We Used to Be Like Brothers...

These shots were both taken at the Hall of Nations at Georgetown University in Washington, DC on the 4th of December, 1985.

Dag With Shawn

VICE: So Shawn, let’s tackle this chronologically. Did you grow up in DC, or go there for college?

Shawn Brown:

How did you become part of what was going on?

How old were you during this?

And Ian Svenonius was from the same neighbourhood?

Had you not been to DC shows before?

And that just changed everything?

DC was still pretty wild back then, right?

So how did you go from being at shows to being invited to try out for Dag Nasty?

Is that why you parted company with them?

Did that become apparent to you after the recording—like, “That’s not really what we wanted”?

But it wasn’t an amicable split?

Have you seen that letter where Brian writes to Kevin Seconds asking him to sing in Dag Nasty? It’s on daghouse.com.

So when you were being told they were going to try someone else, was Dave Smalley already in at this point?

him

Is it true that none of Dave’s lyrics are on that first record? The thing I’ve heard is that the only bit he wrote was that little spoken word bit: “I walked down the street one day and you were going the other.” That’s the only thing he contributed.

So Brian didn’t write all the lyrics?

So Dave Smalley was singing your words?

Change a word, claim a third—the classic!

is out on Dischord on October 25th.