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Fire Party

Formed in 1986 by guitarist Natalie Avery, vocalist Amy Pickering, bassist Kate Samworth, and drummer Nicky Thomas, Fire Party further broadened the musical horizons of the D.C. scene with its flowing melodies, layered rhythms, and expansive use of harmony. Beyond their musical legacy, Fire Party was a major presence in the scene, touring widely and regularly playing local benefit shows. Pickering is also notable for her role in helping to inspire 1985’s Revolution Summer movement in D.C. punk, which pushed back against the violence, sexism, and creative stagnation becoming endemic in the scene.

Drawn from the Sharon Cheslow Punk Flyers collection, the D.C. punk collection, and the D.C. punk and indie fanzine collection at Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland.

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Fliers

Fire Party and Marginal Man flier with the title written in marker and a photo of a fire.

Fire Party and Marginal Man - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., April 24, 1987

Happy Go Licky flier with four photos of a townhouse building with details typed on the sides.

Happy Go Licky - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., June 21, 1987

Soulside flier on yellow paper with a photo of bandmembers at a concert and hand drawn titles and paper cut-out details.

Soulside, Fire Party, 3, and Christ on a Crutch - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., July 9, 1987

Fugazi flier with hand-drawn titles and details and a drawing of three figures in front of a bowl of pasta.

Fugazi, Marginal Man, Ignition, and Fire Party - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., September 3, 1987

Fire Party flier with a collage-styled background of a dog with an open mouse, a boy, and titles in messy paper cut-out shapes.

Fire Party - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., October 20, 1987

Ignition flier on pink paper wth a photo of a man behind bars and two images of a mythical creature bowing down.

Ignition, Fire Party and Das Damen - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., August 4, 1988

Alternatives flier on yellow paper wth a cast photo of the Muppets, labelled with band names.

Alternatives Festival concert flier - Dupont Circle - Washington, D.C., September 11, 1988

Geek flier on yellow paper with a cartoon of a man straining to do a push up, titled 'We Want to See You Really Smile!'

Geek and Fire Party concert flier - Takoma Park Cafe, Takoma Park, Maryland, September 19, 1988

Scream flier on a green background with a photo of Marvin Gaye and event acts and details in paper cutouts.

Scream, Fire Party, Parasite, Moss Icon - Washington, D.C., December 18, 1988

Scream flier with a photo of a plaza in Europe and drawings of a screaming stick figures, details reading 'No More Censhorship'.

Scream, Fire Party, Parasite, and Moss Icon - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., December 18, 1988

Flier for State Of the Union benefit compilation with an image of two revolvers pointed at a globe.

Flier for State Of the Union benefit compilation, Washington, D.C., 1988

Fugazi flier on green paper with a drawing of two people embracing, titled 'Benefit Jam 89...for outreach services, inc.'

Fugazi, Fire Party, Ignition, Why - Weinberg Center, Frederick, Maryland, January 13, 1989

Fire Party flier with a photo of a person sliding down a fire pole next to a large shadow.

Fire Party and Fidelity Jones - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., April 10, 1989

Laughing Hyenas flier on lime green paper with a photo of a man standing outside a storefront with a sign, 'Millies Tattoo'.

Laughing Hyenas and Fire Party - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., June 1, 1989

Verbal Assault flier with photos of two Native Americans looking to the side, captioned 'Benefit for Big Mountain Support Group'

Verbal Assault, Fire Party, and All White Jury - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., July 13, 1989

Thee Evolution Revolution flier on red paper, with an illustration of a monkey inside a Chinese doorway surrounded by animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Thee Evolution Revolution and Fire Party - Fort Reno Park, Washington, D.C., July 27,1989

Fire Party Flier. Red tinted background. At the center is a large photo of a car steering wheel.

Fire Party concert flier, First Congregational Church, Washington, D.C., March 23, 1990

Ephemera

d.c. Space event calendar.

d.c. Space event calendar, Washington, D.C., April 1989

ZINES

Handwritten issue cover in black and white.

Not Even, Issue 2, 1991

About

Persistent Vision presents the University of Maryland's digitized special collections materials related to punk in the Washington, D.C. area. Most of these materials reside at Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. These materials help to tell the story of a subculture and a community that has thrived since 1976.

Curators: John Davis, Ben Jackson
Design: Ben Jackson, Natalie Salive
Authors: Ben Jackson, John Davis, and Jessica Grimmer

With help from: Cindy Zhao, Jeremy Gottwig, Amanda Henderson, Gabby Cameron, Hayden Kramer

Contact Us

Special Collections in Performing Arts is located in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library on University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

For general information about the library and our collections, contact us