Michael Hampton (punk musician)
Encyclopedia
- For the Funkadelic guitarist see Michael HamptonMichael HamptonMichael Hampton is a funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic....
Michael Hampton is a guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
in the Washington, DC hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene.
His first notable effort was playing guitar in The Extorts in early 1980. There are a few live recordings and a demo tape as evidence of their existence. After The Extorts broke up, Hampton and Henry Garfield (later to become Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
) formed a new group called S.O.A. (State of Alert) and they released a 7"
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
on Dischord records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
. When S.O.A. split up, Henry Garfield changed his surname to Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
and moved to Los Angeles as singer of legendary band Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
.
Hampton then joined fellow DC punks Alec MacKaye
Alec MacKaye
Alec MacKaye is an American singer and musician best known as a member of the Washington, DC Hardcore bands Untouchables, The Faith, and Ignition. In the mid-1990s Alec joined the band The Warmers as a vocalist and guitarist. Their album 14 Songs was released in 1996 by Dischord Records. The...
(brother of Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
), Eddie Janney, Chris Bald and Ivor Hansen and formed The Faith who released two recordings on the Dischord label - a split LP with VOID
Void
-In science and engineering:*Void , the empty spaces between galaxy filaments*Lack of matter, or vacuum*Void, in boiling heat transfer, formed where there is a departure from nucleate boiling, causing a critical heat flux...
and the Subject to Change 12". This group broke up in 1983. Hampton soon joined Ian Mackaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
, Ivor Hansen and Chris Bald in another D.C. group called Embrace
Embrace (U.S. band)
Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986 and was one of the first bands to be dubbed in the press as emotional hardcore, though the members had rejected the term since its creation...
. Along with Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s, known for their energetic live performances. A part of the D.C. hardcore punk scene, Rites of Spring increased the frenetic violence and visceral passion of hardcore while simultaneously experimenting with...
, Embrace is credited as a seminal emo
Emo (music)
Emo is a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace...
group, however Ian Mackaye found the term "emocore" disgusting and did not accept the label whatsoever. A posthumously released album appeared on Dischord, long after they had split up.
Hampton then joined a short lived project called One Last Wish
One Last Wish
One Last Wish was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in May 1986 by members of Rites of Spring, and split up in January 1987....
, composed of three ex members of Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s, known for their energetic live performances. A part of the D.C. hardcore punk scene, Rites of Spring increased the frenetic violence and visceral passion of hardcore while simultaneously experimenting with...
. This band lasted only a matter of months, but they had recorded one demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
which was released some years later on Dischord.
Concurrent with One Last Wish, Hampton was involved in another project with Simon Jacobson
Simon Jacobson
Simon Jacobson is the author of Toward a Meaningful Life , founder of and publisher of the Yiddish English weekly, The Algemeiner Journal.-Life and career:...
called The Snakes
The Snakes
The Snakes were a British-Norwegian hard rock band, formed by former Whitesnake members Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody in 1997. The line-up consisted of guitarists Marsden and Moody with Norwegian musicians, vocalist Jørn Lande, bassist Sid Ringsby, who later joined the Norwegian band TNT, and...
. This group was primarily a recording project, and rarely played live. The Snakes released two albums on Dischord.
In 1990 Hampton teamed up with Ivor Hansen and Bert Queiroz to form Manifesto who were very much influenced by the English music of the time. They released one album and one 7" to great critical acclaim in the UK, but records sales did not follow and soon Hampton's itchy feet made him leave. He has spent the years after producing soundtrack music for many TV programmes, video games and films.
Hampton lately performs in a band called Paco along with fellow members Dominique Durand, Andy Chase
Andy Chase
Andy Chase is a New York based musician/songwriter/producer. He is a member of the bands Ivy, Brookville, and Paco. He is also a co-owner of New York City recording studio Stratosphere sound with partners James Iha , and Adam Schlesinger .In 1995, Chase co-produced and engineered the title track...
& Gary Maurer. This group released an album in May 2004 called This Is Where We Live on Unfiltered Records
Unfiltered Records
Unfiltered Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, owned by producer, singer-songwriter and musical entrepreneur Andy Chase. The label is run out of his New York City loft with label manager Michael Galbe, and in late 2009 became a member of Warner Music Group's...
.