ian mackaye talks with lowlife magazine.

ian: what have you got on your mind?

q: tell me about fugazi's lyrical content.

ian: we sing whatever we talk about. they're songs, ya know.

q: the lyrics change every night then?

ian: no. the words stay the same and that's why we sing them. that's why you write a song. you don't write a song to tell people what it's about. you write a song and let them decide what it's about. i hate to discuss what our songs are about because different people have different ways of perceiving things. so you might hear a song and hear one thing and listen to it again and think about something else.

q: i haven't heard much fugazi myself.

ian: i've heard a lot.

q: where has fugazi taken you?

ian: 18 countries. we've played in america, all of europe, scandinavia, new zealand, and japan.

q: is your "do it yourself...for yourself" philosophy established now?

ian: yes, we don't have to think about it anymore.

q: don't you wish other bands and record companies would be more sincere in their approach?

ian: if that's what they do, it's not my job to tell people how to run their business. we do things the way we want to do things. it's not an issue about what other people do. it's an issue about what we do. what you do. if people see us do something they think is good and want to check it out for themselves, that's cool. i'm certainly not into dictating people in their business and in their lives for that matter. i like to see people do what they want to do in their lives and that they respect other people and their decisions.

q: is all this your main source of entertainment?

ian: my label dischord and my music.

q: have you been skating lately?

ian: i do on occasion go skating at night. this new street stuff escapes me though. i'm a ditch skater and a pool skater. say hi to tony alva for me. i saw salba the other night. it was good seeing him. he looked good. he's still skating lots of pools.

q: do you guys put out a publication of your own to send people?

ian: no. we send records if people order them. we write people back if they write to us.

q: how's the homeless scene in washington, d.c.?

ian: it's a very tough situation.

q: what kind of movements do you support that are trying to make the world a better place?

ian: i like certain organizations, but i don't want to list all the names. we play only benefits in d.c. to raise money for groups we think are doing good work, generally community groups.

q: make it a nightly adventure!

ian: you could. it's true.

q: you play as much as you have the energy for?

ian: on the road we play 6 nights a week. at home we play once every 2 months.

q: how is being straight edge treating you?

ian: i don't recognize the term "straight edge." i only wrote a song called straight edge.

q: yeah?

ian: i coined the phrase.

q: right.