Don Zientara

Look at the liner notes of the best punk and post-punk albums to come from Washington, D.C., over the past two decades-plus, and you're likely to find Don Zientara's name on lots of them. During the late '70s, Zientara founded Inner Ear Studio in his basement, and since then, he's...

By Michael Roberts

October 4, 2007

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Look at the liner notes of the best punk and post-punk albums to come from Washington, D.C., over the past two decades-plus, and you're likely to find Don Zientara's name on lots of them. During the late '70s, Zientara founded Inner Ear Studio in his basement, and since then, he's worked with many of the region's top indie groups, including Fugazi, whom he assisted on all but one disc. He also pens and performs his own songs, and throughout Clocks & Watches, his latest solo CD, he keeps things simple and intense, relying mainly on a single guitar, raw vocals and words that are by turns political, as on "Darfur," and personal: The title cut includes the lines "I'll ask you to dance and you'll tell me to fuck off/Like you do all the time." This Sunday at 3 p.m., Zientara will share such material and engage in a Q&A about the infamous harDCore scene. Expect proof that he's still in touch with the passion that infused his greatest basement tapes.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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