After the seminal hardcore punk group Minor Threat dissolved, Ian MacKaye (vocals and guitar) was active with a few mostly short-lived groups, (notably early emo-core band Embrace) before forming a new trio, Fugazi, with drummer Colin Sears and bass guitarist Joe Lally. Sears eventually left to join Dag Nasty and was replaced by Brendan Canty (earlier of Rites of Spring.)
MacKaye describes his earliest vision of Fugazi as The Stooges playing reggae. They performed as a trio for some months, then added Guy Picciotto (earlier Canty's bandmate in Rites of Spring, Happy Go Licky, and One Last Wish). Picciotto originally only sang; he likened his role for the first two years to that of a toaster, and Azzerad notes that Picciotto was also inspired by Flavor Flav of Public Enemy. But before long, he incorporated his guitar playing into the quartet, quickly becoming a songwriter contributing to the group on the same level as Mackaye.
On their first tours, Fugazi worked out their DIY aesthetic by trial and error. Their decisions were partly motivated by pragmatic considerations that were essentailly a punk rock version of simple living (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; $5 admission meant that the box office at a given venue spent less time making and counting change), and partly motivated by moral or ethical considerations (Fugazi's members regard pricey admission for rock concerts as tantamount to price gouging loyal fans).
Fugazi's early tours earned them a strong word-of-mouth reputation, both for their powerful performances, and for their eagerness to play unusual venues. They sought out alternatives to traditional rock clubs partly to relieve the boredom of touring, but also hoping to show fans that there are options to traditional ways of doing things. As Picciotto said, "You find the Elks Lodge, you find the guy who's got a space in the back of his pizzeria, you find the guy who has a gallery. Kids will do that stuff because they want to make stuff happen." (Azzerad, p 391)
The group (Mackaye in particular) also made a point of discouraging violent, unwanted slam dancing and fistfights, which they saw as relics of the late 1970s/early 1980s hardcore punk era. Azzerad quotes Mackaye, "See, [slam dancers] have one form of communication: violence ... So to disorient them, you don't give them violence. I'd say, 'Excuse me, sir...'- I mean, it freaks them out -'Excuse me, sir, would you please cut that crap out?'" (Azzerad, p 392) Azzerad notes that, "[Mackaye's] admonitions seemed preachy to some, but most were deeply grateful. And by and large, people would obey - it wasn't cool to disrespect Ian MacKaye." (Azzerad, p.392) 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).
Fugazi's music blends elements of punk rock, hardcore, soul and noise with an inventively syncopated rhythm section often steeped in dub or reggae influence. Notable is MacKaye and Picciotto's inventive, interlocking guitar playing, which often defies the traditional notion of "lead" and "rhythm" guitars. They often feature unusual and dissonant chords and progressions, sometimes reminiscent of the Tom Verlaine/Richard Lloyd pairing from Television, though filtered through a hardcore punk lens. Comparisons of guitar style have also been made to early Gang of Four. Most of their albums have featured an instrumental song or two.
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. Lyrics and vocals often feature strong emotional intensity. This style has led many critics to call their music post-hardcore and emocore, as it is seen as a progression of and a reaction to the hardcore punk movement.
Fugazi's unusual experimental sound influenced some later punk music groups, and has proven difficult to categorize neatly; they've been classified as post punk and post-hardcore. Though clearly rooted in punk and hardcore, there is arguably much more than punk to be found in Fugazi's music; for example, a review of The Argument compared a few songs to Radiohead. With Red Medicine, critics Ian McCaleb and Ira Robbins declared that Fugazi combined an "unprecedented dynamic range ... and previously unimagined elements" such as "clattering musique concrète ... piano and sound effects ... murky dub and lancing sax" and "loose-limbed jammy funk ... into an ambitious, experimental format that raises more stylistic questions than it answers."[1]
Fugazi's career is chronicled in Our Band Could Be Your Life, a study of several important American underground rock groups. Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins' book Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital also covers Fugazi -- and its contributing members' bands -- at length.
Fugazi are currently on what the band describes as a "hiatus," partly brought on by the recent forays into fatherhood by Canty and Lally, and may or may not reunite in the future. They recently released thirty unmixed live shows that are available for sale exclusively at www.fugaziliveseries.com. In the meantime, the members are undertaking side projects, with MacKaye forming the duo The Evens with his girlfriend Amy Farina (formerly of the Warmers), and Canty 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. Canty also appears on Bob Mould's 2005 Album Body of Song, and has played bass live with Mary Timony. Lally has appeared on fellow DC post-punkers Decahedron's debut album Disconnection_Imminent, as well as on a one shot project with John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Josh Klinghoffer of The Bicycle Thief known as Ataxia, he also finished his first solo album "There to Here" to be released on Dischord Records and is also performing shows under his name, solo and along with producer Don Zientara. Guy Picciotto currently works as a record producer most notably with Blonde Redhead, and he has performed alongside members of The Ex at the Jazz festival in Wels, Austria.
-from wikipedia.org
