Representative Albums: "Field Day," "Wig Out at Denko's," "Minority of One"
Representative Songs: "Circles," "Never Go Back," "The Godfather"
Biography
Dag Nasty kept roaring D.C.-styled hardcore alive during the mid-'80s. Although the group was more accessible and melodic than Minor Threat, they never lost their bracing, blistering edge. Formed by former-Minor Threat and Meatmen guitarist Brian Baker and ex-DYS vocalist Dave Smalley, Dag Nasty recorded their first album, Can I Say (1986), with D.C.-punk guru Ian MacKaye assisting on the production. The following year, Smalley left the group; he was replaced by Peter Cortner, who added more pop elements to the band's sound. Dag Nasty moved from MacKaye's Dischord label to Giant in 1988, releasing their last album, Field Day. Along with former-Big Boy Chris Gates, Baker formed the metal band Junkyard in 1989, which released two records on Geffen before fading away. Dag Nasty came back together in 1992, releasing Four on the Floor for the growing underground punk scene that was only a few short years from breaking into the mainstream. The response was enthusiastic, but the band stepped away from the business again. Ten years later, they reunited with the emo rock call-to-arms Minority of One and released it on Revelation Records. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Their style of less aggressive, melodic hardcore was influential to emocore, as well as post-hardcore. Dag Nasty was the first of a new breed of "professional" hardcore bands, that would be the blueprint for the later to come "Warped Tour" styled bands.
Shawn Brown was the first vocalist with whom the band recorded (until recently) unreleased versions of most of the material that later made up their first release Can I Say, which featured former roadie and new singer Dave Smalley of DYS. A year later, the band released Wig Out at Denko's, with new bassist Doug Carrion (then of The Descendents, later of The Kottonmouth Kings and the Humble Gods) and new vocalist Peter Cortner (formerly of Lunchbox, currently of The Gerunds) after Smalley left to attend school in Israel.
1988 saw the release of their album Field Day on Giant Records (a sister label to Homestead Records). It was an ambitious album, often generating sharply polarised appraisals from fans: many hated it and many loved it. Field Day attempted to blend pop melodies with hardcore and metal riffs even further than previously attempted on Wig Out. The result was, at times, uneven but helped to usher in a new style of hardcore with more controlled playing, guitar effects, acoustic elements and slower tempos - effectively planting the seeds for "emo". The band split up shortly after touring for Field Day ended.
In 2002 the band got back together, again with Smalley on the mic, returning the band to a hardcore sound. The result of this reunion was the album Minority of One. To this day they still release records, though Dag Nasty remains more of a side project for its members than a full-time active band. Cortner, who has not been involved with the band directly for years, completed his education as a lawyer, practiced law and recently became a schoolteacher. While strictly as a personal hobby now, Cortner has continued to make music under the names GPFA and, more recently, in a collaboration with Philadelphia area musicians entitled The Gerunds. Sears went on to play in The Marshes and later after moving to Portland, Oregon for Handgun Bravado and The Valley Floor. He also works as a city planner for the Portland Development Commission. The other members of the band have remained involved in music.
