Recorded in January 1988 at the Washington, D.C., studio Inner Ear—where Fugazi made most of their official albums—First Demo has all the songs that were once passed around on cassettes before Fugazi's first official album (plus the previously unreleased “Turn Off Your Guns”). Formed from the remains of hardcore/straightedge legends Minor Threat and the pioneering emo band Rites of Spring, Fugazi took visceral guitar-based postpunk into a distinct direction of their own making. The studio chatter and loose beginnings and ends of songs are generally all that differentiate these tracks from the official releases. Several songs made it to limited-edition singles and compilation albums.