The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-27)

5

EZ

THE

WASHINGTON

POST

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FRIDAY,

MAY

27, 2022

Music

of on your own in this country. And if you

don’t have money, you’re in trouble taking

care of yourself health-wise.”

Lately, Stahl and his bandmates have been

finishing up their album “DC Special,” which

was crowdfunded last year and would be

Scream’s first since 1993. Stahl is eager to get

it out sometime next year, especially since

Stacks is back behind the drums for the

record.

“I mean, [Stacks] still drives me crazy,”

Stahl says. “We all get on each other’s nerves

all the time, but we love each other. It’s our

typical old fights we have while we’re writing

music. ... So a lot of the stuff that kind of

drives you crazy about your best friend [is]

also the thing that endears you to each other.”

Sounds like family.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kent is Thursday at 7

p.m. (doors open) at Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW.

$25.

BY HAU CHU

T

he D.C. punk community, at its best,

feels like family. If you keep going to

shows, you’re likely to stumble upon

familiar faces in the crowd. And

onstage, you might see members of one band

pop up with a different instrument in an-

other.

Pete Stahl, the frontman of Scream, a

pioneering, ferocious quartet that released

the first full-length album ever put out by t he

venerable Dischord Records, knows this bet-

ter than most — Scream’s guitarist is his

brother, Franz. So when Pete learned his

band’s original (and current) drummer Kent

Stacks needed some help paying his medical

bills for lung cancer treatment, he turned to

his family of punks.

“Kent’s really a private person and very

proud person,” Stahl says. “So we were like,

‘Dude, we want to do this for you,’ and our

family of friends and our music community

came together really quickly when we put out

the call to do this.”

On Thursday at Black Cat, you’ll get a

chance to see a who’s who of D.C. punk past,

present and future on a mega bill with

proceeds going to help out their pal. Local

supergroups the Messthetics and Hammered

Hulls (with members from the likes of Fugazi

and Helium) will perform, and Baby Alcatraz

and Ian MacKaye will DJ between the eight

acts scheduled for the night.

Of course, Scream will play a few songs, too.

The Baileys Crossroads natives, who formed

the band in 1981 after attending what is now

Justice High School, have been on and off for

four decades. They set the tone for Dischord’s

fast, furious and fun ethos along with Govern-

ment Issue and Minor Threat. (Even if you

don’t know Scream’s music, you might recog-

nize the locally raised drummer who replaced

Stacks in the late ’80s before ascending to

mega-stardom with Nirvana: Dave Grohl.)

Over time, Pete and Franz moved to Los

Angeles and got involved in various bands,

including Foo Fighters and Queens of the

Stone Age; bassist Skeeter Thompson

bounced around D.C. bands before settling in

New York. But Stacks has not strayed far

from Northern Virginia, playing musical

standards around the area in the Old Domin-

ion Trio.

Pete Stahl, ever the politically minded

punk, is grateful to be able to do something

for Stacks, whose gigs offset some of costs of

the chemotherapy and other treatments. “I

don’t know how every day you look online

and there’s a GoFundMe for somebody be-

cause the health care system is so crappy and

we don’t take care of each other,” Stahl says.

“Compared with other countries that do offer

some basic safety net for people, you’re kind

D.C. punk family helps one of its own

LISA JOHNSON

From left, Franz Stahl, Kent Stacks, Pete

Stahl and Skeeter Thompson of Scream. A

benefit show at Black Cat featuring a

who’s who of D.C. punk will raise money

for Stacks, the group’s drummer, who is

undergoing lung cancer treatment. “We

were like, ‘Dude, we want to do this for

you,’” said frontman Pete Stahl.

LILLIE EIGER

Singer-songwriter Tirzah, who

released “Colourgrade” last

year, is coming to the Miracle

Theatre on Saturday.

BY CHRIS KELLY

LB199X

Born and raised in Southeast

Washington, LB199X owes much

to the decade alluded to in his

moniker. The rapper embraces

hip-hop classicism, preferring a

lyrical approach and soulful

boom-bap grooves reminiscent of

years past. On this year’s “Life

Goes On” EP, LB199X details love,

loss and the come-up, after previ-

ously having laid out his modus

operandi on a track, “To Live and

Die in Amerikkka,” that nods to

’90s rap icons 2Pac and Ice Cube.

“Lookin’ at the man in the mirror

/ Could you see your soul much

clearer / It’s time to manifest the

vision / See, I hope my people

listen.” Friday at 7 p.m. (doors

open) at Songbyrd, 540 Penn St.

NE. songbyrddc.com. $12-$15.

Proof of coronavirus vaccination

required for admittance.

Tirzah

For nearly a decade, Tirzah has

explored the outer boundaries of

pop, embracing her gentle vocals

as the tether keeping everything

SEE ROUNDUP ON 6

’90s-style

hip-hop

and more

acts to see

KEVIN CHAMBERS

LB199X of Southeast

Washington prefers the boom-

bap grooves reminiscent of

years past. He’ll perform at

Songbyrd on Friday.