For this week's Answers Issue, we took on some our readers' most pressing questions about life in the District.

When we put out the call for queries last October, we were immediately impressed (seriously!) by the intelligence of many of the submissions. At the same time—well, let's just say we got trolled pretty hard. In the end, I decided to take on one of the most troll-like submissions, "Why do D.C. bands suck so much now?," by putting it to some D.C. bands. Every few years, a debate seems to pop up about the quality of D.C.'s "scene," and the subtext has a lot to do with the post-hardcore and punk sounds that until about a decade ago largely defined the city's rock music to out-of-town listeners. Which, I have to imagine, can be pretty frustrating if you make music here. At the same time, I don't think bands have sublimated that debate about quality: There's a lot of great music being made in D.C.

I reached out to a bunch of local groups, but was only able to include truncated versions of some of their responses in the Answers Issue. Here's my unedited director's cut:

Q: Why do D.C. bands suck so much now?

A: Are we still sounding this refrain? Ever since Fugazi went on hiatus nearly a decade ago, young D.C. bands have had to answer for the city’s punk-rock legacy. Even Slate economics columnist Matthew Yglesias, in a recent, widely criticized blog post on D.C.’s lack of nebulously defined “hipness” relative to other cities, hammered the hardcore chord as a sign of faded cultural vitality. And so the easy answer to your question is: It’s a poorly premised question.

In fact, there are plenty of very good bands in D.C. More importantly, there are plenty of very good bands who’ve been hearing that their scene sucks for years. Here’s what they thought of your question.

Ryan Little, Tereu Tereu member and Washington City Paper contributor:

Yeah, man. It's like D.C. bands forgot they're supposed to keep trying to replicate a moment that peaked nearly 30 years ago. As if a broad spectrum of talent is a positive thing! Most of those assholes aren't even making much money off it–it's like they're just "making art for art's sake." Pathetic.

Wake me up when someone drops a dubstep remix of Minor Threat.

Ian Graham, Lenorable:

D.C. bands only suck to people who sit at home and talk about how much D.C. bands suck right now rather than contributing in some way to local music. Sure, there are some snoozers, and some that could use some more practice, but what scene doesn't have that? Quit complaining and make a change if you don't like the scene. Or quit complaining and don't change anything. Either way, quit complaining.

Ian Thompson, L&T&W, Cricket Cemetery Records:

WOW, REALLY?  How was the snow patrol show last night?  Nice boots and vest MAN.  So sorry you missed any one of great dc bands that play live regularly in this city, because you were too busy cuddled up in a coffee shop using free internet to update yr "Things white girls say while drinking hot chocolate" blog.  Fuck. Off.

Jess Dye, Lightfoot:

Why do D.C. residents suck at supporting the local music scene?

Of course I am biased, but I think D.C. bands are far from sucking. There's been a bit of a musical renaissance over the past few years with the emergence of house shows, location specific albums, D.C. music festivals, and more blogs focusing on the local scene.

But let's face it, D.C. is not the easiest city to grow as a musician. Practice spaces are nearly impossible to find (or being demolished like Gold Leaf), rent is so high you nearly have to have a 9-5 to survive, and there aren't many working gigs for musicians. Couple that with the fact the population of D.C. has a high turnover rate of interns and Hill staffers, it's difficult for local bands to grow their fan base with a city of people destined to leave soon. It's a bad combination of high cost of living and unenthused communities that have lead to this crisis. Being a band in D.C. is a challenge in itself, let alone trying to produce something awesome in this difficult atmosphere. But most of us are still striving to make good music and better our community. Hope is not lost.

So potential local fans, ask not what your local bands can do for you—ask what you can do for your local bands.

Come to our shows. Actually listen! Buy our CDs. Share our videos on YouTube. Host a living room show in your row house. Tell your friends about us on facebook. Give us some encouragement and support your community.

Jess Matthews, America Hearts

Patrick Kigongo, Ra Ra Rasputin:

I’m almost 30. I’ve been in the Washington, D.C., area since I was 18. As an undergraduate at University of Maryland, I was fortunate enough to see the last Wilson Center show, as well as one of Fugazi’s final shows. I witnessed Q and Not U, Faraquet, Black Eyes and others introduce a young, wiry energy to the “post-hardcore” sound. And I was lucky enough to see Dead Meadow before they moved to Los Angeles. I also remember the painfully dull period between 2005 and 2008, when it felt as though nothing was happening. In short, I’ve seen a lot more than most of the folks who complain about the state of D.C. music.

So, why do D.C. bands suck so much now? This question typifies the Loser Larry/Debbie Downer outlook that seems to poison the minds of so many residents of the DMV. (You only have to listen to the rants of local sports fans and politicos to understand what I’m talking about). Quite frankly,  I’m tired of hearing people whining about how much D.C. sucks. For the record, D.C. bands right now don’t suck. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that the current crop of local bands is among the best I’ve seen since the early 2000s.

For better or for worse, Dischord is the first thing that most informed music fans think about when they hear the words “Washington, D.C.” Yes, Dischord and other labels (DeSoto, Teenbeat, and Slumberland) all made important contributions to our city’s rich musical history. But with Dischord putting out fewer records and focusing more on distribution, we’re not being defined and outshined by their brand. So what if D,C, isn’t how it was in 1980, 1995, or 2002? The past should serve as a reference point, not as a millstone around one’s neck. We should not be shackled by our history. The D.C. music scene is an unwritten book, a tabula rasa. We, as artists, must take advantage of this by nurturing wide varieties of music with a view to innovation.

Naysayers argue that the lack of an identifiable local sound makes D.C. “unmarketable.” I would argue otherwise. The lack of a D.C. “sound” means that we’re not pressured into making one type of music in order to get attention. Just look at the diversity amongst the tenants of the soon-to-be-demolished Gold Leaf Studios. You’ve got AM gold/desert rock (U.S. Royalty), a wild mix of free jazz and punk (Laughing Man), electronic rock (my band, Ra Ra Rasputin, as well as our roommates Miyazaki), long improvisational blues jams (Honey House). Outside Gold Leaf, even more variety. You’ve got folks who are still carrying the torch of harDCore (Coke Bust). You’ve got former hardcore kids taking electronic music to the next level (Future Times/Beautiful Swimmers/Protect-U). What about longtime DJs producing their own songs (Volta Bureau, Chris Burns, the Nouveau Riche guys)? Sockets Records has done a fine job of championing some really fine groups (Cornel West Theory, Big Gold Belt, and Hume). I haven’t even touched what’s going on in go-go, jazz, or hip-hop in the District right now. Whoever’s complaining about local bands sucking must be stuck in the Shins-lite indie rock era of 2006-2008 and probably attends one show a month.

Finally, people are writing good SONGS. After all, it’s not just about the creative process and the “scene.” It’s about THE MUSIC. Beautiful Swimmers’ “Big Coast” was a summer banger if I’ve ever heard one. What about Screen Vinyl Image’s driving “Cathode Ray?"  How about Imperial China’s skittering “Bananamite?” Middling hipster-Sundance movie soundtrack music this is not. As someone who performs and attends a lot of shows, I can say with confidence that local groups are not only writing better structured songs but also conjuring up some very cool sounds.

I defend D.C.’s music scene because I genuinely believe we have something good to offer, not just because I’m invested in it. When I first moved here from New York, I knew that I liked the area, but I had no idea that I’d stick around for so long. I certainly have my criticisms about living and working here. Hell, I just as easily could’ve written several hundred (or thousand) words on what we’re dong wrong. But if there’s one thing Washingtonians could learn from New Yorkers, it’s that confidence and a bit of swagger can go a long way.

Since 1998, artists and musicians have used the beat-up Mount Vernon Square building as a place to work and sometimes party. Devendra Banhart played to an intimate crowd there in 2003. Bands like Trans Am, U.S. Royalty, Fever, Laughing Man, Ra Ra Rasputin, Exactly, and others have called it home. So have artists like Kristina Bilonick, Nick Pimentel, and Sarah McLaughlin.

That's all over come January 31, when the warehouse's current sub-letters—probably a few dozen artists working in 11 individual spaces—have to move out. According to Mike Abrams, the artist who first scouted the building more than a decade ago and who has managed its tenants since, the site will eventually be replaced by residential units. BicycleSPACE, which is next door at 445 I St., will get the boot for the same project, Abrams says.

Rumors of Gold Leaf's demise have been greatly exaggerated for years. In 2007, when the warehouse's underground art parties were at their zenith, it looked like Gold Leaf would soon give way to a sleek project called "Eye Street Lofts." That didn't happen, but conversations with Gold Leaf tenants frequently veered toward the apocalyptic. It's too cool to be around forever was a common refrain.

"It’s something that we knew was coming, but it looked like the perpetual rumor,” says Lucas Pierce, the sales director for apparel company DURKL, which has been based at Gold Leaf since 2009.

The apocolyptic finally happened in May, when Equity Residential picked up a cluster of properties (443 to 451 I Street) on the block for $5.1 million. Now, according to Abrams, they have a set date to move out. Although the artists have to go, Abrams says the historic exterior of Gold Leaf and some neighboring brownstones will be preserved by the residential project. Equity hasn't responded to a request for comment yet, but I'll update when they do.

The building has remained an important venue in local art and indie-rock circles, hosting low-to-the-ground shows and concerts and film screenings. This year, the space known as Red Door held a series of "D.C. Jazz Loft" concerts put on by the website CapitalBop.

“It’s nice being in a place with like-minded people,” says Patrick Kigongo of Ra Ra Raspution. Recently, his band has been recording new material in its spacious practice room. Now they're picking up the pace, in order to finish by move-out day. “It’s frustrating thinking it would be really hard to assemble that kind of cast in the future.”

Update | Aug. 17: My colleague Lydia DePillis adds a few more details about the project that will replace Gold Leaf and BicycleSPACE.

Good morning! In what's totally a break from our usual coverage, there is a lot of local indie-rock news to discuss today! Such as: that new video right there. It's for "Siberian Eclipse," a song on Screen Vinyl Image's recent cassette on Fan Death records, which I think you should be excited about. It's out now.

Fan Death! You might remember that the Maryland label has no ish hating on some local bands! Perfect segue: One of them—undeservedly!—was Ra Ra Rasputin, which has a new full-length whose release it's celebrating tomorrow at the Black Cat. The band runs through each track over at TBD, and I think City Paper's Ryan Little was spot-on in singling out "Electricity Through the Heart" as a standout in a recent One Track Mind column. Close second place: "The Day Of," whose incessant cowbell you'll forgive when by the chorus it's toying with Calvin Harris's "Acceptable in the '80s." "I've got love for you if you survived through the '80s, the '80s," the band sings.

Also performing Saturday at the Black Cat with a new release in tow: Casper Bangs. You can download his entire new album, I Woke Up, here, or stream every track at the GOG Blog.

Here is a film shot in Portland using music composed by Beauty Pill for Taffety Punk Theatre's suicide.chat.room from earlier this year

Speaking of Beauty Pill, its leader, Chad Clark, is a curator of the Story/Stereo series at the Writer's Center in Bethesda. At tonight's Story/Stereo, Will Eastman DJs and Jenny Browne and Jessica Handler read (8 p.m. Free.). Clark announced yesterday that the November iteration will feature Devin Ocampo singing the songs of Devin Ocampo, meaning Medications, Faraquet, and maybe—maybe!—some Smart Went Crazy.

Sockets has a new Laughing Man song.

Last night I saw Richard Chartier perform a 50ish-minute reductionist sound composition at the Hirshhorn—he used sounds he captured over the summer from the grand tonometer, a one-of-a-kind instrument from the 1800s that contains 660 tuning forks, plus noises from other very old instruments. It was spooky and glacial and I tried to take the advice he gave Arts Desk—“Just kind of let it flow over you. Just zone out. I have had people fall asleep during my shows before. As long as they don’t snore, I’m fine with it.”—but it was both enveloping and jarring. I couldn't keep my eyes closed, even though the lights in the auditorium had been dimmed. Whoever was tweeting for the museum last night summed it up nicely: "Highs flirted w/ pain. Lower, you could tilt your head to squeeze the sound. The deep tones hit in the chest."

On the cover! Will Sommer profiles the incomparable Dennis Sobin—phone-sex innovator, sex offender, ex-con, playwright, politician, and prolific musician. We should all be so accomplished! Check back on Arts Desk this week for an update on Sobin's, um, guitar orchestra.

Brandon Wu leads the arts section with his look at The Muffins, a remnant of D.C.'s little-known experimental scene of the 1970s. The band is headlining the first event of this year's Sonic Circuits this weekend. Ryan Little talks to Ra Ra Rasputin about a song that makes up for failed latter-day attempts by other bands to revive synthpop. David Dunlap Jr. considers the surf pop of non-surf-pop band The Drums. Ben Westhoff listens to a new MF Doom live record and concludes that, yes, it actually features MF Doom. Film critic Tricia Olszewski reviews Easy A and A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop—both remakes of sorts, both...OK. In theater, Trey Graham sees All's Well and Ends Well and Circle Mirror Transformation, and Bob Mondello sees Glimpses of the Moon. And Annie Galvin reviews the sixth novel by Emma Donoghue, Room.

Friday

• Educated Consumers. Strathmore. $10 in advance, $12 at door.

• Big Bang TV, Bridges and Powerlines, The Jet Age. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Taylor Carson, Peter Mulvey. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12.

• Rogue Wave, Avi Buffalo. 9:30 Club. $15.

• Sondre Lerche, JBM. Rock and Roll Hotel. $20.

• Stacy Brooks. Bangbok Blues. Call for price.

• Jon Carroll. Wolf Trap. $22.

• Bellman Barker, The Vermillions, The Armchairs. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Chase Coy, Struan Shields. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• The Vita Ruins, Ra Ra Rasputin, Cobra Collective. Black Cat mainstage. $10 in advance, $12 day of.

• Leon Redbone, Brian Wendell Morton. Birchmere. $35.

• Hammerfall, Powerglove, Division, Pariah, Blood Corps. Jaxx. $27.50 in advance, $30 day of, $60 VIP.

• National Symphony Orchestra. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20-$85.

Saturday

• Aunt Martha, The Last Monarchs, Zach Peterson. The Red & The Black. $6. 21+.

• Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express. IOTA Club & Cafe. $18.

• N2N. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Celtic Crossroads. Wolf Trap. $25.

• Navi, The New Retro, Watusi. Velvet Lounge. $10.

• Bowling for Soup, The Dollyrots, Pessimist Parade. Black Cat mainstage. $13 in advance, $15 day of.

• David Bromberg & The Angel Band. Birchmere. $35.

• Cleveland Institute of Music. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.

Sunday

• GoGirlsDC: Mindy Miller, Nila Kay, Carmen Calhoun, Annie Sidley & Mojo Nation. The Red & The Black. $8. 21+.

• Jonny Grave, Brian Franke, Ted Garber, Michael Yugo. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10.

• Wolf's Blues Jam: Hot Rods and Old Gas, Hot Roddess Lisa Lim. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.

• Old Crow, East of the Wall, Goes Cube, Eat People. Velvet Lounge. $8. 21+.

• Billy Woodward and The Senders, The Woodshedders, Chester River Runoff. Jammin Java. $10 in advance, $13 day of.

• Justin Townes Earle, Joe Pug. Birchmere. $22.50.

• Otep, Bury Your Dead, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Destrophy, No Stars Over California, Every One Dies, Salvation Through Struggle. Jaxx. $20 in advance, $23 day of.

• Justin Trawick, Rene Moffatt, Tiffany Thompson, Steph Modder, Ryan Walker, Victoria Vox, Joy Ike, Dan Fisk, Nathan Robinson. DC9. $8. 18+.

Rogue Wave photo by Sterling Andrews, via MySpace.

Area R&B crooner Raheem DeVaughn's new album, The Love and War MasterPeace is out today; we'll have a review from Ben Westhoff in this week's Washington City Paper, and online tomorrow. Till then: The go-go remix of "Bulletproof" featuring TCB is some next-level stuff.

The Pink Line Project shot some video at the massive "G-40: The Summit" exhibition at Art Whino:

After the jump: A certain film critic's fat fucking face, a bitter Munch exhibit, Dan Bejar!

If you haven't read Chris Jones' wonderful Esquire profile of Roger Ebert, do that now. Then read Ebert's response. Then read Will Leitch's piece about his friendship with Ebert, and why he once wrote a piece called "I Am Sick Of Roger Ebert's Fat F—-ing Face." And then watch Ebert on Oprah today.

TV corner! Dustin Hoffman will star in "Luck," a new HBO series. Leno returned to the Tonight Show last night.

A new Edvard Munch retrospective in Paris couldn't get its hands on "The Scream"; the art space, Pinacotheque de Paris, then decided to name the show "Edvard Munch or Anti-Scream." "Privately financed and unashamedly commercial, it’s snubbed by Paris’s curatorial establishment — an attitude Marc Restellini, its director and driving force, reciprocates," writes Bloomberg's Jorg von Uthmann.

Song of the day! Loscil's "The Making of Grief Point," a 9-minute ambient work featuring spoken word from Destroyer's Dan Bejar. Start your day off confused!:

Tittsworth:

-'Losing my' ...lust for porn. Is that what that R.E.M. song was all about!?

-According to the guard, low pants was started cuz they didnt give belts in prison + u would get shit too big. Baggy bottom prison bait

-The word 'hipster' has similarities to the n word.. neither have much positive meaning or identifiable relevancy left. Y ppl still use it?

Fan Death Records:

-DRUNKDRIVER LIVE IN CHICAGO VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qExhuRNrnFQ

-NEW TRACK FROM TWIN STUMPS FULL LENGTH OUT APRIL 20TH UP NOW Http://www.myspace.com/fandeathrecords

Thievery Corporation:

-@ThieveryCorpDC's "The Number's Game" will be featured on Sunday's episode of HBO's new series "How To Make It In America" (2/21/10).

-Just announced – @ThieveryCorpDC to perform at Bonnaroo 2010! See myspace.com/bonnaroo for full lineup!

Patrick Kigongo (Ra Ra Rasputin)

-Great Chorus / Shitty Verse : REM "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

-funky theme song to count duckula.enjoy the throwback kids yo peep the funky theme song http://bit.ly/BXP7u

"Walking With Jesus":

On Jan. 26, the local music blog All Our Noise posted an interview with Sean Gray and Chris Berry, the owners of College Park–based Fan Death Records. Chatting with reporter Denman C. Anderson, the pair discussed their favorite bands, the history of their label, and their plans to release a comedy LP.

The D.C. blogosphere went sort of batshit; a post on Arts Desk highlighting some of the pair’s more rankling opinions (e.g., "D.C. is a shitty place, with shitty bands, and a shitty outlook on life.") garnered more than 120 comments and briefly veered this blog’s usually unremarkable traffic into Sexist territory. Within a couple of days the post’s comment thread turned into a toxic waste dump of bad will.

Gray, 27, and Berry, 22, were unchastened. "We are just 2 record nerds. And the fact that 2 nerds who run a no-name punk label that isn’t even in D.C. can shit on 2 soft targets and make tons of people butt-hurt is telling of how lame the city actually is when it comes to crappy ‘indie’ music/culture or whatever it is those bands are into," they told Arts Desk in an e-mail a few days later.

Below, a critical catalog of the butt-hurt.

THE DANCE PARTY
The Hate: The D.C.-based synth-pop group loves beer, girls, and sweatbands. Gray: "I will flat-out name you who are garbage bands in D.C.…The Dance Party."

The Counter-Hate: "I love how some fat hipsters can move into a city, live there for two years and be experts," wrote commenter Dan. "The Dance Party was selling out Rock and Roll Hotel when those kids’ parents were still paying for year two of five of their European History degree at JMU."

How Butt-Hurt? "The interview got people riled up, which is pretty cool," says guitarist Kevin Bayly from Los Angeles, where the group is recording its major-label debut. "Also, the fact that our name came up is awesome, because we haven’t been there forever." Singer Mick Coogan says the band doesn’t exactly bristle at being branded a troupe of drunken lampshade-sporting goofballs. "We’re called the fucking Dance Party dude! That’s what we do."

RA RA RASPUTIN
The Hate: "That band, garbage," said Gray, who noted that guitarist Patrick Kigongo is a "really nice dude."

The Counter-Hate: "If a band like Ra Ra Rasputin is so bad, why have their past two shows been packed?" argued commenter Pablo. "Obviously their are plenty of people who appreciate the sound their putting down."

How Butt-Hurt? "I’m offended that some asshole who I’ve never met would tell me that I don’t ‘have a sense of perspective in terms of what I’m doing,’" wrote Ra Ra Rasputin drummer Ken Quam on the comment thread. Kigongo was more cautious: "I’m not really too keen to draw this out, but Sean and Chris are entitled to their opinion," he wrote in an e-mail. "We’ve been doing this for three years now -criticism comes with the territory."

BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS
The Hate: Many commenters accused the D.C. entertainment Web site—which escaped the rant but has blessed many of Gray and Berry’s targets with frequent and adoring coverage—is crappy-band ground-zero. "The real problem with DC is BYT," wrote commenter In a DC Band. "Wannabe frat-boy (& sorority girl) scenester douchebags—every single one."

The Counter-Hate: "The bands that are getting ripped on in this thread would probably be roughly as big with or without BYT," said commenter No Art on a follow-up post. "They would still have lots of friends, be just as stylish and fashionable, go to the same parties and events, etc. BYT is just an online gathering place for these people, who would otherwise probably just gather some other way."

How Butt-Hurt? "These comments (which have been flying around since day 1 about BYT) don’t upset us at all," BYT founder Svetlana Legetic writes in an e-mail. "By no means do I think we’re perfect, but we’ve spent years supporting bands, art and other creative people and endeavors in this city, as well as creating opportunities for people to showcase their talents and yes, sometimes being out and drinking. But EVERYONE deserves a place to relax. Having a sense of humor about it all is necessary."

FAN DEATH
The Hate: Only one person contacted Gray and Berry: an anonymous e-mailer who threatened them with anal rape if they crossed the District line. Most people preferred to bash the pair, their label, and Gray’s cerebral palsy in Arts Desk’s comments.

The Counter-Hate: "Meh, they are just saying what we are all thinking," wrote NW DC.

How Butt-Hurt? "We proved our point," Gray writes in an e-mail. "Cause D.C. is so boring and shitty that two record nerds can piss off 100 people or more." He thought the jokes about his medical condition were funny. "‘Hey Sean why don’t you do an interview standing up,’ pretty amazing. I died of laughter."

D.C. PRIDE
The Hate: First The Wire, now this. A few Baltimore residents dropped in to gloat: "As someone who grew up in the D.C. suburbs and fucking fled to Baltimore the minute I turned 18, Fan Death dudes speak the TRUTH," wrote Dan O. "Unless you’re a flag-pin wearing motherfucker or a toothless bike courier, anyone musically inclined and living in dc is setting themselves up for NOTHING. See y’all in hell, you 850-for-an-efficiency-paying motherfuckers."

The Counter-Hate: "Every city has really really shitty bands that are trying to ‘make it,’" wrote Who’s to Blame. "Believe you me, Baltimore has some embarrassingly bad bands.…like Fools & Horses, The Hint, Numa, Of Broken, etc. These bands make almost US Royalty look like Radiohead." Response: Ryan Holladay of D.C. duo Bluebrain made a valiant attempt to rep for his town. "I’m personally glad there is a new surge in DC music and hope to see even more spring up in this next year," he wrote. "Thank you to all the bands/DJ’s/MC’s that love this city enough to put themselves out there.

Yesterday All Our Noise posted a mammoth three-part interview with Gray and Berry. Among the topics discussed: the label's humble origins, why they moved this year's DNA Test Fest to Baltimore, and how they came to release Clockcleaner's Hawkwindesque, 15-minute cover of Negative Approach's "Ready to Fight" (performed, of course, while opening for Negative Approach).

Also covered at length: The general suckiness of D.C. music. Gray and Berry let loose, calling out D.C. bands for their careerist attitudes, Brooklyn-centric touring schedules, and wimpy songs. Names are named.

The haterade really starts to flow at about the 10:55 mark of part 1:

Here's a transcription of the relevant portion:

Gray: D.C. is a shitty place, with shitty bands, and a shitty outlook on life. I mean, it’s kind of sad in a way, there’s a lot of history here that everybody knows about. I don’t think it went down the path that I would have wanted it to. I think with D.C. there's this thing that bands want to make it...they think they can make it in D.C. because they’re from D.C. there’s that history there and that that’s an automatic foot in the door to whatever they’re doing. But even beyond that attitude portion of it, there’s just not good music. There are two good bands in D.C.

Berry: Screen Vinyl Image and Lotus Fucker.

Gray: You can’t name me another D.C. band that’s been remotely as good as those two.

Berry: And you can’t tell me that another D.C. bands sounds like those two.

Sean: I will flat out name you who are garbage bands in D.C. If they want to tell us that we’re a piece of shit label that’s ok, too.

Berry: US Royalty.

Gray: The Dance Party. And this guys is really nice–really nice dude–but I hate his band Ra Ra Rasputin. That band, garbage. The thing with D.C.–these bands think, they don’t go outside of D.C. They don’t have any sense of perspective. They think if you play New York and D.C., if you go back and forth you’ve kind of made it.

Berry: There’s nobody playing in Philly, nobody playing in Boston. People are trying to get known media-wise in D.C. by D.C. media. We don’t really care about that, we put out what we want to listen to. And because what we put out is good, we don’t have to have an angle.