The Inner Ear of Don Zientara: A Half Century of Recording in One of America’s Most Innovative Studios, Through the Voices of Musicians

Founded in the late 1970s by Don Zientara, Inner Ear Studio is known for recording many iconic DC area punk bands, including Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and Bikini Kill. In this oral history put on the page, photographer/editor Tricarico (Frame of Mind: Punk Photos and Essays from Washington, DC, and Beyond, 1997–2017) has compiled a collection of remembrances from musicians, including longtime collaborator Ian MacKaye, Kathleen Hanna, and Henry Rollins, plus band members of Fugazi, Scream, the Dismemberment Plan, and the Slickee Boys. The book boasts 250 photographs (many taken by Tricarico) of the bands and musicians that recorded with Zientara. This is a time capsule of a studio that shut its doors in August 2022 so that Zientara, influential in the DC underground and punk music scenes over the past 40 years, could finally retire. Through the compilation of memories of recording at Inner Ear and the experience of working with Zientara, the editor pieces together not only the history of the studio but also Zientara’s story and the space he created for musicians.

CORRECTION: Not all of the photographs in the book were taken by Tricarico; the review has been updated to reflect this.