DC Rock History

About DC Rock History

Join hosts Philip Basnight and Alex Vidales as they explore Washington, D.C.’s rich rock history. Each episode uncovers iconic albums and overlooked gems, featuring stories behind the music, the artists, and the evolving local scene. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the city’s musical legacy, this podcast shines a light on the sounds that shaped rock in the nation’s capital. email: dcrockpod@gmail.com

Publisher

dcrockpod

Category

music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Sept 2024

Latest episode

11 May 2026

Latest episodes

39 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 May 2026

   Smart Went Crazy - "Con Art" with Devin Ocampo

   In this episode, we take a deep dive into Con Art, Smart Went Crazy's 1997 swan song and one of the most ambitious records to ever come out of the Dischord catalog. The band formed in DC in 1993 as a high school trio of Chad Clark, Abram Goodrich, and cellist Hilary Soldati, eventually signing to Dischord and releasing Now We're Even in 1995 before spending two years building toward something bigger. Recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington with overdubs tracked at their own practice spaces using a hybrid analog and ADAT setup, Con Art incorporated cello, farfisa, samplers, and song structures that resisted easy categorization then and still do now. At 73 minutes across 19 tracks, it nearly overwhelmed its own label and a band that broke apart less than a year after its release, scattering its members across some of the most interesting groups in DC's post-hardcore lineage: Faraquet, Medications, Beauty Pill, and The Caribbean. For this episode, we're joined by Devin Ocampo, drummer on Con Art and the guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter behind Faraquet, Medications, and The Effects. Together, we discuss what it was like to be inside a band burning that bright, how Con Art sounds from the vantage point of nearly thirty years, and why a record this restless has lasted this long. Go Further: Smart Went Crazy - Bandcamp || Dischord Records Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight - Broke Royals Alex Vidales - Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight

2. 

   4 May 2026

   Tuscadero - "The Pink Album" with Tuscadero

   In this episode, we take a deep dive into The Pink Album, Tuscadero's 1994 debut and one of the defining records of the DC indie pop scene. Formed 1993 in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, Tuscadero built their sound around girl group influences, 1970s pop culture, and the everyday perspective of primary songwriters Melissa Farris and Margaret McCartney. The album was released on Teen-Beat Records before Elektra signed the band and released a re-recorded version in 1996. For this episode, all four members of Tuscadero join us: Melissa Farris, Margaret McCartney, Phil Satlof, and Jack Hornady. Together we discuss the band's formation, their early shows, the Teen-Beat years, the jump to Elektra, and what it has been like to revisit these songs across several reunions. We also listen back to "Heat Lightning," "Leather Idol," and "Nancy Drew Books" and hear the stories behind them directly from the people who wrote and recorded them. Go Further: Tuscadero – Bandcamp || Wikipedia The Pink Album – Discogs Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight – Broke Royals Alex Vidales – Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight

3. 

   27 Apr 2026

   The Dismemberment Plan - "Emergency & I" with Chris DeVille

   In this episode, we take a deep dive into Emergency & I, the Dismemberment Plan's 1999 landmark and the album that cemented the band as one of the most distinctive acts to emerge from the DC indie scene. Recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia and Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey, and produced by J. Robbins of Jawbox and Chad Clark of Beauty Pill, the record pushed well outside the boundaries of the post-hardcore tradition the band had grown up in, incorporating synths, funk rhythms, and unconventional song structures into something that resisted easy categorization then and still does now. The Dismemberment Plan formed in DC in 1993, building their early reputation through the same DIY venues and independent infrastructure that shaped bands like Fugazi and Jawbox. After a brief and unsuccessful stint at Interscope Records, they returned to DeSoto Records, the DC independent founded by members of Jawbox, to release Emergency & I. That path back to independence turned out to produce one of the era's most enduring records, one that critics and fans have continued to reassess and celebrate in the decades since. For this episode, we're joined by Chris DeVille, Managing Editor of Stereogum and author of Such Great Heights, a cultural history of the indie rock explosion. Together, we discuss why Emergency & I sounds like nothing else from its moment, how it bridged the DC hardcore tradition and the indie mainstream that followed, and why it has only grown in stature with time. Go Further: Chris DeVille – Stereogum || Such Great Heights Emergency & I – Wikipedia Follow Us: Social media: @dcrockpod Email: dcrockpod@gmail.com Hosts: Philip Basnight – Broke Royals Alex Vidales – Pilot Waves Podcast Artwork by Rebecca Basnight

Who has been a guest on DC Rock History

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Chris Richards
• Don Zientara
• Thurston Moore

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

19 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

44

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact DC Rock History

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.