Late to the Party - The D.C. Sound of The Dismemberment Plan

I'll make this brief: I had not listened to The Dismemberment Plan until 2006. My friend gave me a copy of Emergency and I, and I could not stop listening to it for a month. Better yet, it rekindled my interested in Q and Not U, Shudder to Think, Fugazi, and all others things that could be labeled as having a distinctly "D.C. Sound". It remains, to date, my favorite regional sound. (That's right, Omaha.)

So my Monday question to you is this, and it's twofold: what is your favorite regional sound (with accompanying bands listed), and were you on board from the get go or did you discover it later in life? If this sounds like a pretentious question, it probably is. (And, oh, the irony of posting it on this blog!)