Music Archive

Chuck Brown’s Public Viewing, Memorial Set for Next Week

D.C. will get the opportunity to send off the Godfather of Go-Go next week, the mayor's office and Brown's family announced this evening. A public viewing of Chuck Brown's remains will take place Tuesday, May 29 at the Howard Theatre from 11 a.m to 10 p.m. A memorial service will take place Thursday, May 31 at [...]

Photos: Garbage @ 9:30 Club

Not too many bands could take off seven years between releases and still have a big fan base. But Garbage—Shirley Manson, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker—are mostly playing as tight as they ever did, and they were rewarded with a sold-out crowd last night at the 9:30 Club. With the arch of an [...]

D.C. Does Moogle

Yesterday would've been the 78th birthday of Robert Moog, the inventor of the Moog analog synthesizer, aka one of the coolest-sounding instruments in the history of music. As it often does on the birthday of a famous weirdo, Google created a "doodle" in tribute: a functional facsimile of a Moog. Surely the Web's more musical [...]

North Korean Defector Ma Young-Ae to Perform at Senate Event

Our favorite North Korean defector-turned-sausage merchant Ma Young-Ae is back in the news. Last we heard, Ma had retired from the restaurant business, choosing instead to sell her Pyongyang sausages wholesale to both restaurants and Korean grocers up and down the East Coast. This has left her with more time to devote to her other [...]

Chuck Brown’s Funeral May Be Next Week

No way is the city done mourning the Godfather of Go-Go. There's no official word yet on arrangements for Chuck Brown's funeral, but Mike DeBonis reports:
According to daughter Cherita Whiting, plans are in place for an all-day public viewing at the Howard Theatre next Tuesday, May 29. A funeral service will follow on Thursday, May 31. The [...]

Photos: The Make-Up and Kid Congo Powers @ Comet Ping Pong

The band on the poster was "Garbage Zone" from Coeur D'Alene, Md., but nobody seemed surprised Saturday night at Comet Ping-Pong when The Make-Up walked out in black suits. "We're a tribute band," announced frontman Ian Svenonius to the 100 or so fans. Fine, but it was gratifying to hear a Make-Up that still sounds like The [...]

Enterprise Jazz Club’s Discrimination Case Dismissed

Lewis v. Ressom, the federal discrimination lawsuit filed by the Enterprise Theater & Jazz Lounge against its landlord, has been dismissed.
Officially, the reason for dismissal is plaintiff Charletta "C.J." Lewis' failure to file certain relevant documents requested by U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell. Lewis acknowledges she did not file the documents in question. [...]

New Korean Bell Garden Opens Near Wolf Trap

There were Choco Pies, taekwondo demonstrations, and local pols shoring up the Korean vote at Saturday’s opening of the new Korean Bell Garden at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Va.
The Choco Pies, a much loved, semi-knockoff MoonPie invented by the South Korean military, came courtesy of the Korean American Senior Services Association, which also bused [...]

Photos: Fishbone @ State Theater

Last Thursday, Fishbone stormed the State Theater, playing their celebrated mix of funk, punk, pop, and ska for nearly two hours. The band showed love for Chuck Brown with a shout-out from the stage (and gave one to Donna Summer, as well), and even brought out H.R. of the Bad Brains for singing duties on [...]

Watch: Sockets Records, the Documentary

High-school filmmaker Hannah Hoffman (!) made this very astute 30-minute documentary about Sockets Records, some of the groups on the label, and the state of underground rock music in D.C. Lots of footage comes from Sockets' January showcase at the Black Cat. Ian MacKaye, D.C.'s most prolific talking head, appears, as do bands like Deleted [...]