Marginal Man was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C., that formed in 1982. Three of its members—Steve Polcari (vocals), Pete Murray (guitar), and Mike Manos (drums)—had previously played together in the Bethesda, Maryland hardcore band Artificial Peace,[1] a notable part of D.C.'s early hardcore scene, appearing on Dischord Records' "landmark"[2] Flex Your Head compilation. After Artificial Peace disbanded, the trio would join up with Andre Lee (bass) and Kenny Inouye (guitar) to form Marginal Man. The band's first performance occurred on November 19, 1982 at a basement show with Scream, Insurrection, Double-O, United Mutation, and others.[3] According to Polcari, the name 'Marginal Man' referred to the concept of "having friends in two or more groups, but not being part of any individual group. Kind of like 'outside looking in.'"[4]
Marginal man | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Genres | Hardcore punk |
| Years active | 1982–1988 1991, 1995, 2011 (reunions) |
| Labels | Dischord, Gasatanka, Enigma, Giant |
| Past members | Steve Polcari Pete Murray Mike Manos Andre Lee Kenny Inouye |
Marginal Man was one of the first D.C. hardcore bands, in addition to The Faith and Minor Threat, to feature two guitars. According to Minor Threat drummer and Dischord Records co-founder Jeff Nelson, "Marginal Man made the best use of two guitars of all the bands in D.C."[5] The band toured and recorded frequently before giving a "final" performance at the 9:30 Club on March 24, 1988. The band subsequently reunited for several shows—the 9:30 Club on August 29, 1991 and December 30, 1995 (the second-to-last show at the 9:30 Club's original location) and at the Black Cat on August 20, 2011.[6]
Guitarist Kenny Inouye is the son of the late former Representative, Senator, and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.[7]
Discography
editReleases
edit- Identity 12" EP (Dischord Records, 1984)/CD EP (Dischord, 1997)
- Double Image LP (Gasatanka/Enigma Records, 1985)/CD (In Your Eye, 2000)
- Marginal Man LP/CS (Giant Records, 1988)
Appearances
edit- "Marginal Man" on the "Alive And Kicking" 7" compilation (WGNS Recordings, 1985)
- "Stones Of A Wall" on the "State Of The Union" LP compilation (Dischord, 1989)
- "Friends" on the "Going Nowhere Slow" LP compilation (Double A Records, 1990)
- "Mainstream" and "Tell Me" on the "...And The Fun Just Never Ends" CD compilation (Lost And Found Records, 1993)
- "Missing Rungs" and "Manipulator" on the "20 Years Of Dischord" 3xCD compilation (Dischord, 2003)
Members
edit- Steve Polcari - Vocals
- Pete Murray - Guitar, Vocals
- Kenny Inouye - Guitar
- Andre Lee - Bass
- Mike Manos - Drums
References
edit- ^ Righi, Len (April 12, 1986). "Marginal Man: Discontent On The Punk Border", The Morning Call, p. 60.
- ^ Azerrad, Michael (2002). Our band could be your life : scenes from the American indie underground 1981-1991 (First Back Bay paperback ed.). Boston. p. 133. ISBN 0316787531.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Marginal Man and Shudder to Think concert flier, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C. - March 24, 1988". Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. hdl:1903.1/43920. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ "Marginal Man Interview". Independent Viewpoint (2). 1984 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Crawford, Scott (2017). Spoke : images and stories from the 1980s Washington, DC punk scene. [Brooklyn, New York]: Akashic Books. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-61775-500-2.
- ^ Marginal Man Reunion At Black Cat Aug 20th, Dischord, June 6, 2011.
- ^ Freed, Benjamin R (2012-12-18). "Late Sen. Daniel Inouye Was the Biggest Punk in Congress". DCist. Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
- Other sources
External links
edit- Official Website
- Digitized Marginal Man fliers and fanzine coverage from the University of Maryland's D.C. punk collections