“Your Way Was the Way That Lit 1,000 Fires”: Ian MacKaye and Darryl Jenifer on Bad Brains and D.C.’s Music Scene

Last Thursday, D.C. punk veterans Ian MacKaye and Darryl Jenifer reflected on creativity, community, and the emergence of two bands that changed punk. The event, held at MLK Jr. Memorial Library, was a celebration of the just-released Bad Brains’ Are You Ready: The First Studio Recording (Inner Ear – March 1979). Both Jenifer (Bad Brains’ bassist) and MacKaye (of Fugazi, etc.) discovered punk through unexpected routes. Jenifer, who grew up listening to fusion and funk, initially viewed punk through the lens of a musician’s competitiveness. Influenced by bassist Stanley Clarke, Jenifer recalled hearing punk records for the first time and thinking, “I could play faster than this.” What began as a challenge eventually became a revelation. “Punk rock gave me the lane to be my own self,” he said. MacKaye’s path was similarly indirect.

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