Rites of Spring
Encyclopedia
Rites of Spring was an American post-hardcore
band from Washington, D.C.
in the mid-1980s, known for their energetic live performances. A part of the D.C. hardcore punk scene, Rites of Spring increased the frenetic violence and visceral passion of hardcore while simultaneously experimenting with its compositional rules. Lyrically, they also shifted hardcore into intensely personal realms and, in doing so, are generally considered the first "emo
" band.
The band only performed 15 concerts. Vocalist/guitarist Guy Picciotto
and drummer Brendan Canty
went on to play in Fugazi in the late 1980s.
, Rites of Spring is claimed after the fact for being the founders of the emotional hardcore
genre. Allmusic' s Matt Kantor described the band's music as being at times "fast and furious" while also being "at other times lush and evocative though always with a sense of drive and melody."
The band is named after the symphonic ballet The Rite of Spring
by Igor Stravinsky
.
was the band’s eponymous debut album from 1985. Its twelve songs were recorded at Inner Ear Studios
in February 1985, produced by Ian MacKaye
of Fugazi and Minor Threat
, and released on vinyl in June of that year as Dischord Records #16. The album was re-released on CD and cassette in 1987, with an additional track from the same session, "Other Way Around", as well as the four songs from the Rites' follow-up EP
, All Through a Life
, Dischord #22. The CD and cassette originally retained the number "16" while the 1991 repress, as well as the 2001 remastered version of the same seventeen songs, were numbered "16CD" and given the new title End on End
. The band broke up in January 1986.
with Embrace
alumnus, guitarist Michael Hampton
(not to be confused with Michael Hampton
, lead guitarist for Funkadelic
).
The Rites of Spring personnel reunited for a quasi-reincarnation called Happy Go Licky
, releasing an LP/CD of various live concert recordings though never producing any studio work. The music was much more experimental than Rites of Spring, heavily improvised and featuring tape loop effects.
Picciotto and Canty eventually teamed up with bassist Joe Lally and former Minor Threat
, Skewbald
, Egg Hunt
, and Embrace
singer Ian MacKaye
(co-owner of the band’s label, Dischord Records
) in Fugazi
. Mike Fellows
went on to do session work for the Drag City
label and form Miighty Flashlight, releasing an eponymous album under this name in 2002.
Picciotto himself doesn't recognize the attribution of having "created" emo. When asked about it in an interview his response was, "I've never recognized "emo" as a genre of music. I always thought it was the most retarded term ever. I know there is this generic commonplace that every band that gets labeled with that term hates it. They feel scandalized by it. But honestly, I just thought that all the bands I played in were punk rock bands. The reason I think it's so stupid is that - what, like the Bad Brains
weren't emotional? What - they were robots or something? It just doesn't make any sense to me."
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in the mid-1980s, known for their energetic live performances. A part of the D.C. hardcore punk scene, Rites of Spring increased the frenetic violence and visceral passion of hardcore while simultaneously experimenting with its compositional rules. Lyrically, they also shifted hardcore into intensely personal realms and, in doing so, are generally considered the first "emo
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
" band.
The band only performed 15 concerts. Vocalist/guitarist Guy Picciotto
Guy Picciotto
Guy Picciotto is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC.He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist of Fugazi, as well as Rites of Spring.-Rites of Spring & Early Projects:...
and drummer Brendan Canty
Brendan Canty
Brendan Canty is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi....
went on to play in Fugazi in the late 1980s.
Band history
Though rooted in the loud-and-fast style of hardcore punkHardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, Rites of Spring is claimed after the fact for being the founders of the emotional hardcore
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
genre. Allmusic
The band is named after the symphonic ballet The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
by Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
.
Recordings
Rites of SpringRites of Spring (album)
Rites of Spring is the first and only studio album released by influential DC post-hardcore band Rites of Spring. The twelve songs were recorded at Inner Ear Studios in February, 1985, produced by Ian MacKaye and released on vinyl in June, 1985 as Dischord Records #16...
was the band’s eponymous debut album from 1985. Its twelve songs were recorded at Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington, VA by musician and recording engineer Don Zientara. Hundreds of albums, including both independent and major label releases have been recorded at the studio. It has been in continuous operation for over 25 years.- See Also :Don Zientara...
in February 1985, produced by Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
of Fugazi and Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
, and released on vinyl in June of that year as Dischord Records #16. The album was re-released on CD and cassette in 1987, with an additional track from the same session, "Other Way Around", as well as the four songs from the Rites' follow-up EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, All Through a Life
All Through a Life
All Through a Life is an EP by Rites of Spring, released in 1987 . It is regarded as the release that bridged the early DC sound of Minor Threat and Scream and the later DC sound of Embrace and One Last Wish.-Track listing:...
, Dischord #22. The CD and cassette originally retained the number "16" while the 1991 repress, as well as the 2001 remastered version of the same seventeen songs, were numbered "16CD" and given the new title End on End
End on End
End on End is a compilation album by the American post-hardcore band Rites of Spring, released in 1991. It compiles the band's first album Rites of Spring and their EP All Through a Life, along with an extra studio track....
. The band broke up in January 1986.
Post-breakup and musical influence
Picciotto, Janney, and Canty formed One Last WishOne Last Wish
One Last Wish was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in May 1986 by members of Rites of Spring, and split up in January 1987....
with Embrace
Embrace (U.S. band)
Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986 and was one of the first bands to be dubbed in the press as emotional hardcore, though the members had rejected the term since its creation...
alumnus, guitarist Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton (punk musician)
Michael Hampton is a guitarist in the Washington, DC hardcore punk scene.His first notable effort was playing guitar in The Extorts in early 1980. There are a few live recordings and a demo tape as evidence of their existence. After The Extorts broke up, Hampton and Henry Garfield formed a new...
(not to be confused with Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton is a funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic....
, lead guitarist for Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
).
The Rites of Spring personnel reunited for a quasi-reincarnation called Happy Go Licky
Happy Go Licky
Happy Go Licky was a short-lived reunion of Washington D.C. hardcore punk group Rites of Spring. The band formed in spring of 1987 and broke up after their final show at D.C.'s 9:30 Club on New Year's Day in 1988. The last song they performed at that show was the Rites of Spring song, Drink Deep...
, releasing an LP/CD of various live concert recordings though never producing any studio work. The music was much more experimental than Rites of Spring, heavily improvised and featuring tape loop effects.
Picciotto and Canty eventually teamed up with bassist Joe Lally and former Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
, Skewbald
Skewbald (band)
Skewbald / Grand Union, , was a short-lived hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. founded by former Minor Threat members Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson.-History:...
, Egg Hunt
Egg Hunt
Egg Hunt was a small band/project of long time friends and musicians Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, former singer and drummer of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat....
, and Embrace
Embrace (U.S. band)
Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986 and was one of the first bands to be dubbed in the press as emotional hardcore, though the members had rejected the term since its creation...
singer Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
(co-owner of the band’s label, Dischord Records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
) in Fugazi
Fugazi (band)
Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band's continual members are guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty....
. Mike Fellows
Mike Fellows
Mike Fellows AKA Miighty Flashlight is an American musician who has performed and recorded with a variety of groups and artists since the early 1980s...
went on to do session work for the Drag City
Drag City (record label)
Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
label and form Miighty Flashlight, releasing an eponymous album under this name in 2002.
Picciotto himself doesn't recognize the attribution of having "created" emo. When asked about it in an interview his response was, "I've never recognized "emo" as a genre of music. I always thought it was the most retarded term ever. I know there is this generic commonplace that every band that gets labeled with that term hates it. They feel scandalized by it. But honestly, I just thought that all the bands I played in were punk rock bands. The reason I think it's so stupid is that - what, like the Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
weren't emotional? What - they were robots or something? It just doesn't make any sense to me."