Salad Days is not always about Mac De Marco! ‘Salad Days: The Birth of Punk in the Nation’s Capital’ is a new documentary directed by fanzine publisher Scott Crawford, and that examines the debut of the punk hardcore scene in Washington DC in the 80s. The trailer is officially out and you will recognize members of Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Black Market Baby, the Faith, the Slickee Boys, Void, Government Issue, Marginal Man, Dag Nasty, 9353, Gray Matter, Beefeater, Scream, Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Shudder to Think, Nation of Ulysses, Jawbox,…
I can’t tell that I was there at the time, but this particular area has always fascinated me as it was the fertile ground for so many punk bands… they defined a place and a moment, they are more than ever relevant, and definitively legendary. At the same time, D.C. record labels such as Dischord, Fountain of Youth, Teen Beat, and Simple Machines ‘would become standard-bearers for the DIY revolution’. And there wasn’t a documentary made about it? Apparently such a thing didn’t exist yet, so the filmmakers spent a year interviewing dozens of musicians, photographers, DJs, activists, and writers who helped create the local music scene in the 1980s, and went through hundreds of photos, live videos, flyers and zines, to tell ‘the story of one of the most inspiring (and misunderstood) decades in independent music’.
There is a premiere in Washington D.C. on Friday December 19th (but both screenings are already sold out) and on Sunday December 21st at the AFI Silver Theater. Here is the trailer:
