© Joel Dowling

Scream is an American hardcore punk band from Washington, DC that formed in 1979, straight out of high school, within the vanguard of the Washington DC hardcore explosion. Known for their incendiary live performances, an urgent mix of punk, Bad Brains/Clash-inspired dub, and rock-and-roll swagger, the original lineup of vocalist Pete Stahl, guitarist Franz Stahl, bassist Skeeter Thompson, and drummer Kent Stacks will return to Europe this summer.

For the Stahl brothers, music really is in their DNA. “My father managed The Hangmen -- a popular DC garage rock band who had a radio hit in 1966 with ‘What a Girl Can't Do’” remembers Stahl. “The DC music scene at that time had a big impact on my brother and I since we used to travel to the local gigs together. [Even then] we could feel the politics and a sense of community.”Scream’s first album, Still Screaming (1982), was the first LP on DC’s Dischord Records, followed by This Side Up in 1984. The band toured throughout the US and were one of the first US hardcore bands to tour Europe and the UK. In 1987, they released Banging the Drum, which was recorded at Southern Studios in London by John Loder. In 1988, No More Censorship was released on reggae label RAS Records. The album was the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl, who replaced Kent Stacks for both this album and Fumble (Dischord Records,1993).

After the 1990 implosion of Scream midway through a US tour, Dave Grohl went to Seattle to join Nirvana, the Stahl brothers decided to start over in Los Angeles. Collectively and separately, everyone dived into other projects – Franz with The Foo Fighters, Pete with Goatsnake and earthlings?, Kent with The Suspects, Spitfire United, and now with The Old Dominion Trio, Skeeter with the Muff Divers, Daddyface, Dub Itals and, most recently, with Rise Defy.

As a band, Scream continued to play occasional shows, mostly at home in the Washington DC area. After recording the EP “Complete Control Sessions” for Side One Dummy in 2011, the band began to tour more consistently, playing shows nationally and touring overseas to perform at festivals like Rebellion in Blackpool UK and Different Sounds Festival in Lublin Poland in summer of 2022.

As DC’s hardcore punk mythology continues to grow, interest in Scream has never waned. With an extensive discography—starting with the seminal Still Screaming – the band remains committed to the spirit that fueled them from the beginning. Later this year, a new full length recording, DC Special, will be released by Discord Records. DC Special embodies the same sense of community and politics that inspired the band from the start. Guest musicians from the DC music community, both past and present, appear on DC Special, making this record a truly special collection of new music that speaks to the present and also tells the story of DC music, Scream, and the influences that shaped them.