I met one of my heroes Ian Mackaye at the Dischord offices in Arlington Virginia. He was very accomodating to me and my girlfriend, hooking us up with a large pot of PG Tips (+ soy milk and honey) and speaking to us for hours in his old house, which was once the practice room and recording studio for Minor Threat, Rites of Spring, Fugazi and countless other Dischord bands. The basement practice room is only five feet high so, strangely enough, all the bands had to practice sitting down or, as many preferred, leaning against the wall. We thought it had all got off on the wrong foot when we arrived late to find him prowling up and down the street in front of the office. On seeing us, he let out a cry of "The Brits are here!" and took us in. Here is the first slice of some of the many things he told us. There's a lot more to come.Ian Mackaye on… Punk"I guess I've just been a punk-rocker forever. When punk rock came around I was, like: "Fuck, I can do this." It didn't seem impossible. It was total freedom. It was a free space. Punk is the same thing as folk, jazz and rock: it's a free space. It's a moment in time where you are in an environment in which you have people as an audience (who are mostly also players) who are just interested, profit is not dictating the situation. That's what punk is in my mind. I don't buy into the thinking that punk is more basic, or lower than other art; it's a free space. It's the particular free space of that one moment. It could be hip-hop or folk, there are just these moments in time where people gather and they create an audience where you can put out a new idea. It's a really super component of our world: this idea that there can be a free space in which to present new ideas. You can't sell something no-one has ever heard so you have to remove the selling aspect of it and just share it. And that's punk."Check out the Ian Mackaye Soft Focus episode.OSCAR RICKETT