Just a Minor Threat reveals a treasure trove of previously unseen images of the celebrated punk band.
Photographer Glen E. Friedman walks us through some of the best of them.
Minor Threat were not just a band.
Minor Threat.Glen E. Friedman
They were a movement.
There has also been a scarcity of photographs of them, but that’s about to change.
That’s what I was going for."
‘Just a Minor Threat’ by Glen E. Friedman.Glen E. Friedman
“It spoke to people.
I was just composing an image, placing things all over it to balance out this composition.
We created this thing that people related to and mimicked for years to come.
Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat in ‘Just a Minor Threat’.Glen E. Friedman
I love seeing the memes and all that stuff.”
In October, Akashic Books will releaseJust a Minor Threat: The Minor Threat Photographs of Glen E. Friedman.
“It’s opened me up and made me more willing to share.
Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat in ‘Just a Minor Threat’.Glen E. Friedman
It makes no sense for them to just sit in my files.”
Below, Friedman shares the stories behind some of the never-before-seen Minor Threat photos featured in the book.
You don’t know the personalities until you see them.
Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat in ‘Just a Minor Threat’.Glen E. Friedman
You could hear it in the music, but there was no seeing it yet.
There were no videos to watch ahead of time.
So it was absolutely thrilling and inspiring."
Minor Threat in ‘Just a Minor Threat’.Glen E. Friedman
So inspiring that Friedman shot two rolls of film instead of just one.
One of those shots never seen before is of guitarist Lyle Preslar seemingly turning his wrath on… someone?
“I have no idea what’s going on there,” says Friedman.
Minor Threat in ‘Just a Minor Threat’.Glen E. Friedman
you could’t really tell."
Regardless, it’s a great window into the passion and havoc of a Minor Threat show.
“Lyle was a perfectionist,” says Friedman.
And so he’s just like, ‘What the f—?'"
As for what Preslar was actually yelling about in that photo, not even the subject knows for sure.
“I’d like to think it was the former.
Either way, it’s yet another example of Glen’s ability to get the one-in-a-million shot.”
How was seeing the punk outfit in their hometown different from other gigs?
“The whole situation just seemed more relaxed and more comfortable.
“Much like skateboarding, I just take a stab at get as close to the action as possible.
His previously unreleased shot of MacKaye above shows the singer in his element.
Henry is very introverted, very intense, very strong, very menacing.
They just speak in different languages and are great in different ways.”
Only after Friedman and others pleaded to the club did the show go on.
“Time was running out on the clock,” recalls Friedman.
Otherwise, everyone’s going to f—ing tear this place down.”
The club relented and chaos of another sort erupted.
“Once Minor Threat was playing, they were such a force, you couldn’t stop it.
But they played a phenomenal show.”
But did that mass of bodies sometimes obscuring the group hinder Friedman’s ability to get the best shots?
“Did it make it more difficult to do what I wanted to do?”
“I guess so, but that’s not my concern.
He wanted to capture the feeling in the room, including whoever was in it.
“I have no idea why we did it,” says the photographer.
There’s a little more personality in some of them, and goofiness.
They’re not just super hard, and it’s a little more personable.”
It was kind of a thing at the time to get more power.
Everyone wanted to do it.
It turned out that most of them after a year or two went back to one guitar."
That includes Minor Threat, who eventually lost Hansgen and opted for their original four-person lineup.
“Steve being in the band definitely lent more power to the live show,” says Friedman.
“He brought a lot of energy and that was great, but they didn’t need it.
They already had it.
“I was very inspired by the communal aspect of the group house,” says the photographer.
“The one of the dog is basically us goofing around,” he says.
“I’m always trying to get that moment where the composition and the character are perfect.
But the one with the dog, it’s not perfect at all.
But Friedman has put his high standards on hold to give a more complete portrait of the group.
“My RulesandF— You Heroesare lots of perfect compositions, and those are my masterpiece books.
But these books go in a little deeper and tell you a more whole story.
I’m giving everyone everything, not just my precise art that I want people to see.
Minor Threat fans will undoubtedly agree.
Just a Minor Threat: The Minor Threat Photographs of Glen E. Friedmanis out Oct. 3.
