Guy Picciotto
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Guy Picciotto | ||
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Background information | ||
Born | September 17, 1965, Washington D.C. | |
Occupation(s) | Vocalist, Songwriter, Musician, Producer | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar | |
Years active | 1984-present | |
Label(s) | Dischord | |
Associated acts |
Fugazi, Rites of Spring |
Guy Picciotto (born September 17, 1965) is an American musician from Washington, DC. He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist for Rites of Spring before joining Fugazi in 1987.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Rites of Spring and The Revolution Summer
Guy began his musical career in the Emo Music/Post Hardcore band Rites of Spring.They released a full length (self titled) album, a EP entitled All Through a Life and a compilation combining both of those release entitled End on End. Rites of Spring were one of a handful of DC bands that were part of what was called Revolution Summer. Revolution Summer (Summer of 1985) was an attempt to bring a more introspective and personal experience and sound to punk rock and hardcore, and an attempt to take back the scene from people who were starting fights and not fostering an inclusive, creative community. Rites of Spring, along with Embrace, (though there were other bands involved in Revolution Summer) are widely credited with creating the sub-genre of punk rock which would come to be known as emo, though they would later attempt to distance themselves from that label.
[edit] Fugazi
Though not in the original line up of Fugazi, he joined very early in its inception and has appeared on all the band's studio recordings. He originally joined as a toaster, drawing comparisons to Flavor Flav of the political Hardcore Rap group Public Enemy. By their first EP (Fugazi (EP)), however, Guy was one of the principal songwriters, along with Ian Mackaye. From their first full length album on, he also took up 2nd guitar duties, playing a characteristically trebly Rickenbacker to make use of sonic space not taken by Mackaye's chunkier, rhythmic guitar playing. After 7 albums (13 Songs, Repeater, Steady Diet of Nothing, In on the Kill Taker, Red Medicine, End Hits, The Argument), and several tours, Fugazi went on hiatus. Guy and his fellow bandmates worked on different projects.
[edit] Other projects
Picciotto's musical resume also includes the bands One Last Wish (1986), Happy Go Licky (1987 - 1988), Brief Weeds (Ep's released circa 1991 - 1992), and The Black Light Panthers (ongoing sporadic project since 1982), the last two bands both being projects with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. He also created a record label called Peterbilt Records, which released limited quantity vinyl record albums for the bands Rain, Happy Go Licky, and Deadline, then years later was involved in releasing the One Last Wish, 1986 CD, along with Dischord Records.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Rites of Spring
- Rites of Spring (1985)
- All Through a Life [EP] (1987)
- End on End (1991)
[edit] Fugazi
- 13 Songs (September, 1989)
- Repeater (March, 1990)
- Steady Diet of Nothing (August, 1991)
- In on the Kill Taker (May, 1993)
- Red Medicine (June, 1995)
- End Hits (April, 1998)
- The Argument (October, 2001)
[edit] Trivia
- Picciotto is also allegedly the basis for the character Guy in the Final Fight video game series from Capcom. Capcom developers were fans of American pop culture and many other characters are based off American rock bands.
- He is also a vegetarian.
- He has a child with musician Kathi Wilcox
- Picciotto has also produced records for bands such as Blonde Redhead, Chisel, Deep Lust, Quix-o-tic, The Gossip, The Thermals, Casual Dots and The Blood Brothers.
[edit] External links
- January 1998 interview with Picciotto in Diskant
- Nude as the News interview with Guy Picciotto (October 2001)
- Pitchfork interview with Picciotto
- a fan interview with Picciotto
- Picciotto interview on the Morphizm site
Fugazi |
Ian MacKaye|Guy Picciotto | Joe Lally | Brendan Canty |
Discography |
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Full-lengths: Repeater (1990) | Steady Diet of Nothing (1991) | In on the Kill Taker (1993) | Red Medicine (1995) | End Hits (1998) | The Argument (2001) |
EPs: Fugazi (1988) | Margin Walker (1989) | 3 Songs (1990) | Furniture + 2 (2001) |
Other albums: 13 Songs (1989) | Instrument Soundtrack (1999) | Fugazi Live Series (2004) |
Related articles |
Minor Threat | Dischord Records | Hardcore punk | Post-hardcore | Washington, D.C. |