One of my friends was a stage hand at a Bob Dylan show in the mid-90s and I remember him telling me that somebody crowd surfed during the gig. And this friend of mine was an old punk rock guy - he was totally humiliated by it. But some of Bob's people were there and they said, "Oh, Bob will be so excited! This is the kind of energy we want at his shows." That's where the old school was at.
Ian MacKayeIn the 90s, there was a yahoo factor where there would be 50 people crowd surfing at one time! It was insane, and it had nothing to do with the music.
Ian MacKayeThe Fugazi Live Series site, when we realized the Internet, the way it works - the speeds and its development - made it possible to have one source of infinite copies, was incredible for us. Using tapes or CD's to make copies would have been so unwieldy. We have shows that have zero downloads, which makes me sad, but they're all freely available at any time. The most downloaded show was the one with the best audio quality, but I didn't think it was a very interesting show.
Ian MacKayeWhen children start to speak they find their own voice by imitating the sounds around them. It would follow that bands do the same. Bands will find their own voice at some point.
Ian MacKayeWhat people don't understand is that the underground that existed was created in the early 80s and was thriving throughout the 80s. Until the industry showed up it was a pretty significant network. It was all happening, but the smell of money had not wafted up high enough for the industry. It wasn't really until they came descending on Seattle that things really got out of control.
Ian MacKaye