One Last Wish was a short-lived

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in May 1986 by members of

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 ...

, and split up in January 1987. Amidst the breakup of

in 1986, three of its four members – Picciotto,

Janney Janney is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Allison Janney (born 1959), American actress * Christopher Janney (born 1950), American interactive sound and light artist *Craig Janney (born 1967), American retired hockey player *Edw ...

and Canty – went on to form a new band after picking up

Michael Hampton Michael Hampton (born November 15, 1956) is an American funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a ...

, former guitarist of the Faith and

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 ...

. With the name One Last Wish the band began playing shows in August 1986, which were mostly in the D.C. area and included a series of benefit shows. Their sole recording was done in November 1986 at

Inner Ear Studios Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington County, Virginia, Arlington, Virginia that has been in operation since the late 1970s. Originally started in founder Don Zientara's basement, the studio spent many years on South Oakla ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. It was engineered by

Don Zientara Don Zientara ( ) is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various ...

and produced by

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 ...

. After the dissolution of the band, both Canty and Picciotto would join MacKaye in the band

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

. One Last Wish broke up shortly after mixing was completed, and as a result the album was not released until 13 years later in November 1999, on MacKaye's

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 ...

label; Dischord had decided against the release in light of their growing reputation as a label of defunct bands. Prior to the release of this record, titled ''1986'', only one song, "Burning in the Undertow", had been released, having been on the Dischord benefit sampler "State of the Union" (April 1989). Twenty years after the 1999 release of 1986 material, the song "My Better Half" was listed by Vulture.com as number 81 of the 100 greatest

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 ...

songs. After the band's breakup, Picciotto, Janney and Canty would reunite with Michael Fellows of Rites of Spring, taking on the new name

Happy Go Licky Happy Go Licky was an American post-hardcore band formed in the spring of 1987, and which broke up after their final show at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club on New Year's Day in 1988. The group was a short-lived reunion of the renowned D.C. hardc ...

. Hampton would go on to form the band

Manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

Discography

* ''1986'' Dischord Records (1999)

References

{{Fugazi American post-hardcore musical groups American emo musical groups Punk rock groups from Washington, D.C. Dischord Records artists First-wave emo bands