Bad Brains: Are You Ready

About this event

Join the DC Punk Archive and Trust Records for a special conversation and listening event in celebration of the release of ARE YOU READY: THE FIRST STUDIO RECORDING

For decades, these recordings on ARE YOU READY circulated unofficially among tape-trading punks - an ask-a-punk rarity known only to a relative few. Now, nearly five decades later, the session has been newly mixed by Ian MacKaye and, in cooperation with Bad Brains , will receive its first official release, available on vinyl, cassette, and digital.

Captured in a single frantic hour at Inner Ear Studios in March 1979, the six-song session represents the earliest known studio recordings of Bad Brains and an extraordinary document of the band at the very beginning of its history.

In honor of this historic release, join Darryl Jenifer and Ian MacKaye at MLK Library as they discuss this recording session and the bands time in DC.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

Registration is required.

Seating is first-come, first-served.

ASL Interpretation will be provided

To request a reasonable accommodation for this program, please contact the Center for Accessibility at DCPLaccess@dc.gov or call (202) 727-2142.

ABOUT BAD BRAINS

Made up of vocalist H.R. (Paul Hudson), guitarist Dr. Know (Gary Miller), bassist Darryl Jenifer , and drummer Earl Hudson , Bad Brains formed in Washington, D.C. in 1978.

The quartet set a new standard for intensity while maintaining a level of instrumental precision rarely heard in the genre or out of it. As they grew in popularity and their live reputation followed, Bad Brains were eventually banned from performing in several D.C.-area clubs, causing a move to New York City where they would get their strongest footing. There, the band truly found their niche, emerging as a central force in the early hardcore scene.

Albums such as Rock for Light (1983), I Against I (1986), and Quickness (1989) expanded the band’s repertoire and sonic palette to include elements of metal, funk, and soul, making the almost shapeshifting band further defy expectations. The band’s reputation had been all but cemented as one of the most electrifying acts in rock music, with a reach that extended far beyond punk and underground music. You can hear the influence of Bad Brains in modern acts like Turnstile, Deftones, Playboi Carti and more, as well as classic acts and Top 40 staples like Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and beyond. Today, virtually any band with a distorted guitar and a flicker of punk in their DNA can speak at length on the influence of four guys from D.C. who were just trying to be different, and ultimately, themselves.

ABOUT TRUST RECORDS

Trust Records was founded by Matt Pincus and Joe Nelson in 2020 with the mission to preserve, protect, and carry forward the cultural legacy of punk and hardcore music. Every release is treated as an act of stewardship: deeply researched liner notes, top-quality audio, and premium packaging. The release of Bad Brains’