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The official, legal capacity of the original space was 199 people. The length of the front hallway was 106 feet (felt bigger than the actual concert space). The name of the club came from the address, 930 F Street NW. It became one of the most important music venues in the country, featuring up and coming acts like The Police, R.EM. and many others. It opened this month, 43 years ago. The 9:30 Club is an institution. It also was an integral part of the DC music scene, shining the light on local bands and artists.
A brief history - The 9:30 Club was founded by Dody DiSanto and Jon Bowers, and hosted its first show on May 31, 1980, featuring New York City jazz-punk band the Lounge Lizards and local new wave group Tiny Desk Unit.
(Fun fact #1 - NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts creator, Bob Boilen, named the radio program after Tiny Desk Unit, for which he played synthesizer)
DC’s hardcore music scene came into its own at the venue, with bands like Teen Idles, Minor Threat and Bad Brains performing to energetic crowds. The club also hosted all-ages and matinee events, so that younger, “straight-edge” fans could take in their favorite local bands. Beyond the local punk sound was go-go music that became a huge sensation in the city. The 9:30 Club hosted go-go bands as well, including the historic Trouble Funk.
Seth Hurwitz and Rich Heinecke began booking shows for the 9:30 Club in 1981 and bought the establishment in 1986. Eventually, because of the notoriety and size of bands and crowds, the venue on F Street NW just couldn’t hold the spectacles inside. In 1996, the new 9:30 Club opened on V Street NW with a legal capacity of up to 1,200.
So what better way to celebrate the 9:30 Club than a mixtape of DC-based artists that appeared at the original spot. From punk to pop to go-go, the club housed it all. Enjoy “Music from the Nation’s Capital”.
The mixtape starts off with the very first band, Tiny Desk Unit and their track “Take Me to Paris” a cool, groovy new wave track.
Next up is “The Godfather of Go-Go” himself, Chuck Brown. The guitarist and bandleader was instrumental in helping shape the go-go scene here in DC. “Block Party” is a perfect song for this time of year, as summer parties start popping up in neighborhoods across the city.
Bad Brains, which started as a jazz fusion band known as Mind Power, were widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk. They didn’t see themselves that way at all - they could mix in reggae, soul and hip hop. Their song “Banned in D.C.” is a song that addressed the fact that in 1979 they were blacklisted from many Washington area clubs due to their destructive fans.
Fugazi - The post-hardcore band that was one of the most essential D.C. bands ever. After the band Minor Threat dissolved, Ian MacKaye formed the band that was noted for their style-transcending music and DIY ethical stance. They always maintained a policy of affordable access to their work through low record and ticket prices and all concerts were all-ages.
Elsewhere on the mixtape, you’ll get a track from Rare Essence. The DC go-go band, founded in 1976, were one of the pioneers of the go-go sound. Tommy Keene, the Bethesda-based power pop singer/songwriter gets a nod with his catchy guitar rock tunes. And of course, no DC playlist is complete without The Slickee Boys, a band that mixed punk with garage rock and some surf music. I remember first hearing them at Yesterday & Today records in Rockville, Maryland.
(Fun fact #2 - Kim Kane from The Slickee Boys worked at the record store and Skip Groff, the owner of the store, produced the band).
So, like a great record store, take your time, and dig into the mixtape. 21 songs from a variety of artists that shared the love (and maybe sometimes the stage) of the 9:30 Club.
(Fun fact #3 - Big thanks to WTOP’s Neal Augenstein for his help in band/song selection of the mixtape)