On this week’s Muggle Music Monday, we’re going to take a look at a band who’s been highly influential on the entire wizard rock genre – FUGAZI!

Fugazi was formed in the mid-1980’s by Ian MacKaye, former vocalist of the DC hardcore band Minor Threat. A few years after that influential group disbanded, Ian had worked his way through a couple of other projects before starting what would soon become Fugazi. After some rehearsals and personnel changes, the lineup was solidified with Joe Lally (bass), along with Brendan Canty (drums) and Guy Picciotto (guitar and vocals). Brendan and Guy had previously been bandmates in Rites of Spring, THE band that started the whole “emo” movement (this was back when emo meant wearing your heart on your sleeve and leaving it all onstage, not mascara and Hot Topic).

Together as a band, Fugazi combined elements of many different types of music, much like wizard rock. Although the band’s core was in the indie/punk/hardcore vein, many songs also had distinct reggae, jazz, and fusion elements to them. Fugazi never branded themselves as any specific sort of genre, and that simply worked for them – they were a band that played what they wanted, when they wanted to. We see that element really exemplified in wizard rock, when bands combine styles and even shift from one song to another.

One of the other biggest influences on wrock was Fugazi’s DIY ethic. From Day 1, Fugazi did their best to play all-ages shows, and keep costs down. Tickets for a Fugazi show usually ranged from $5-$10, and were held in clubs, function halls, restaurants, gyms, and basements. The band wanted to bring their music to wherever their fans were, and this approach helped foster friendships and a camaraderie between the band and fans for years. When major labels came looking to sign Fugazi, they refused all offers, wanting to keep a full say in the way they wrote, recorded, and toured.

The band members could be outspoken about social issues, while they also stood for tolerance, and making sure everyone enjoyed their shows together. Audiences who got too rowdy and interfered with others’ enjoyment were asked to stop the slam dancing and stage diving; those who would not were handed a refund and asked politely to leave. Fugazi wanted everyone to be comfortable, and free to enjoy the music – a tradition we see today in events like Wrockstock and Wrock Wreggies!

So for this week’s Muggle Music Monday, let’s send a nod of thanks over to Fugazi; without their example, two guys from Massachusetts might not have taken the initiative to head out on the road and spread their songs about some wizard kid with a scar on his head.