If DC was but one stop on Bob Mould’s 40+-year-and-counting journey of personal and musical self-discovery, it seems to have been an uncharacteristically happy one for all concerned.
By the time Mould settled in the U Street NW corridor in the early 2000s, he was a larger than life figure in punk and alternative music, having put Midwestern hardcore on the map with Hüsker Dü, and piled up critical accolades in subsequent group and solo projects.
It was also a time when he was carrying two distinct personalities: the hollering, buzz-saw-guitar wielding punk rocker on one hand, the shirtless DJ spinning electronic bangers at gay-themed dance nights on the other. It’s fair to say that Mould’s 7 or 8 years of growth in the relative obscurity and receptivity of the DC alternative scene let those two personalities not only find their freest expressions, but learn how to get along.
With local electro wizard Richard Morel, Mould ring-led the “Blowoff” series of DJ nights at 9:30 club, and also recorded an EDM-tinged LP under that brand. Mould also teamed up with local punk & DIY veterans for a series of excellent solo albums and other projects.
