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About The Fugazi Live Series

Fugazi is a band from Washington, D.C. featuring Ian MacKaye, Joe Lally, Brendan Canty and Guy Picciotto. They played their first show on September 3, 1987, and have since released seven albums and played over 1000 concerts, covering all fifty United States, Europe, Australia, South America, Japan and many points in between. The band is self-managed and release all their material through Dischord Records.

Fugazi always made sure their concerts were open to people of all-ages and were ticketed at a reasonable price, usually $5 to $7. Over 800 of these shows were recorded by the band's sound engineers, Joey Picuri and Nick Pellicciotto, often on high-quality recording gear. The goal of this project is to create a complete archive of the Fugazi live experience and to make these recordings available. Show pages will include data from the concerts and well as photos and flyers when possible. Initially the band released 100 concert downloads (in addition to the 30 shows released on the now out of print Fugazi Live Series CDs) and new downloads will be added on a monthly basis until the entire archive has been made available.

In keeping with the band's philosophy of keeping music affordable, the suggested price of a concert download is $5. However, we also offer a sliding scale option where you can set your own price. Additionally, we offer an All Access option for $500 that will allow you to download every show on the site – that would include all 130 presently available downloads as well as all subsequent shows (800+) that will be added to the site over time. If you are interested in purchasing this option, click here.

Project Credits

The Fugazi Live Series is a wing of the Dischord Records website and utilizes the secure Dischord online store for payment and delivery of the downloads. The site was designed and produced by Dischord's Alec Bourgeois and was developed by Jerrod Blavos of RecCenter. All shows were mastered by Jerry Busher except the 30 shows initially released on CD, which were mastered by Fugazi. Thanks to Peter Oleksik, Lindsey Hobbs, Amy Pickering, and Amy Breesman for their expertise and help organizing the Fugazi archive. And a special thanks to the many photographers who have generously shared their work. See a list of some of these photographers on the Dischord Acknowledgements page. If you are a photographer who has work on our site that is uncredited please write us at fugazilive[at]dischord.com and we'll make sure to give you proper credit!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a Dischord Account to order Fugazi Live Series downloads?

Yes! The Fugazi Live Series a wing of the Dischord Records website and uses the secure Dischord online store to process your payment and deliver your mp3s. If you are a Dischord account-holder there is no need to create a new account. If you do not yet have a Dischord account simply click on Create Account to sign up for a free account.

How much will the shows cost to download?

The suggested cost of a show download is $5. However, customers will also have the option to pay for individual shows on a "pay what you can" sliding scale. Also, for $500 You can purchase an All Access subscription that will allow you to download every currently available show (a minimum of 224 shows) as well as all shows that are posted in the future. Fugazi Live concerts are sold as complete packages and individual tracks will not be sold separately.

How is the quality of the recordings?

Most of the shows were recorded by the band's sound engineers using both a live mic and a board feed. These recordings have been mastered to correct for some volume shifts, drop outs, etc. but some sonic anomalies will still exist, especially early in the set when the mix is being settled or when a tape had to be flipped during a song. That said, the quality of most of shows is very good. In addition each recording has been rated by the band for quality and we've included audio samples for each show. For sub-par recordings we encourage users to listen to the samples and take advantage of the alternative pricing option to determine a price based on your own sense of fairness.

How is the quality are the MP3 files?

We use high quality (320 kbps), non-restricted (DRM-free), MP3 files

How are the MP3 files delivered to my computer?

Upon successful check-out from the Dischord online store your files will be made available for you to download at your convenience as a compressed a zip file. There will be a "download button" at the bottom of your invoice. Simply click on the "download button" and the file will begin downloading to your computer. Once it has been downloaded you will need to "unzip" the file (usually by double clicking on it) and a new uncompressed file will appear with your mp3 tracks inside. All of this info will be stored on your personal Dischord account page.

Can I download the Fugazi Live Series if I live outside the USA?

Yes! We have no regional restrictions on our download service.

How many shows are going to be made available? And when?

Initially 100 show downloads were released (in addition to the 30 that were already issued on CD/MP3). New shows will be added weekly until every show (approximately 900) that has a decent recording is made available for download. There are 274 concert downloads currently available.

What is the difference between these downloads and the Fugazi Live Series CDs?

The short answer is that they are one and the same. The Fugazi Live Series was first initiated when Fugazi bass player Joe Lally introduced 30 Fugazi live shows onto CD beginning in 2004. But Fugazi never intended to release every show onto CD and eventually the band began to focus instead on releasing the archive as a whole. Those first 30 shows were eventually allowed to go out of print on CD but they are still available to download as part of this series.

How much do I need to know about computers to use the download service?

We do not recommend using our download service unless you have a modest technical understanding of your home computer and its music software. We use industry standard file formats that are compatible with the vast majority of systems but if you are unfamiliar with your home music management software you may want to experiment with downloading some free content and getting comfortable with the process before buying stuff from Dischord. Dischord cannot be held responsible for customer software or hardware systems that may be incompatible with the delivery or functionality of Zip files or MP3 music files, nor can we be held responsible for any damage incurred by the improper handling of these files. Dischord does not support third party download managers, which can flood our system with unsupported data requests and compromise your tracks. If you have any questions you may call us at 703-351-7507 or send an email to digital[at]dischord.com

Do you have any download tips for Windows users?

We ran into some naming conflicts with our initial download packages that made it difficult for some Windows users to unzip our concert files. New download packages have been named in a more neutral manner and Windows users should be able to download and unzip them without issue. We are also working to replace the initial concert packages but that will take some time. If you run into issues opening our files we highly recommend an application called FYZip (http://fyzip.com) -- it is an alternative to WinZip that is available to download for free and works well with our files.

Here are some Windows tips for opening zip files: windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Compress-and-uncompress-files-zip-files

Is Fugazi Live Series content available from other download services like itunes and Amazon?

No! The Fugazi Live Series is available exclusively on this website and nowhere else. However, the regular Dischord catalog is available on a wide variety of digital outlets.

What if I have a live recording of Fugazi, do you want it for the site?

If you have a high-fidelity live recording of Fugazi that you'd like to share, especially for shows that we seem to be missing, then yes - we'd like to hear from you! Email us at fugazilive[at]dischord.com for more information. Please Note: We can not keep track of unsolicited material so please do not send audio files, CDs or cassettes without first getting the go-ahead. Thanks!

What if I have live photos, flyers, or posters of Fugazi, do you want prints for the site?

If you have high quality images from a Fugazi show that you would like to share then yes - we'd like to hear from you! Write us at fugazilive[at]dischord.com for more information. Please Note: We can not keep track of unsolicited material so please do not send original prints or digital files without first getting the go-ahead. Thanks!

What is the status of Fugazi?

Currently Fugazi is on an indefinite hiatus and has no plans to tour or record. This may be a permanent condition, it may not -- only time will tell. In the meantime the Fugazi band members remain busy, both with other musical projects and tending to their young families. Ian runs Dischord Records and is playing out with his band, The Evens; Guy recorded and toured as a guitarist with Vic Chesnutt and has also produced recordings for Blonde Redhead, The Casual Dots and The Gossip among others; Joe is writing and performing solo and in collaboration with others; and Brendan is producing the Burn To Shine Live DVD series, and has been active producing albums by Medications, Mary Timony and others.