Ignition

Ignition ranked among the more overlooked acts tied to Dischord Records, delivering the Washington, D.C. emocore sound that followed in the wake of Fugazi, Rites of Spring, and Dag Nasty. During summer 1986 vocalist Alec MacKaye, brother of Fugazi’s Ian and an alumnus of both the Untouchables and the Faith, rejoined former Faith associate Chris Bald, who had moved from bass to guitar. Bald had played with the other members of Embrace, the short-lived emo pioneers whose dissolution had occurred only recently. Bassist Chris Thomson, who also played saxophone on occasion, and drummer Dante Ferrando, previously of Iron Cross and Gray Matter, completed the lineup. Two 7-inch singles, “Sinker” and “Anger Means,” appeared in early 1988 and preceded the band’s debut album, Machination, released later that year. Ignition also contributed a track to the Dischord benefit compilation State of the Union. The six-song EP The Orafying Mysticle of...Ignition surfaced in early 1990 and marked the group’s conclusion. Thomson enrolled in college in Wisconsin, where he fronted Circus Lupus before forming Monorchid and Skull Kontrol, while Alec MacKaye spent the mid-’90s performing with the Warmers.