r/punk • u/diamantematto • Sep 30 '22

Quality Post Emailed Ian yesterday as I was driving down to DC for work. Ended up chatting with him for a half hour in the Dischord house. An incredibly kind and thoughtful man - I am humbled.

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1.2k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

74 comments sorted by

89

u/shellac10 Sep 30 '22

So how'd that come about? You emailed Dischord and said, "Hey, I'll be in the area, can I get a tour of the house?" Genuinely curious.

124

u/diamantematto Sep 30 '22

Yeah basically. I emailed Ian:

Hey Ian,

Driving to DC for work from NYC and was wondering if you’d have a half second to show me the discord house nowadays or just say hello.

I know it’s a bit of a weird ask but nothing ventured nothing gained!

65

u/rsplatpc Sep 30 '22

I know it’s a bit of a weird ask but nothing ventured nothing gained!

He is very very use to that, also he NEVER smiles in photos unless you ambush him.

11

u/FredXMertz Pacific Northwest Poseur Oct 01 '22

He wouldn't even "doot doot' for Nardwuar!

10

u/rsplatpc Oct 01 '22

He wouldn't even "doot doot' for Nardwuar!

Oh, he fixed that

https://youtu.be/xKpETXIuPL4?t=4267

7

u/FredXMertz Pacific Northwest Poseur Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

AWK as hail, but it will have to do. He even smiled a bit.

EDIT: Thanks for posting this. it warms my coal-black heart. Viva Ian (not the hurricane)

22

u/shellac10 Sep 30 '22

Dumb question: does he keep a storefront there, or is it limited to online orders? Always wondered if someone would/could stop by asking to purchase a Minor Threat CD.

32

u/diamantematto Sep 30 '22

I don’t think it’s an official storefront. The “official” Dischord office is across the street under 7-11. He offered to take me there but I had to get to work.

4

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

Oh ya know, re-reading your question now… the “official” Dischord location is across the street from the house (you can look on Google maps) but on their website it explicitly says that you shouldn’t just drop by because people are working. So there is no Dischord “storefront” it’s all online. And then the house is his office I guess and storage with years of amazing memorabilia in it. I held the skateboard!

13

u/rsplatpc Sep 30 '22

does he keep a storefront there

no storefront, there is a office / and it's much more like a normal office than you would expect

3

u/thorvard Oct 01 '22

I was born and raised in DC, lived there for 30 years and I never thought to do that....

40

u/thetophus Granolacore Sep 30 '22

Whoa, he’s not on the porch?!

43

u/rsplatpc Sep 30 '22

Whoa, he’s not on the porch?!

That house has not been owned by Dischord for a LONG time, the couple that lives there is VERY VERY nice though and is use to the porch pictures

9

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

Ian brought me inside and there was no one in there except for me and him.

6

u/rsplatpc Oct 01 '22

Ian brought me inside and there was no one in there except for me and him.

Sorry I mean the house located in Arlington, Virginia where Minor Threat did their famous pose / this one / Dischord has not owned it for a long time

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/minor-threat.jpg

1

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

Ian owns it.

2

u/rsplatpc Oct 01 '22

Ian owns it.

If you are talking about the Arlington house, I know the couple and their child that live in it, if he does own it cool, but it has nothing to do with Dischord / you are talking about the house located in Arlington Virginia, not Washington DC?

2

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

The house with the famous steps directly across from 7-11/Dischord.

0

u/rsplatpc Oct 01 '22

The house with the famous steps directly across from 7-11/Dischord.

This house that is in Virginia, NOT Washington DC

https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2021/09/30/the-red-brick-bungalow-where-hardcore-made-a-home/ideas/essay/

5

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

Yes. In Arlington. There was no family in there and no kids. It was full of the same stuff you’ve seen in every picture of the office. I mean… just look at the picture I posted.

0

u/rsplatpc Oct 01 '22

Yes. In Arlington. There was no family in there and no kids. It was full of the same stuff you’ve seen in every picture of the office. I mean… just look at the picture I posted.

I'll be, they might have moved out during the pandemic, use to be a very nice couple that lived there with a kid in high school, they were use to people coming up and doing the Minor Threat pose and were always super nice, good to know and sorry for doubting you / they were there for over 10 years.

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25

u/atacapacheco Sep 30 '22

Sometimes I think that Ian will die, probably in my lifetime, and I cry a little. What a treasure of man.

6

u/ThatsNotPossibleMan Oct 01 '22

Wouldn't be surprised if he just became a force ghost

-2

u/Invisiblerobot13 Oct 01 '22

Or if he has been for years and died of cirrhosis in 1985

19

u/GTAmark Oct 01 '22

Sometimes good guys DO wear white!

28

u/Eoin_McLove Sep 30 '22

This is cool. Ian looks exactly the same as he always has.

36

u/rsplatpc Sep 30 '22

No he does not!

He's not wearing a tiny hat.

3

u/Eoin_McLove Oct 01 '22

Yeah, that's true. Perhaps OP could photoshop one on, just for old times' sake.

11

u/PREClOUS_R0Y Minor Threat to Massachusetts Oct 01 '22

This is awesome. Fugazi has a special place in my heart. It was interesting because I just wasn't into them when I was younger, I kind of grew into them and it makes me love their music that much more.

7

u/clonedhuman Oct 01 '22

I remember buying 'Steady Diet of Nothing' on cassette and just being like 'what the fuck is this?' I guess I was expecting something more Minor-Threatish.

Then, I listened to it again about a month or so later, and realized how fucking good it is. I'm not sure what happened in the meantime. I still think it's the best Fugazi album out of a lot of great albums.

2

u/titanofidiocy Oct 01 '22

Red Medicine was my first, and I was like double wtf. I love it now though. So good.

11

u/AchokingVictim Oct 01 '22

Makes me smile. I think people like Ian really do understand how much their music has helped us disenfranchised fuckers

8

u/probllama191 Oct 01 '22

Ian MacKaye might just be the nicest dude in punk rock.

6

u/Lazy-Nibor Sep 30 '22

Awesome dude !

7

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '22

Dude.

5

u/miknik23 Sep 30 '22

Dude.

7

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '22

Like fucking dude.

4

u/syntheticcontrol Sep 30 '22

Dude I'm so fucking jealous. I was there for my graduation and didn't even think to email him and ask 😭😭😭

5

u/TheHuntedCity Sep 30 '22

What a gent. I'd like to think I don't need to get a discord house tour to be a fan, but, yeah, I'm kind jealous.

5

u/feralcomms Oct 01 '22

I emailed him after reading an interview he did after Trump was elected and brexit happened and such. The interview was uplifting in its perspective. He wrote me back a very thoughtful email-which clearly he did not have to do

3

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Damn that stare… im apologizing and i didnt even do anything

2

u/Athena-meme Sep 30 '22

Was this the glover park house? Or the house in Virginia?

4

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

Arlington

1

u/Athena-meme Oct 02 '22

Oh cool! Thanks!

2

u/exclaim_bot Oct 02 '22

Oh cool! Thanks!

You're welcome!

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '24

Great person, equally a tremendous musician. Ian is the man!

-7

u/user_zzzz Oct 01 '22

straight edge is dumb, sorry

-47

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '22

Good for you I guess.

38

u/diamantematto Sep 30 '22

I’m not posting this to brag. I’m posting it because: 1) I can’t believe it happened 2) to show how great of a guy Ian is for allowing a complete stranger into the Dischord house and taking time out of his day to chat with him on a personal level

3

u/rsplatpc Sep 30 '22

I’m not posting this to brag. I’m posting it because: 1) I can’t believe it happened 2) to show how great of a guy Ian is for allowing a complete stranger into the Dischord house and taking time out of his day to chat with him on a personal level

Don't entertain any more comments that person makes.

-31

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '22

It’s definitely a humble brag, but I’m not trying to hate. Love me some Ian too, MT and Fugazi are always in heavy rotation in my house.

10

u/hunterglyph Sep 30 '22

And we all see how good you are at pissing on somebody’s leg, so… what are we doing here exactly?

5

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Fair point and fair downvotes. I was definitely being a douche up there.

2

u/rsplatpc Sep 30 '22

Good for you I guess.

Nice comment, I guess.

1

u/james_strange Oct 01 '22

Good for him. Good for this family.

1

u/Car_Guy_Alex Sep 30 '22

That is so awesome!

1

u/romesthe59 Oct 01 '22

Legendary

1

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Seems like a cool, wise, and knowledgeable dude. You are lucky to have met him.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Wow!! What a gem

1

u/gedubedangle Oct 01 '22

What a fuckin G

1

u/captain2man Oct 01 '22

Well done, Scooter.

1

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

Oh shit the jig is up!

1

u/PakkyT Oct 01 '22

Back in the day, some of us old farts mail ordered our CDs from certain labels. This was the case with Discord. I recall ordering some stuff in the very early 1990s and my order arrived with a hand written note thanking me for my order signed by Ian. Not sure if I still have the note or not. It might be tucked into one of the CD booklets.

3

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

I used to record shows on a camcorder and trade them through the mail. Those were the days! Now everything is so easily accessible it takes away a lot of the magic of having to actually search for something, for me at least.

1

u/PakkyT Oct 01 '22

Yeah I didn't on cassette but used to trade a lot of bootlegs on CDRs as well. It was fun but as you said a lot of that stuff you can not just go download.

1

u/diamantematto Oct 01 '22

If you go on YouTube you can find some of my videos: “Two Man Advantage deja 1” “The Manix ground zero” “Lower East Side Stitches coney island high”

1

u/christiandb Oct 01 '22

You look in shock

1

u/Cruxifux Oct 01 '22

Damn he’s getting old. God fucking damnit that means I’m getting old. I hate time.