I want something new: Limp Records and the birth of DC punk, 1976–80 | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Punk & Post-Punk
  4. Volume 9, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 9, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2044-1983
  • E-ISSN: 2044-3706

Abstract

Recountings of the Washington, DC punk rock scene’s history often start with the founding of Dischord Records in 1980 and focus on the subsequent ascent of Dischord co-owner Ian MacKaye’s bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi. As seminal as Dischord remains in the narrative of DC punk – a community still thriving today – the years just prior to the label’s founding generated the scene’s true incunabula. Beginning with the self-released debut EP from the Slickee Boys in 1976, this first wave of DC bands – also including Razz, Nurses, White Boy and others – combined elements of art rock, surf, proto-punk, pub rock and power pop together to craft a protean version of punk that embraced eccentricity and humour, serving as the city’s own defiant rebuke of the staid state of 1970s rock music. No record label was more central to the nascent punk scene in DC than Limp Records. Operated by Skip Groff, Limp provided the punk community with its first proper record label. Rather than a label that centred around the efforts of a single band – as most other new DC punk labels did – Limp issued singles for several groups, collaborating with the fledgling Dacoit and O’Rourke labels to co-release defining singles for the Slickee Boys and Razz. DC punk would not have taken shape the way it did without Groff’s efforts, particularly considering his connections with bands like Bad Brains and the Slickee Boys and his musical and entrepreneurial influence on local teenage punks like MacKaye, Jeff Nelson and Henry Rollins. This article is a history of DC punk record labels from 1976 to 1980 and seeks to establish this overshadowed era of the scene as one of the most critical in the community’s 43-year existence. Considering the outsize influence the DC scene ultimately had on punk culture – whether through the eponymous clean living philosophy inspired by the Minor Threat song ‘Straight Edge’, the unwaveringly independent business model of Dischord or the pacesetting music reliably turned out each decade by participants in the scene – the impact of Groff and his first wave DC punk peers must be acknowledged.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Library Research Fund at the University of Maryland
© 2020 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/punk_00030_1
2020-06-01
2024-04-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Andersen, Mark, and Jenkins, Mark. ( 2009), Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital, , 4th ed.., New York:: Akashic Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Anon. ( 1977;), ‘ The word. ’, Unicorn Times, 4:12, p. 8.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Anon. ( 1994;), ‘ Molester denied plea. ’, The Washington Post, 9 September, p. B5.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Arnson, David. ( 2018;), e-mail to the author. , 20 August.
  5. Bad Brains ( 1980;), ‘ Pay to Cum!. ’, 7” single, Oxon Hill, MD:: Bad Brain Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bernstein, Shari. ( 1979;), ‘ Struggling to “Razz” to the top. ’, The Diamondback, 30 August, p. 10.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Billboard ( n.d.;), ‘ The hot 100, week of July 17, 1976. ’, Billboard, https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1976-07-15. Accessed 20 June 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Bretholz, Myron. ( 1976;), ‘ Overkill at The Keg. ’, Unicorn Times, 3:12, p. 28.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Bretholz, Myron, and Green, Jim. ( 1978;), ‘ America underground. ’, Trouser Press, 5:2, pp. 35–37.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Browning, Boo. ( 1981;), ‘ Insect Surfers and Tiny Desk Unit. ’, The Washington Post, 23 January, p. 33.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Christgau, Robert. ( 1981;), ‘ Christgau consumer guide. ’, Creem, 12:12, p. 9.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Clifford, Bo. ( 1979a;), ‘ Vinylly. ’, Slash, 2:4, p. 38.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Clifford, Bo. ( 1979b;), ‘ Vinylly. ’, Slash, 2:5, p. 36.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Green, Jim. ( 1977;), ‘ America underground. ’, Trouser Press, 4:4, pp. 34–35.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Green, Jim. ( 1979;), ‘ America underground. ’, Trouser Press, 6:5, pp. 47–49.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Green, Jim, and Lorber, Steve. ( 1979;), ‘ America underground: Capitol radio (& clubs, bands, etc.). ’, Trouser Press, 6:8, pp. 48–50.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Groff, Skip. ( 2005;), ‘ Comment: But darling of course it’s normal: The post-punk record sleeve. ’, Design Observer, 20 May, https://designobserver.com/feature/but-darling-of-course-its-normal-the-post-punk-record-sleeve/3377. Accessed 2 June 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Groff, Skip. ( 2017;), in-person interview with the author. , Olney, MD:, 17 September.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Groff, Skip, and MacKaye, Ian. ( 2018;), in-person interview with the author. , Olney, MD:, 13 December.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Harden, Blaine. ( 1980;), ‘ Midnight patrol with Washington’s “punk/new wave”. ’, The Washington Post Magazine, 30 March, p. 10.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Heath, Michael. ( 1977a;), ‘ DC Rockers: Sleepytime time is over!. ’, Vintage Violence, 1:1, p. 8.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Heath, Michael. ( 1977b;), ‘ The controls: March 25, American U.. ’, Vintage Violence, 1:2, p. 9.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Heath, Michael. ( 1977c;), ‘ 7-inchers. ’, Vintage Violence, 1:4, p. 8.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Heath, Michael. ( 1977d;), ‘ The Slickee Boys: New LP!. ’, Vintage Violence, 1:4, p. 16.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Heath, Michael. ( 1978;), ‘ Singles. ’, Vintage Violence, 1:5, p. 11.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Hoback, Mark. ( 2019;), e-mail to author. , 4 June.
  27. Insect Surfers ( 1980), Wavelength, EP, Arlington, VA:: Wasp Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Jenkins, Mark. ( 1995;), ‘ Urban Verbs’ renewal. ’, The Washington Post, 22 December, p. 11.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Jenkins, Mark. ( 2018;), in-person interview with the author. , College Park, MD:, 27 April.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Jenkins, Mark, and Lorber, Steve. ( 1977;), ‘ Teenage news. ’, Unicorn Times, 4:9, p. 5.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Johnson, Calvin. ( 1981;), ‘ Insect surfers. ’, OP, F, p. 6.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Kane, Kim. ( 1977;), interviewed by Skip Groff. , Hit and Run, 1:1, p. 3.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Keene, Tommy. ( 1996;), interviewed by Jud Cost. , The Bob, 1:53, pp. 12–13.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Koumoutseas, Nick. ( 2019;), e-mail to the author. , 31 May.
  35. Krulik, Jeff. ( 2019;), e-mail to the author. , 21 May.
  36. Leary, Mary. ( 2019;), e-mail to the author. , 16 May.
  37. Levey, Mary Cecile. ( 1980;), ‘ Best of Limp. ’, OP, D, p. 19.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Lochow, Robert. ( 1979;), ‘ DC becomes a contender. ’, The Infiltrator, 1:1, pp. 9–10.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Mabery, D. L.. ( 1981;), ‘ Tiny Desk Unit. ’, OP, F, p. 6.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. MacKaye, Ian. ( 1997;), ‘ I had a Mohawk in third grade. ’, Fizz, 10, p. 144.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. MacKaye, Ian. ( 2001;), interviewed by David Ensminger. , Left of the Dial, 1:1, pp. 37–51.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. MacKaye, Ian. ( 2018;), in-person interview with the author. , College Park, MD:, 6 September.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. McDonald, George, and Sasfy, Joseph. ( 1977;), ‘ Pity and fear down at the rock’n’roll club: The dionysian roots of DC’s rock theater. ’, Unicorn Times, 5:1, pp. 47–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Nurses ( 1980), Love You Again, Single, Arlington, VA:: Teen-A-Toons Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Opsasnick, Mark. ( 2019), Rock the Potomac: Popular Music and Early-Era Rock and Roll in the Washington, DC Area, St. Petersburg, FL:: BookLocker;.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Ott, Mr.. ( 1979;), interviewed by Howard Wuelfing. , Descenes, 1:1, pp. 7–16.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Provost, Marie. ( 1979;), ‘ The A.U. connection. ’, The Infiltrator, 1:1, p. 34.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Razz ( 1977;), ‘ C.Redux. ’, 7” single, Chicago:: O’Rourke Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Razz ( 1979a;), ‘ Air Time. ’, 7” single, Rockville, MD:: Limp Records and O’Rourke Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Razz ( 1979b;), ‘ You Can Run. ’, 7” single, Rockville, MD:: Limp Records and O’Rourke Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Reidy, Michael. ( 1977;), interviewed by Valerie Suzanne Flynn. , Unicorn Times, 4:9, p. 15.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Rollins, Henry. ( 2019;), in-person interview with the author. , Los Angeles, CA:, 3 January.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Schweitzer, Ally. ( 2014;), ‘ Ian MacKaye: “If you want to rebel against society, don’t dull the blade”. ’, Bandwidth, 19 August, http://bandwidth.wamu.org/ian-mackaye-if-you-want-to-rebel-against-society-dont-dull-the-blade/. Accessed 24 May 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Simon, David. ( 1979a;), ‘ Real rock that’s really a mess. ’, The Diamondback, 72:8, p. 10.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Simon, David. ( 1979b;), ‘ Playing to the crowd disco forgot. ’, The Diamondback, 72:64, p. 8.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Sinks, James. ( 2015;), ‘ Skip Groff. ’, Signaland, 13 July, http://signaland.com/posts/2015/07/13.php. Accessed 14 May 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. The Slickee Boys ( 1976), Hot and Cool, 7” EP, Bethesda, MD:: Dacoit Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. The Slickee Boys ( 1977), Separated Vegetables, album, Bethesda, MD:: Dacoit Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. The Slickee Boys ( 1978), Mersey Mersey Me, 7” EP, Rockville, MD:: Limp Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. The Slickee Boys ( 1979), Slickee Boys, 7” EP, Rockville, MD:: Limp Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. The Slickee Boys ( 1980;), ‘ The brain that refused to die. ’, 7” single, Arlington, VA:: Dacoit Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. The Slickee Boys ( 1983), Cybernetic Dreams of Pi, album, Minneapolis, MN:: Twin/Tone Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Sommer, Tim. ( 1980;), ‘ Urban Verbs’ wide gestures. ’, Trouser Press, 7:6, p. 11.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Sumrall, Harry. ( 1981;), ‘ REM and Tiny Desk Unit. ’, The Washington Post, 2 June, p. B9.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Teen Idles ( 1980), Minor Disturbance, 7” EP, Washington, DC:: Dischord Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Testa, Jim. ( 2019;), e-mail to author. , 2 October.
  67. Various artists ( 1978), :30 Over DC, album, Rockville, MD:: Limp Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  68. Whipp, Jake. ( 1979;), interviewed by Howard Wuelfing. , Descenes, 1:1, p. 16.
     [Google Scholar]
  69. White Boy ( 1977a;), ‘ Sagittarius Bumpersticker. ’, 7” single, Washington, DC:: Doodley Squat Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. White Boy ( 1977b), Spastic, 7” EP, Washington, DC:: Doodley Squat Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  71. White Boy ( 1978;), ‘ Heavens of Hell. ’, 7” single, Washington, DC:: Doodley Squat Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. Wuelfing, Howard. ( 1979a;), ‘ Talking trash with White Boy. ’, Descenes, 1:1, p. 5.
     [Google Scholar]
  73. Wuelfing, Howard. ( 1979b;), ‘ Rotten fruit: A family tree of the DC underground. ’, Descenes, 1:1, p. 8.
     [Google Scholar]
  74. Wuelfing, Howard. ( 1980;), ‘ Small office furniture functionary. ’, Descenes, 2:3, pp. 8–10.
     [Google Scholar]
  75. Wuelfing, Howard. ( 2019;), e-mail to the author. , 1 May.
  76. Zientara, Don. ( 2019a;), e-mail to the author. , 23 May.
  77. Zientara, Don. ( 2019b;), e-mail to the author. , 30 May.
  78. Davis, John R.. ( 2020;), ‘ I want something new: Limp Records and the birth of DC punk, 1976–80. ’, Punk & Post-Punk, 9:2, pp. 177–204, doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/punk_00030_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/punk_00030_1
Loading
I want something new: Limp Records and the birth of DC punk, 1976–80
Punk & Post-Punk 9, 177 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1386/punk_00030_1
/content/journals/10.1386/punk_00030_1
/content/journals/10.1386/punk_00030_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): bands; history; mentors; punk; record labels; regional scenes; subculture

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error