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DC Rock History: Daily Summaries Delivered
by dcrockpod
Join hosts Philip Basnight and Alex Vidales as they explore Washington, D.C.’s rich rock history. Each episode uncovers iconic albums and overlooked gems, featuring stories behind the music, the artists, and the evolving local scene. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the city’s musical legacy, this podcast shines a light on the sounds that shaped rock in the nation’s capital. email: dcrockpod@gmail.com
Latest Episodes
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- 2 weeks ago1h 4m
Slant 6 - "Soda Pop*Rip Off" with Sara Marcus
In this episode, we take a deep dive into Soda Pop*Rip Off, the 1994 debut from Washington, DC trio Slant 6 and one of the sharpest records to come out of the early ’90s Dischord scene. The band formed in 1992 from the ashes of Autoclave, the group in which Christina Billotte had played bass alongside Mary Timony. Billotte moved to guitar and vocals for the new project, joined by Myra Power on bass and vocals and Marge Marshall on drums. They came together in the orbit of the Embassy, the Mount Pleasant group house shared with members of Nation of Ulysses, and took their name from the Chrysler Slant Six engine. Grouped with early riot grrrl through proximity and association, Slant 6 followed their own danceable, angular, retro-leaning direction. Recorded in October 1993 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia with engineer Don Zientara and produced by Ian MacKaye and the band, Soda Pop*Rip Off arrived in February 1994 as Dischord 91: In this episode, we’re joined by Sara Marcus, author of Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution and a professor at Notre Dame, who came up in the DC-area scene herself as a zine-making teenager. Great conversation, this episode is not to be missed. Go Further: Slant 6 on Dischord Sara Marcus Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight - Broke Royals Alex Vidales - Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- 3 weeks ago57 min
The Obsessed - "The Obsessed" with Metal Chris
In this episode, we take a deep dive into The Obsessed, the 1990 self-titled debut from the Potomac, Maryland doom band led by Scott “Wino” Weinrich and a foundational document of heavy music in Washington, DC. The band formed in 1976 as Warhorse, became The Obsessed by the end of the decade, and built a cult reputation through live shows and tape trading while playing a heavy, Black Sabbath-derived style in a scene dominated by punk and hardcore. Recorded in 1985 at Ambient Studios in College Park for Metal Blade with Wino on vocals and guitar, Mark Laue on bass, and Ed Gulli on drums, the tapes were shelved and left unreleased while Wino relocated to California to front Saint Vitus. Germany’s Hellhound Records revived the material at the end of the decade, mixing it in Berlin and releasing it in 1990 on the condition that Wino reform the band, which he did with a new rhythm section of bassist Scott Reeder, later of Kyuss, and drummer Greg Rogers. Known to fans as the Purple Album. For this episode, we’re joined by DC Metal Chris, who has run dcheavymetal.com since 2009, documenting the DC-area metal scene as a fan, photographer, and audio engineer. We discuss the band’s roots in a punk-dominated city, how The Obsessed sounds from the vantage point of more than thirty years, and why Wino’s uncompromising, old-school approach made him one of the defining figures in doom. Go Further: The Obsessed DC Heavy Metal Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight - Broke Royals Alex Vidales - Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- May 11, 20261h 2m
Smart Went Crazy - "Con Art" with Devin Ocampo
In this episode, we take a deep dive into Con Art, Smart Went Crazy's 1997 swan song and one of the most ambitious records to ever come out of the Dischord catalog. The band formed in DC in 1993 as a high school trio of Chad Clark, Abram Goodrich, and cellist Hilary Soldati, eventually signing to Dischord and releasing Now We're Even in 1995 before spending two years building toward something bigger. Recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington with overdubs tracked at their own practice spaces using a hybrid analog and ADAT setup, Con Art incorporated cello, farfisa, samplers, and song structures that resisted easy categorization then and still do now. At 73 minutes across 19 tracks, it nearly overwhelmed its own label and a band that broke apart less than a year after its release, scattering its members across some of the most interesting groups in DC's post-hardcore lineage: Faraquet, Medications, Beauty Pill, and The Caribbean. For this episode, we're joined by Devin Ocampo, drummer on Con Art and the guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter behind Faraquet, Medications, and The Effects. Together, we discuss what it was like to be inside a band burning that bright, how Con Art sounds from the vantage point of nearly thirty years, and why a record this restless has lasted this long. Go Further: Smart Went Crazy - Bandcamp || Dischord Records Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight - Broke Royals Alex Vidales - Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- May 4, 202656 min
Tuscadero - "The Pink Album" with Tuscadero
In this episode, we take a deep dive into The Pink Album, Tuscadero's 1994 debut and one of the defining records of the DC indie pop scene. Formed 1993 in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, Tuscadero built their sound around girl group influences, 1970s pop culture, and the everyday perspective of primary songwriters Melissa Farris and Margaret McCartney. The album was released on Teen-Beat Records before Elektra signed the band and released a re-recorded version in 1996. For this episode, all four members of Tuscadero join us: Melissa Farris, Margaret McCartney, Phil Satlof, and Jack Hornady. Together we discuss the band's formation, their early shows, the Teen-Beat years, the jump to Elektra, and what it has been like to revisit these songs across several reunions. We also listen back to "Heat Lightning," "Leather Idol," and "Nancy Drew Books" and hear the stories behind them directly from the people who wrote and recorded them. Go Further: Tuscadero – Bandcamp || Wikipedia The Pink Album – Discogs Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight – Broke Royals Alex Vidales – Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- Apr 27, 20261h 5m
The Dismemberment Plan - "Emergency & I" with Chris DeVille
In this episode, we take a deep dive into Emergency & I, the Dismemberment Plan's 1999 landmark and the album that cemented the band as one of the most distinctive acts to emerge from the DC indie scene. Recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia and Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey, and produced by J. Robbins of Jawbox and Chad Clark of Beauty Pill, the record pushed well outside the boundaries of the post-hardcore tradition the band had grown up in, incorporating synths, funk rhythms, and unconventional song structures into something that resisted easy categorization then and still does now. The Dismemberment Plan formed in DC in 1993, building their early reputation through the same DIY venues and independent infrastructure that shaped bands like Fugazi and Jawbox. After a brief and unsuccessful stint at Interscope Records, they returned to DeSoto Records, the DC independent founded by members of Jawbox, to release Emergency & I. That path back to independence turned out to produce one of the era's most enduring records, one that critics and fans have continued to reassess and celebrate in the decades since. For this episode, we're joined by Chris DeVille, Managing Editor of Stereogum and author of Such Great Heights, a cultural history of the indie rock explosion. Together, we discuss why Emergency & I sounds like nothing else from its moment, how it bridged the DC hardcore tradition and the indie mainstream that followed, and why it has only grown in stature with time. Go Further: Chris DeVille – Stereogum || Such Great Heights Emergency & I – Wikipedia Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight – Broke Royals Alex Vidales – Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- Apr 20, 202658 min
The Pietasters - "Willis" with Stephen Jackson
In this episode, we take a deep dive into Willis, the Pietasters' 1997 record and the album that brought the DC-bred ska band to their widest audience. Formed at Virginia Tech by a group of suburban Washington kids, the Pietasters spent the early '90s grinding through DMV dive bars and building a following on Moon Ska Records before a backstage conversation with Tim Armstrong of Rancid led to a deal with Hellcat, his new Epitaph subsidiary. Willis was the result: recorded in Los Angeles with Brett Gurewitz, guitarist for Bad Religion and founder of Epitaph Records, the album pushed the band's sound in a harder, more rock-forward direction than anything they'd released before. The Pietasters had always drawn from a wide pool including ska, soul, punk, and R&B, reflecting the same mixed-bill show culture that defined the DC scene they came up in. Willis captured that range while giving it a sharper edge, and "Out All Night" became one of the few ska songs to receive genuine mainstream radio play during the genre's late-90s commercial peak. Songs from the album landed in Hollywood films and on video game soundtracks, and the band toured relentlessly behind it, sharing stages with many legends including James Brown. For this episode, we're joined by Steve Jackson, lead vocalist and co-founder of the Pietasters. We discuss the band's DC roots, the making of Willis, and thirty-plus years of keeping the party going. Go Further: The Pietasters – Wikipedia || Website Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight – Broke Royals Alex Vidales – Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- Apr 13, 202653 min
Foo Fighters - "The Colour and the Shape" with Mike Jones
In this episode, we take a deep dive into The Colour and the Shape, the Foo Fighters' 1997 sophomore record and the album widely credited with establishing Dave Grohl as a frontman in his own right. Recorded across studios in DC, Washington, and California, the album marked the band's first full collaborative effort as a group, a sharp contrast to their largely solo debut. Produced by Gil Norton, known for his work with the Pixies, The Colour and the Shape balanced melodic precision with raw emotional urgency, drawing heavily from Grohl's personal life while reaching toward something genuinely expansive. Grohl grew up in Springfield, Virginia, and came up through the DC hardcore scene with Dain Bramage and Scream before joining Nirvana. That regional history runs through the record in ways both literal and atmospheric. The sessions were turbulent by any measure: drummer William Goldsmith's departure mid-recording, Grohl quietly replacing his drum tracks, and a bruising production process that pushed the band to their limits. What emerged from that friction was one of the defining American rock albums of its era, anchored by three singles that became fixtures of rock radio for years. For this episode, we're joined by Mike Jones of DC101, a station that has been playing Foo Fighters since this record was new. Together, we discuss the making of the album, its Virginia roots, and why The Colour and the Shape continues to hold up as the moment Foo Fighters became Foo Fighters. Go Further: Mike Jones – Mike Jones - DC101 The Colour and the Shape – Wikipedia || Allmusic Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight – Broke Royals Alex Vidales – Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight
- Apr 6, 20261h 1m
Shudder to Think sets the record straight!
In this episode of the DC Rock History Podcast, we sit down with Shudder to Think, one of the most singular and adventurous bands to emerge from the Washington, D.C. underground, for a wide-ranging conversation that covers their entire arc, from basement rehearsals to major labels and film soundtracks. Formed in the mid-80s by Stuart Hill (guitar), Craig Wedren (vocals), and drummer Mike Russell, and later joined by Nathan Larson (guitar) and Adam Wade (drums), Shudder to Think built something genuinely strange and genuinely beautiful out of the DC hardcore scene: music that was angular and dissonant, literate and surreal, and utterly unlike anything else on Dischord or anywhere else. In the conversation, we trace the band's origins through Sunday matinees at the 9:30 Club, the record stores of Georgetown, and a rehearsal space in a Little Tavern warehouse. We also talk soundtracks, new music currently in the works, and much more! 📖 Go Further: Dischord Records – Shudder to Think Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital – Akashic Books 🔗 Follow Us: Instagram & Tiktok: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Host: Philip Basnight (Broke Royals) Guests: Craig Wedren, Nathan Larson, Adam Wade, Stuart Hill – Shudder to Think 🎨 Podcast artwork by Rebecca Basnight
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About DC Rock History
Join hosts Philip Basnight and Alex Vidales as they explore Washington, D.C.’s rich rock history. Each episode uncovers iconic albums and overlooked gems, featuring stories behind the music, the artists, and the evolving local scene. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the city’s musical legacy, this podcast shines a light on the sounds that shaped rock in the nation’s capital. email: dcrockpod@gmail.com
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