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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Minor Threat| image = Minor-threat-malcolm-riviera.jpg| caption = Minor Threat performing at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., 1981| background = group_or_band| origin = Washington, D.C. , United States| genre = Hardcore punk | years_active = 1980–1981 1982-1983| label = Dischord Records|Dischord | associated_acts = Fugazi , Embrace (American band)|Embrace , The Teen Idles , Samhain (band)|Samhain , Bad Religion , Government Issue | website =| current_members =| past_members = Ian MacKaye Jeff Nelson (musician)|Jeff Nelson Brian Baker (musician)|Brian Baker Lyle Preslar Steve Hansgen Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" (DIY) ethic for music distribution and concert promotion. Minor Threat's song " Straight Edge (song)|Straight Edge " became the eventual basis of the straight edge movement, while the band often professed their own "straight edge" ideals.cite web | last = Hargus | first = Billy Bob | url = http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/fugazi.html | title = Ian MacKaye Interview | work = Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever | accessdate = June 9, 2007 Allmusic described Minor Threat's music as "iconic,"cite web | last = Raggett | first = Ned | url = Allmusic|class=album|id=r13139|pure_url=yes | title = Out of Step | work= Allmusic | accessdate = January 6, 2006 and noted that their groundbreaking music "has held up better than that of most of their contemporaries."cite web | last = Erlewine | first = Stephen Thomas | url = Allmusic|class=album|id=r13141|pure_url=yes | title = Complete Discography | work = Allmusic | accessdate = January 6, 2006
Along with the fellow Washington, D.C. hardcore band Bad Brains and California band Black Flag (band)|Black Flag , Minor Threat set the standard for many hardcore punk bands in the 1980s and 1990s. All of Minor Threat's records were released on Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson's own label, Dischord Records .
History
Early years
While attending Woodrow Wilson High School (Washington, D.C.)|Wilson High School , Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson (musician)|Jeff Nelson were in the Washington, D.C., Punk rock|punk band The Slinkees, which was soon renamed The Teen Idles . After that band broke up, MacKaye decided to switch from bass guitar to vocals, and organized Minor Threat with drummer Nelson, bassist Brian Baker (musician)|Brian Baker , and guitarist Lyle Preslar . Minor Threat's first performance was in December 1980, opening on a bill with Bad Brains , Phfat Raskals, and State of Alert|S.O.A. The band's first 7" EPs, First Two 7"s on a 12"|Minor Threat and In My Eyes (EP)|In My Eyes , were released in 1981. The group became popular regionally and toured the east coast and Midwest.
" Straight Edge (song)|Straight Edge ," a song from the band's first EP, helped to inspire the straight edge|straight edge movement . The lyrics of the song call for abstinence from alcoholic beverage|alcohol and other recreational drug use|drugs , a novel ideology for rock musicians which initially found a small but dedicated following. Other prominent groups that subsequently advocated the straight edge stance include SS Decontrol and 7 Seconds (band)|7 Seconds .
Another Minor Threat song from the second EP, Out of Step , further demonstrates the belief: "Don't smoke/Don't drink/Don't fuck/At least I can fucking think/I can't keep up/I'm out of step with the world."
The "I" in the lyrics was usually only implied, mainly because it did not quite fit the rhythm of the song, like the version on First Two 7"s on a 12" . The version on Out of Step (album)|Out Of Step is slower, allotting a bridge where MacKaye explains his philosophy of straight edge, explaining that straight edge "is not a set of rules; I'm not telling you what to do. All I'm saying is there are three things, that are like so important to the whole world that I don't happen to find much importance in, whether it's fucking, or whether it's playing golf, because of that, I feel... (chorus)". Some of the other members of Minor Threat, Jeff Nelson in particular, took exception to what they saw as MacKaye's wiktionary:imperious|imperious attitude on the song.cite web | last = Azerrad | first = Michael | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Band_Could_Be_Your_Life | title = Our Band Could Be Your Life, p.140
Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" led to some accusations of racism By whom|date=September 2011, but MacKaye has strongly denied such intentions and said that some listeners misinterpreted his words. He claims that his experiences attending Wilson High School, whose student population was 70 percent black, inspired the song. There, many students bullied MacKaye and his friends. Thrash metal band Slayer later cover version|covered the song, with the last iteration of the lyric "Guilty of being white" changed to "Guilty of being right." In an interview, MacKaye stated that he was offended that some perceived racist overtones in the lyrics, saying, "To me, at the time and now, it seemed clear it's an anti-racist song. Of course, it didn't occur to me at the time I wrote it that anybody outside of my twenty or thirty friends who I was singing to would ever have to actually ponder the lyrics or even consider them."Citation needed|date=September 2011
Hiatus
In the time between the release of the band's second seven-inch EP and the Out of Step (album)|Out of Step record, the band briefly split when guitarist Lyle Preslar moved to Illinois for college & ndash; during his semester at Northwestern University , Preslar was a member of Big Black for a few tempestuous rehearsals. During that period, MacKaye and Nelson put together a studio-only project called Skewbald/Grand Union ; in a reflection of the slowly increasing disagreements between the two musicians, they were unable to decide on one name. The group recorded three untitled songs, which would be released posthumously as Dischord's 50th release. During Minor Threat's inactive period, Brian Baker also briefly played guitar for Government Issue and appeared on the Make an Effort EP.
In March 1982, at the urging of Bad Brains' H.R. , Preslar left college to re-form Minor Threat. Shortly afterwards, the cuts Minor Threat and In My Eyes were rereleased as First Two 7"s on a 12" . The reunited band featured an expanded lineup: Steve Hansgen joined as the band's bassist and Baker switched to second guitar.
When "Out of Step" was rerecorded for the LP Out of Step , MacKaye inserted a spoken section explaining, "This is not a set of rules..." An ideological door had already been opened, however, and by 1982, some straight-edge punks, such as followers of the band SSD (band)|SS Decontrol , were swatting beers out of people's hands at clubs. Minor Threat, however, did not promote such overt behavior.
Breakup
Minor Threat broke up in 1983. A contributing factor was disagreement over musical direction. MacKaye was allegedly skipping practice sessions towards the end of the band's career, and he wrote the lyrics to the songs on the Salad Days (Minor Threat EP)|Salad Days EP in the studio. That was quite a contrast with the earlier recordings, as he had written and co-written the music for much of the band's early material. Minor Threat, which had returned to being a four-piece group with the departure of Hansgen, played its last show on September 23, 1983, with go-go band Trouble Funk and the Big Boys , ending with "Last Song", which was the original title of "Salad Days".
Alternatively, Ian MacKaye|MacKaye stated that he did not "check out" on hardcore punk|hardcore , but in fact hardcore "checked out". Explaining this, he stated that at a 1984 Minutemen (band)|Minutemen show, a fan struck Ian MacKaye|MacKaye 's younger brother Alec MacKaye|Alec in the face, and he punched the fan back, then realizing that the violence was "stupid", and that he saw his role in the stupidity. Ian MacKaye|MacKaye claimed that immediately after this he decided to leave the hardcore scene.
Subsequent activities
Ian MacKaye|MacKaye went on to found Embrace (U.S. band)|Embrace with former members of the Faith (American band)|the Faith , the obscure Egg Hunt (band)|Egg Hunt with Jeff Nelson and later Fugazi (band)|Fugazi and the Evens , as well as collaborating on Pailhead .
Brian Baker (musician)|Brian Baker went on to play in Junkyard (band)|Junkyard , The Meatmen , Dag Nasty and Government Issue . He currently plays in Bad Religion .
Lyle Preslar was briefly a member of Glenn Danzig 's Samhain (band)|Samhain , and his playing appears on a few songs on the band's first record. He joined The Meatmen in 1984, along with fellow Minor Threat member Brian Baker. He later ran Caroline Records , signing and working with (among others) Peter Gabriel , Ben Folds , Chemical Brothers , and Idaho (band)|Idaho , and ran marketing for Sire Records . He graduated from Rutgers University law school and lives in New Jersey.
Jeff Nelson (musician)|Jeff Nelson played less-frantic alternative rock with Three (band)|Three and The High-Back Chairs before retiring from live performance. He runs his own label, Adult Swim Records, distributed by Dischord, and is a graphic artist and a political activist in Toledo, Ohio . The band's own Dischord Records released material by many bands from the Washington, D.C., area, such as Government Issue , Void (band)|Void , Scream (band)|Scream , Fugazi (band)|Fugazi , Artificial Peace, Rites of Spring , Gray Matter (band)|Gray Matter , and Dag Nasty , and has become a respected independent record label.
Steve Hansgen formed Second Wind with Minor Threat roadie Rich Moore. He also worked with Tool (band)|Tool in 1992 on the production of their first EP, Opiate (EP)|Opiate .
Copyright issues
"Major Threat"
In 2005, a mock up of the cover of Minor Threat's first EP (also used on the First Two 7"s on a 12" LP and Complete Discography CD) was copied by athletic footwear manufacturer Nike, Inc.|Nike for use on a promotional poster for a skateboarding tour called "Major Threat". Nike also altered Minor Threat's logo (designed by Jeff Nelson) for the same campaign, as well as featuring Nike shoes in the new picture, rather than the combat boots worn by Ian MacKaye's younger brother Alec MacKaye|Alec on the original.
MacKaye issued a press statement condemning Nike's actions and said that he would discuss legal options with the other members of the band. Meanwhile, fans, at the encouragement of Dischord, organized a letter-writing campaign protesting Nike's infringement. On June 27, 2005, Nike issued a statement apologizing to Minor Threat, Dischord Records, and their fans for the "Major Threat" campaign and said that all promotional artwork (print and digital) that they could acquire were destroyed.Nike Skateboarding " http://www.nike.com/nikeskateboarding/v2/letter/ Major Threat East Coast Tour Poster" Nike. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
"Salad Days"
On October 29, 2005, Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox played the first few seconds of Minor Threat's "Salad Days" during an NFL broadcast. Use of the song was not cleared by Dischord Records or any of the members of Minor Threat. Fox claimed that the clip was too short to have violated any copyrights.Moyer, Justin " http://www.econoculture.com/m/index.php? option=com_content& task=view& id=112& Itemid=45 Fox Uses "Salad Days" on NFL Broadcast" EconoCulture . Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
Wheelhouse Pickles
In 2007, Brooklyn-based company Wheelhouse Pickles marketed a pepper sauce named "Minor Threat Sauce".cite web|url= http://wheelhousepickles.com/shop/threat |title=Wheelhouse Pickles |publisher=Wheelhouse Pickles |date= |accessdate=2011-10-23 Requesting only that the original label design (which was based on the "Bottled Violence" artwork)cite web|last=Del |first=John |url= http://gothamist.com/2007/12/14/mackaye_mildly.php |title=MacKaye Mildly Endorses Minor Threat Hot Sauce |publisher=Gothamist |date=2007-12-14 |accessdate=2011-10-23 be amended, Ian MacKaye gave the product his endorsement. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/47674-minor-threat-turns-condiment-but-ian-doesnt-mind Pitchfork: Minor Threat Turns Condiment, But Ian Doesn't Minddead link|date=December 2010 A small mention of this was made in music magazine Revolver (magazine)|Revolver , where MacKaye commented "I don't really like hot sauce but I like the Minor Threat stuff".
Members
Ian MacKaye – Lead vocalist|lead vocals (1980–1983)
20 Years of Dischord (2002) – "Screaming at a Wall", "Straight Edge", "Understand", "Asshole Dub"
'' Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground (2004) – "Straight Edge"
American Hardcore (film)#Soundtrack|American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986 (2006) – "Filler"
Other releases
Complete Discography (1989)
References
Reflist
Further reading
http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2007/07/vans_warped_tour_bad_religion.php Long Washington Post Express interview with Brian Baker from 2007
Andersen, Mark & Jenkins, Mark (2001), '' http://www.akashicbooks.com/danceofdays.htm Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capitol, New York, NY: Akashic Books, ISBN 1-888451-44-0.
Michael Azerrad|Azerrad, Michael (2001), Our Band Could Be Your Life|Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 , Boston, MA: Little Brown, ISBN 978-0-316-78753-6 .
Cynthia Connolly|Connolly, Cynthia ; Clague, Leslie & Sharon Cheslow|Cheslow, Sharon (1988), Banned in DC: Photos and Anecdotes From the DC Punk Underground 1979-85 , Washington, DC: Sun Dog Propaganda, ISBN 978-0-9620944-0-8 .
External links
http://www.dischord.com/band/minor-threat Minor Threat Profile by Dischord Records
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/MTHRT/ Minor Threat Profile by Southern Records
http://www.shanatinglipton.com/punk1.html Minor Threat article from Rekindling the Punk Flame by Shana Ting Lipton.
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~cch223/usa/info/minorthreat_ITGOinter.html Minor Threat interview, 1983 from If This Goes On by Sharon Cheslow and Colin Sears
http://www.operationphoenixrecords.com/maximumrocknrollminorthreat.html Minor Threat article, 1983 from MRR
http://www.pmakid.com/2011/09/interview-with-ian-mackaye-of-minor.html Interview with Ian MacKaye on PMAKid.com
Minor Threat DEFAULTSORT:Minor Threat Category:Dischord Records artists Category:Hardcore punk groups from Washington, D.C. Category:Musical groups established in 1980 Category:Straight edge groups Category:American punk rock groups
