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

A photo-filled oral history of the DC-area music studio that brought us some of the most iconic recordings by Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, Fugazi, and so many more.

“If Memphis rock and roll had Sun Studio, and the Beatles had London’s Abbey Road, DC punk had Inner Ear.” —Washington Post

In the late 1970s, Don Zientara—a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War—founded Inner Ear Studio in the basement of his home in Arlington, VA, using the electronics training he received from the army. Inner E...