Interview with Fugazi Pioneer, Ian MacKaye

Ian MacKaye, Fugazi pioneer and frontman of Dischord Records' The Evens, is probably the biggest rock star you never heard of. Really.

"Fast service, huh?" he says, phoning minutes after an e-mail interview request. "I knew this was last-minute so I tried my best to fit it in before your deadline."

Truth is, MacKaye has every reason to be a holier-than-thou, ivory tower rock snob. But, he isn't.

"I try to be accessible," he insists, "But many wars have been lost when there's too many entry points to the front line."

His punk band, Minor Threat, revolutionized the Washington D.C. hardcore scene in the '80s while he unknowingly reworked the underground music landscape with his childhood friend Henry Rollins. During that era, the trailblazer penned and released the song, "Straight Edge," which has become an anthem for an entire movement-ultimately spearheading the whole no booze, no drugs subculture.

MacKaye's label, Dischord Records, has consistently unleashed a brand of uncompromising, balls-to-the-wall music for almost 25 years that has won over rock gods like Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Red Hot Chili Pepper's Anthony Kiedis.

And, with the seminal group Fugazi, MacKaye (guitarist and co-vocalist) managed to carve the path for thousands of acts-bands like Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana and Foo Fighters-and bypassed the whole commercial radio/MTV thing to ultimately sell more than 1 million albums.

What's his secret? The 44-year-old veteran never looks back.

"I'm not very nostalgic," he says. "Others seem to be concerned with the past. I'm always looking forward to what's next."

With The Evens, MacKaye continues to revolutionize the music landscape. This time around, he's doing it with a lo-fi PA system and his partner in crime, Amy Farina.

MacKaye, phoning from the Dischord home base near D.C., reflects on his "less is more" concept with The Evens, his love-hate relationship with technology and slams the idea that he founded the straight edge movement.

Q: I'm familiar with you from your Fugazi days, what's the set-up with The Evens?