SALAD DAYS x OBEY
OBEY and Shepard Fairey have been heavily influenced by the DC hardcore scene. Shepard has used numerous DC hardcore legends such as Ian Mackaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, Henry Rollins of State of Alert and Black Flag, and Bad Brains in his artwork. When hearing that Scott Crawford and Jim Saah were planning a West Coast release of their film Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington DC 1980-1990, we wanted to get involved and help out. Check out the trailer and our interview with Writer/Director Scott Crawford below:
Salad Days Official Trailer from Scott Crawford on Vimeo.
We’re super excited for the release of this documentary and got to speak with the Director and Producer Scott Crawford.
Check out the full interview below:
(Singer Keith Morris of Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Off! (L) and writer/director Scott Crawford pose at a screening of “Salad Days: A Decade Of Punk In Washington, DC (1980-1990)” at the Regent Theatre on February 27, 2015 in Los Angeles, California)
What was the first DC hardcore show you attended?
The first hardcore band I saw live was MDC at the Rock Against Reagan outdoor concert on the Mall in D.C. (1983). One of the first DC bands I saw was Void—and they helped change my life.
(Void, Wilson Center, 1983)
Is there anyone you would have loved to have in the documentary, but couldn’t get in contact with?
There were a few folks that I would’ve liked to have gotten but either our schedules just didn’t work out or it was just too hard geographically. But overall, I’m pretty happy with the material we did get. I reached out to people like Fred Armisen and Thurston Moore to show how far reaching and inspiring the DC scene was at the time.
Who’s your favorite DC band?
That’s too hard to answer! I have many—and for the most part, they’re all in the film!
What was you motivation to make this documentary?
I just felt like the city hadn’t ever had its proper due in a feature length film. It was a decade that inspired so many and helped make me who I am in ways I’m still not even aware of—so in many ways this film was like therapy for me. Some of the people in the film have remained friends with me since I was a 12 year old kid with a fanzine. (Editor, Director of Photography) Jim Saah and I have worked together for over 20 years on different projects and I count him as one of my closest friends. In a since, all of these people were like my big brothers and sisters. I owe them and this city a lot.
Any current DC bands that you enjoy?
Priests are amazing (https://priests.bandcamp.com/) and Dot Dash (https://dotdashdc.bandcamp.com/) are a great pop-punk quartet made up of a number of early DC hardcore bands (Minor Threat, Youth Brigade, GI).
(Minor Threat, 9:30 Club, 1983)
With bands like Fugazi going strong into the 2000’s what made you decide to only cover the DC scene up until 1990?
It would’ve been just too hard to cram another 10 years into 100 minutes. Mainly, I wanted to illustrate how DC had come together through the 80’s to create a community that was diverse but shared a common aesthetic. By the end of the decade, the proof of that was the success of Fugazi.
Why do you think DC has always been a more positive scene compared to other places at the same in the 80’s? IE: New York City
I think that has something to do with the fact that DC was so tight-knit and small in the beginning. The folks that started this scene did so with a purpose: create meaningful, powerful and thoughtful art on their own terms. Years later, that created exclusion and tension at times, but it’s really about having the strength of your convictions. Not to say NYC or LA lacked that, it’s just that there was a much smaller pool here.
(Fugazi)
Best DC show you ever attended?
That’s a tough one. Rites of Spring put on a live show unlike any I’d seen at that point, so they would certainly have to rank pretty high. Having said that, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a DC band from that era that didn’t put everything they had into their live sets: Minor Threat, Marginal Man, Faith, GI, Gray Matter, Ignition, Soulside, Holy Rollers, Kingface, the list goes on and on.
So many great frontmen have come from DC hardcore Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, HR what do you guys have in the water there that produces so many charismatic singers?
I think it really started with HR. As a frontman, he had no equals and he raised the bar about as high as it could’ve gone at the time. Ian’s a really magnetic, charismatic force of nature onstage as well. Rollins brought a singular kind of intensity that I’m not sure has been matched since his days in Black Flag. Proud to say they all came from DC!
You received about $20,000 over what you originally asked for to make this documentary via Kickstarter. Were you overwhelmed with how many people wanted to see this movie come to light?
Completely overwhelmed. I knew from the beginning I wanted to have the film crowd-funded. It kind of captures the community spirit of the film. We reached our goal in 6 days which just blew me away. The reaction to the film is as humbling as it is surreal for me.
Any plans for future music documentaries in the works?
I have several ideas actually—and I’m starting to lay the groundwork now. My salad days are yet to come…
If you’re in the Los Angeles area be sure to check out the OBEY Sponsored screening of Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington DC 1980-1990 Friday June 5th and Saturday June 6th at the Art Theater in Long Beach. We will have limited edition OBEY x SALAD DAYS tees that will be available at the screening that you don’t wanna miss out on!
Purchase Tickets for the SCREENING here
Click here for more info on the screening, see ya there!
