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Scream

Formed in 1981 by brothers Pete and Franz Stahl, Kent Stax, and Skeeter Thompson, Scream’s longevity is rivaled by few DC punk bands, as evidenced in their initial nine-year run and subsequent reunions. Surviving through many stylistic waves in the scene, Scream explored varying sounds from their foundational hardcore LP Still Screaming (the first full-length LP ever released on Dischord) to incorporating dub reggae and more of a hard rock sound on later releases. After personnel changes including tenures by Robert Lee Davidson and Dave Grohl on guitar and drums respectively, Scream still performs and records in the 21st century.

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

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Fliers

Simple hand-written flier with text in pencil font. The title text is 'Dance with the SCREAM'.
Scream, Minor Threat, Government Issue, State of Alert - HB Woodlawn High School, Arlington, Virginia, May 9, 1981
Flier for 'The Party'. The background image is of five guys (band members) standing together and looking at the camera.
Iron Cross, Scream, Void, Hate from Ignorance, Capital Punishment and Trenchmouth - Bethesda, Maryland, May 22, 1982
Flier for an event at Wilson Center titled 'Hardcore' with a list of performing bands. At the top are three large Xs and two black bars.
Government Issue, Faith, Scream, and Artificial Peace - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., June 25, 1982
Iron Cross Flier with a background image of a strong-looking bald man and handwritten text.
Iron Cross, Artificial Peace, Scream, Void and Jerry's Kids - Columbia, Maryland, July 2, 1982
A collage styled flier. The images in the background collage are mostly warfare images.
MDC, Exiled, Hate from Ignorance, Scream - The Mill, Adelphi, Maryland, September 2, 1982
A flier for an all-ages event with an image of three men sitting outside on the ground.
Discharge, Government Issue, and Scream - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., October 17, 1982
Insurrection flier with a black background. There is a close-up image of a man's face and under it is an image of peope holding up a cross.
Insurrection, Scream and Heart Attack - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., March 20, 1983
Scream flier repeated posters and event details at the bottom.
Scream, Heart Attack and Insurrection - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., March 20, 1983
Flier for 'An Eastcoast Hardcore Event' with a list of performing bands in the center in plain, bold text and event details underneath.
Kraut, Freeze, Scream, Government Issue (G.I.) and No Trend - Lansburgh Cultural Center, Washington, D.C., March 31, 1983
Dead Kennedys flier with handwritten text of event details.
Dead Kennedys, Scream, No Trend, Void concert flier, Lansburgh Cultural Center, Washington, D.C., June 5, 1983
A dark flier for Scream with large, bold white text.
Scream, Second Wind and Dove concert flier, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., October 20, 1983 (Design 1)
A hand-drawn flier with an illustration of an angry-looking figure on the left side and all the text on the right side, including 'UNITY?' written in a large font.
Scream, Second Wind and Dove concert flier, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., October 20, 1983 (Design 2)
Hand-drawn flier with a large illustration at the center of a man in a suit holding a rocking chair that another man in a suit is sitting on, both with angry expressions, looking down at a smaller figure that resembles a little girl.
Scream, Second Wind and Dove concert flier, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., October 20, 1983 (Design 3)
Black and white flier with bold text. Tthe top half is black and gray and the bottom half is white.
Scream concert flier, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, November 4, 1983 (Version 2)
Plain text flier with bold letters that go from large to small (top to bottom).
Scream - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. - August 3, 1984 (Version 1)
Flier with a dark background and a white circle at the center with an illustration of a person's hand that has a face in the palm.
Scream - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. - August 3, 1984 (Version 2)
Scream and Beefeater flyer on orange paper with photos of Martin Luther King Jr and a group of people holding an American flag.
Scream and Beefeater concert flier, Chevy Chase Community Center, Washington, D.C., January 25, 1986 (Front)
Reverse of Scream and Beefeater flyer on orange paper with a newspaper clipping titled, 'Each day is a struggle on poverty's front line for embattled director'.
Scream and Beefeater concert flier, Chevy Chase Community Center, Washington, D.C., January 25, 1986 (Reverse)
Scream flyer in collage style with photos and cut-out titles reading 'Concert for a free Chile'.
Scream and Lifeline - Washington, D.C., September 13, 1986
Soulside and Swiz flyer with a photo of a family.
Soulside and Swiz - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., July 18, 1987
Scream flyer on yellow paper with a photo of a person behind bars and the title, 'Benefit and March for Amnesty International'.
Scream, King Face, 3, and Swiz - Washington, D.C., July 25, 1987
Scream flyer with a photo of lighning striking next to a tree, with event details on the side.
Scream, Fidelity Jones, the Hated and the Reply - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., June 16, 1988
Shudder to Think flyer with yellow paper with an illustration of of two demons on a sickbed with handwritten event details under it.
Shudder to Think, Scream, Fidelity Jones - d.c. Space, Washington, D.C., July 18, 19, 20, 1988
Scream flyer 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 flyer 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
Scream flyer of a crowd of protesters with one holding a sign reading 'March for King' and event acts and details on paper cutouts.
Scream, Parasite, 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
Red and black flier, with a background image of a scene with tents and at the front-center is a figure in a large shirt walking towards the viewer.
Scream concert flier, Church of the Pilgrims, Washington, D.C., January 15, 1990
Black and white flier with an image box at the center, which displays an energetic character listening to music and holding a gun. There are event details underneath and bold text around the other three sides of the image.
Scream, Fidelity Jones, and Hazmat concert flier, Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., February 22, 1990

Zines

D.C. Riot page with critiques and reviews of each band's performance.
D.C. Riot, Issue 1, March 1982
D.C. Riot page with critiques and reviews of each band's performance.
D.C. Riot, Issue 2, August 1982

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