New Jawn

The post-hardcore and D.C. legends Fugazi formed in 1987 with the inspiration of frontman Ian MacKaye to move into a new genre after the disbanding of Minor Threat. Fugazi’s sound has definite punk influences, but touches on many different genres including the incorporation of funk and Rasta beats, as well as guitar heavy rock. Their moral and social awareness set them apart from many bands aspiring to make a name for themselves in the music industry and helped Fugazi to develop a loyal following. Their indefinite hiatus came as a result of lengthy tour schedules and their desire to spend time with their families.

Fugazi’s first releases were a self-titled EP in 1988 and the Margin Walker EP in 1989, which were combined for the 13 Songs compilation, serving as some of their most well-known work. The tracks “Waiting Room” and “Give Me The Cure” are two of my favorite Fugazi tunes and attest to a time when they were still heavily inspired by the hardcore and punk sound they were moving away from. 1990′s Repeater was their debut studio full-length and would sell more than 250,000 copies, a huge amount for a band who relied on the DIY mentality and minimal promotion. Following In On The Kill Taker, Red Medicine, and End Hits, Fugazi released the documentary Instrument that provided a behind-the-scenes look at the band over a five-year period, including footage of the making of their albums and touring, as well as allowing fans to get to known the seemingly private band. The music in the film was all by Fugazi and included a song that exhibited a much different sound of the band than prior albums, and another personal favorite, “I’m So Tired”. Their final album, The Argument, received both critical and commercial success upon its release, resulting in a lengthy tour which would be followed by the dreaded announcement of the band’s disbanding in November 2002.

The members of Fugazi have since worked on new projects, but none of them have garnered the attention that the band received during their 15 years together. With offers of enormous sums of money to join festival lineups and constant rumors of a reunion, Fugazi are clearly still a relevant band 10 years after their hiatus began. Fans can only keep hoping that the minimalist attitude will grow tired one day and MacKaye and the rest of Fugazi will cash in big time with a reunion tour. And who knows? Maybe even some new music. And Wugazi doesn’t count!

Check out some of the previous GONE TOO SOON selections.

This entry was posted on August 11, 2011 at 7:00 am and is filed under Alternative, Gone Too Soon, Punk . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.