"So in January of 1979, Wuelfing unveiled the premiere issue of Descenes, a fanzine dedicated to D.C. punk rock across six issues - all of which were recently anthologized alongside Wuelfing's subsequent zine from 1981, Discords, in book form. Together, the hefty double anthology captures the curiosity, magnanimity and zeal of a nascent punk community learning how to stick up for itself."
""It didn't feel like the local publications were giving the scene its due," Wuelfing says of the city's early punk milieu, nearly five decades later."
""We had this feeling we had to really encourage people to take care of each other," Wuelfing says. "Venues need to respect the bands. Bands need to help each other out. That was the culture we were trying to encourage.""
Howard Wuelfing, a young rock writer from New Jersey, launched Descenes in January 1979 to spotlight an overlooked D.C. punk scene. Descenes produced six issues and later reappeared as Discords in 1981; both zines were anthologized together in a double volume. The fanzines promoted mutual support among venues and bands, urging respect and cooperation within the community. Descenes arrived as D.C. hardcore began to coalesce, covering acts such as Half Japanese, Tiny Desk Unit, the Slickee Boys and Nurses, with Wuelfing participating in the latter two. With collaborators Tina Sickel-Moore Wuelfing and Mark Jenkins, Descenes ran for 19 months before Discords mixed local and national voices.
Read at The Washington Post
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