Join us for an evening about the music, art and people who built DC’s punk underground. We’ll screen Punk the Capital, the documentary that traces how a handful of kids at early shows grew into a scene that changed punk worldwide. It follows the city’s best-known (and often short-lived) bands, its key venues, the founding of Dischord Records, and the start of the straight-edge movement.
After the film, co-director James June Schneider and author Howard Wuelfing will sit down together for a conversation about the scene, how it was captured on film and in print, and what it was like to be there, followed by audience Q&A.
Howard’s book, Descenes and Discords: An Anthology, is a time capsule of punk’s birth and early years, told through two influential fanzines printed and distributed in Washington, DC, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Descenes covered the local scene and Discords the national one, and both captured the raw energy, irreverence and revolutionary spirit of the underground as it happened. Copies will be available for purchase and signing.
About James June Schneider
James June Schneider is a Washington, DC, native who came of age in the city’s mid-’80s punk and skate scenes. He has been making films and videos since 1992. His award-winning work includes Blue Is Beautiful (1997), made with Dischord recording artists The Make-Up, and The End of the Light Age (2007), starring Lou Castel. He also directed The Band That Met the Sound Beneath (2012), with the Chilean punk band Pánico, and Young Oceans of Cinema, a portrait of the French outsider filmmaker Jean Epstein.
About Howard Wuelfing
Howard Wuelfing is a writer, musician, journalist and music publicist who documented Washington, DC’s early punk scene while also writing for the Washington Post, the Village Voice and SPIN. After moving back to his home state of New Jersey, he worked in publicity at Columbia Records with artists including Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Cypress Hill and Crazy Town. He later founded his own company, Howlin’ Wuelf Media, where he still works with artists from established performers to up-and-coming acts. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and cats.