American singer, songwriter, Ian MacKaye is best known for being the epically cool frontman of this amazing list of influential hardcore punk bands – ‘Minor Threat,’ ‘The Teen Idles,’ ‘Embrace,’ ‘Fugazi’ and ‘The Evens.’
On top of all that he is also co-founder and owner of Dischord Records an independent record label based in Washington and producer responsible for releases by the likes of Q and Not U, John Frusciante, 7 Seconds, Nation of Ulysses, Bikini Kill, Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, and Rollins Band among others.
Quite a list but perhaps the most impressive part? He did it all without being off his face on smack, crack and dope. In fact the man coined the term ‘straight edge’ by promoting independent thinking and rejecting the stereotype so many of his contemporaries had fit (being found dead at 21, drugged up to their eyeballs, in a messed up hotel room in NYC).
Despite never intending to start a movement in quite the way he did, he showed upcoming musicians who idoloised his work that getting off their head was not the only way to get their kicks.
