Dag Nasty

Dag Nasty sustained the raw energy of D.C.-styled hardcore through the middle of the 1980s. Although the band leaned more melodic and approachable than Minor Threat, it preserved a sharp, intense bite. Brian Baker, who had played guitar in both Minor Threat and the Meatmen, joined forces with former DYS singer Dave Smalley to launch the group. Their debut, Can I Say, appeared in 1986 under the production guidance of D.C.-punk figure Ian MacKaye. Smalley departed the following year and Peter Cortner stepped in, steering the sound toward greater pop influence. In 1988 the band left MacKaye’s Dischord imprint for Giant and issued Field Day, its final release of the decade. Baker then teamed with ex-Big Boy guitarist Chris Gates to form the metal outfit Junkyard, which put out two albums on Geffen before dissolving. The original members reconvened in 1992 and delivered Four on the Floor to an expanding underground punk audience that stood on the verge of mainstream breakthrough; the reaction proved strong, yet the group soon withdrew once more. A decade afterward they returned with Minority of One, issued on Revelation Records. In 2010 MacKaye brought out Dag with Shawn on Dischord, presenting the earliest Can I Say sessions that featured the band’s original vocalist, Shawn Brown.