The members of Scream conceived their new album, their first studio record in 30 years, as a historical document. But as the title “D.C. Special” suggests, the project doesn’t celebrate just the local hardcore punk quartet.
“We wanted to tell our story as a band through our community and the music that shaped us over the years,” explains singer Pete Stahl by phone from Los Angeles. He and his brother, Scream guitarist Franz Stahl, have lived in LA since the group imploded on tour more than three decades ago. (The band’s 1993 album, “Fumble,” was actually recorded in 1989.)
“D.C. Special” features the lineup that made Scream’s first three albums: the Stahl siblings, bassist Enoch “Skeeter” Thompson and drummer Kent Stax. (The percussionist, whose given name was Bennett Kent Stacks, died because of cancer in September.) But those four are joined by many guests.
Most of the supplementary musicians are fellow veterans of 1980s D.C. punk bands. But Pete also enlisted people from earlier local groups, such as Razz lead singer Michael Reidy, original Slickee Boys vocalist Martha Hull, and drummer Bob Berberich, who played in Grin (with Nils Lofgren). Before that, Berberich was a member of the Hangmen, who from 1964 to 1967 were Washington’s closest thing to the Beatles.
“They were a huge influence on me and my brother,” says Pete of the Hangmen. The preteen Stahl brothers saw the band perform because it was co-managed by the kids’ father, Arnold Stahl.
The bulk of “D.C. Special” was recorded at the local punk scene’s favorite studio, Don Zientara’s Inner Ear, in September 2021. The Arlington studio closed soon after, displaced by redevelopment.
“It added to a celebratory kind of feeling for the record,” Pete recalls. “As people found out we were recording at Don’s, and that Don’s was closing, they were coming by just to see the studio before it closed.”
“It became a big hang and set the tone for the record. There was a joy there of coming together, and all playing together and reminding ourselves what we’re about.”
One of the people who showed up was the most famous former Scream member, the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, the band’s drummer from 1986 to 1990.
“He ended up hanging out for a few days, and I think he really enjoyed it,” Pete says. “He plays a little on one song.”
“D.C. Special” arrived in early November, more than two years after the Inner Ear sessions. The delay was largely due to backlogs at the vinyl pressing plant, Pete reports, but also because of difficulties in mixing the tracks.
Scream kept working in the interim, recording two more songs, “Smile and Bleed” and “Politics Is Entertainment,” in the summer of 2023. There are 12 songs on the vinyl release, and it comes with a download code for six more numbers.
The newest recordings feature D.C. drummer Scott Garrett, who played with Scream on a summer European tour. “We wanted to get him on the record, because he was playing with us at the time,” Pete says.
Scream’s current drummer is Jerry Busher, who’s probably best known for serving as Fugazi’s second percussionist in that band’s later years. He played four recent West Coast dates with Scream, and will perform at another four shows on the East Coast, including next week at the Black Cat.
Though plans are tentative, Pete hopes to do another European tour, perhaps with current tour mate Soulside. That ’80s D.C. band, like Scream, has a new album and has reunited on a part-time basis.
For now, though, Pete is focused on “D.C. Special,” which both reprises Scream’s earlier style and expands on it.
“It’s where we’re at now.” he says. “I feel like we have to make a record that’s moving forward.”
Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. blackcatdc.com. $20.