their struggles. A planned trip to England, with the help of the Damned’s drummer Rat Scabies, also resulted in banishment.
Bad Brains would eventually grow their fan base in New York, playing legendary shows at CBGBs in the early 1980s. They would eventually land a record deal with Greg Ginn’s SST label, resulting in I Against I. The band’s direction would change as H.R. grew more and more intrigued by Rastafarian culture.
And still, no one ever really got close to capturing their live energy on record. Now, with the help of Ian MacKaye, we get another chance to hear them in their formative years. It should be special for any fan of punk.
There are several affiliated events planned around the release of Are You Ready: The First Studio Recordings. If you are in DC in early November, check them out. If you are not, just listen to the new record and imagine what it must have been like to be there at the birth of a punk rock legend.
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