Minor Disturbance
| Minor Disturbance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by The Teen Idles | ||||
| Released | December 1980 | |||
| Recorded | September 1980 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia | |||
| Genre | Hardcore punk | |||
| Length | 9:20 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Dischord (No. 1) | |||
| Producer | Skip Groff | |||
| The Teen Idles chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Minor Disturbance is the debut EP by the American hardcore punk band the Teen Idles, released in December 1980. It was the first release by Dischord Records. Comprising eight songs, Minor Disturbance referenced a number of issues pertinent to the band, from being turned away at local concerts due to their age ("Too Young to Rock") to what they felt was the increasing complacency of many first wave punk bands ("Fleeting Fury"). Upon its release, Minor Disturbance received positive reviews from local fanzines and gained airplay on local radio stations.
The Teen Idles were a Washington, D.C. hardcore punk band that formed in 1979. Comprising vocalist Nathan Strejcek, guitarist Geordie Grindle, bassist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson, the band evolved out of the Slinkees. After original vocalist Mark Sullivan left for college, the Slinkees first tried to recruit Henry Garfield (later Rollins) before Strejcek joined. After renaming themselves the Teen Idles, the band toured locally; they played at a range of venues, including opening for Bad Brains at an art gallery called Madam's Organ.
The Teen Idles recorded two demo sessions at a local studio in February and April 1980, despite the engineer and a visiting band openly laughing as they recorded. They chose not to release the recordings, and instead embarked on a tour of the West Coast in August 1980. Upon their return to Washington D.C., the Teen Idles met Skip Groff, owner of the record store Yesterday and Today, to discuss a studio recording of their songs.
The group entered Inner Ear Studios in September 1980 to record a number of songs, with owner Don Zientara engineering and Groff producing. Inner Ear was merely Zientara's house; he owned a four-track recorder and some home-made gear. The mixing board was on the porch, and was connected to the basement of the house where the band played. Zientara later noted that "everything was held together with clothespins". Inner Ear was useful to the Teen Idles, as at the time there were few options available to an American independent band between recording on a boombox or at a professional studio.
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