In the early 1980's I sponsored a series of dances at the alternative public high school where I taught photography, HB-Woodlawn. The reason for this was to To raise money for the photo program, but they took on a bit of life of their own. A lot of the dances featured local punk bands, new at the time, many of whom went on to fame with the
Dischord Label. Teen Idles, Dain Bramage, Scream, DOA, the Dispensers, Count 4, and numerous others performed. Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl, and Jello Biafra either showed up or performed also.
Noisy, chaotic, and energetic stuff. Fun, too, in its way
A number of these pictures appeared in Cynthia Connolly's book "
Banned in DC" which documented the scene from many photographers' points of view.
Here are some of my photographs from that time.
2 comments:
man...really good stuff here...I appreciate the history of the HBW dances, more for the reasoning to have them (funding for the school programs) how many of these dances did you put in, about? im writing a book of the scene, and all accounts point to the HBW shows as a beginning.....bobby madden
Thanks. Folks at Dischird and Positive Force know this stuff chapter and verse. Check with them for details- they are the experts. We had two DC hardcore shows in '81 and '82 featuring multiple bands, then other bands like Scream, DOA, Necros, Count 4, the Dispensers, Peter & the Noisemakers, the French Are From Hell, Dain Bramage, etc., plus the great DC Go Go bands, Trouble Funk and E.U. Now those cats could seriously stir up the body and spirit, rock yo' socks & make ya funk fo' the money nah -and were spectacular musicians and seasoned performers who did not need to posture as being tough. They were the real straight-up deal. The harDCore bands were fun in their way, wild teen energy, but musically inchoate. Anyway- glad you liked the pictures, and check with the Dischord folks for your book. Much success with it.
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