The St. John’s punk scene wasn’t very large in the mid 1980s, when I put in my time. A few hundred kids, who went to all the shows, and band membership was pretty interchangeable. Ken Tizzard, who played in the Watchmen & Thornley, was a stalwart of the scene. Danny, who stage-manages GBS among many other things, was another. I played bass or guitar and sang in a few bands myself, all quickly forgotten. Not much of my record collection from that period survives. I left most of my records somewhere in one of my many moves, fed up with lugging around boxes of moldy albums. A few singles and compilations hung on, plus anything by the Clash. And Minor Threat.

I am not really sure why I still like this band so much. Maybe it is because unlike much of that scene, there is something truly honest and timeless about their music. Leader Ian McKay started as just another punk screamer, but somewhere along the way he learned to write and sing properly. Minor Threat only lasted from 1980 to 1983 - like many of my favourite bands, they broke up before I ever heard of them. McKay went on to found the Dischord label, and front the band Fugazi. Both continue, in 2006, to be an inspiration for independent minded musicians everywhere. McKay also came up with Straight Edge, a philosophy of non-drinking, non-drugs and non-violence that was widely embraced in the punk community. While maybe a little unrealistic, you have to admire a man who never compromised his ideals for a second.

Both these songs come from the 7-inch release Salad Days. It came out years after the band broke up, and it is miles beyond their early work. Good Guys Don’t Wear White is actually a cover of an earlier garage classic. The working class anthem was loved by the St. John's punks, who knew all too well what parental approbation felt like. As a bonus, anyone with two fingers (and two guitar strings) could play this song. Salad Days is more ambitious. The arrangement was elaborate by Minor Threat standards, and even includes tubular bells. In the reflective lyrics, you can hear McKay talking to the audience, and himself, wondering how you can grow up, and still hold onto your ideals, how to stay young without acting like a kid. Anyone who plays in a band for a living has to face this sooner or later. McKay realized it a lot earlier than most, and figured out a way forward.

Good Guys Don't Wear White
I'm a poor boy born in a rut
some say my manners ain't the best

some of my friends they've been in a whole lot of trouble
some say I'm no better than the rest

but tell your mama and your papa
sometimes good guys don't wear white
 
Salad Days
Wishing for the days
When I first wore this suit
Baby has grown older,

It's no longer cute.
Too many voices
They've made me mute
Baby haws grown older,
It's no longer cute.
www.dischord.com/bands/minorthreat.shtml