Michael Hampton is a

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

scene.

Biography

His first notable effort was playing guitar in The Extorts in early 1980. There are a few live recordings and a demo tape as evidence of their existence. After The Extorts broke up, Hampton and Henry Garfield (later to become

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rolli ...

) formed a new group called S.O.A. (State of Alert) and they released a 7" on

Dischord records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idle ...

. When S.O.A. split up, Henry Garfield changed his surname to Rollins and moved to Los Angeles as singer of Black Flag. Hampton then joined fellow D.C. punks

Alec MacKaye Alec MacKaye (born 1966) is an American singer and musician best known as a member of the DC hardcore bands Untouchables, The Faith, and Ignition. In the mid-1990s Alec joined the band The Warmers as a vocalist and guitarist. ''Mondo James Dea ...

(brother of

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

Eddie Janney Edward Janney is an American musician, producer and artist who has played guitar for many Washington, D.C.-based hardcore punk bands such as Untouchables, The Faith, Rites of Spring, One Last Wish, Happy Go Licky, Skewbald/Grand Union and Brie ...

, Chris Bald and Ivor Hanson and formed The Faith who released two recordings on the

Dischord Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles ...

label - a split LP with VOID and the Subject to Change 12". This group broke up in 1983. Hampton soon joined

Ian Mackaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

, Ivor Hanson and Chris Bald in another D.C. group called

Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...

. Along with

Rites of Spring Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (Soft Skull ...

, Embrace is credited as a seminal

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

group, however Ian Mackaye found the term "emocore" disgusting and did not accept the label. A posthumously released album appeared on

in 1987, after they had split up. Hampton then joined a short lived project called

One Last Wish One Last Wish was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in May 1986 by members of Rites of Spring, and split up in January 1987. Amidst the breakup of Rites of Spring in 1986, three of its four members – Picciott ...

, composed of three ex members of

. This band lasted only a matter of months, but they had recorded one

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

which was released some years later on

. Concurrent with One Last Wish, Hampton was involved in another project with Simon Jacobson called The Snakes. This group was primarily a recording project, and rarely played live. The Snakes released two albums on Dischord. In 1990 Hampton teamed up with Ivor Hanson and Bert Queiroz to form Manifesto who were influenced by the English music of the time. They released one album and one 7" to critical acclaim in the UK, but records sales did not follow and soon Hampton's itchy feet made him leave. He has spent the years after producing soundtrack music for many TV programmes, video games and films. Hampton lately performs in a band called

Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fath ...

along with fellow members Dominique Durand,

Andy Chase Andy Chase is record producer and label owner. He formed the band Ivy with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Dominique Durand, now his wife. Chase owns Unfiltered Records and co-owned Stratosphere Sound studio with Schlesinger and James ...

and Gary Maurer. This group released an album in May 2004 called ''This Is Where We Live'' on Unfiltered Records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Michael American punk rock guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people One Last Wish members The Faith (American band) members