Anti-Flag: interview

by Emma Sadowski

Anti-Flag are showing no signs of slowing down. As we found out from talking to guitarist Chris#2, the four-piece from Pennsylvania still have incredible energy after almost 20 years of making people angry

"If our shows are a place for two hours a night where racism, homophobia and sexism won’t exist, then that is a great thing"

Picture: nilag

And a lot has happened in the last two decades. At the end of the 80s, the world looked promising - The Berlin Wall came down, technology was developing at an exponential speed and the Bush-era mk I was coming to a close with a promising new president at the helm.

Anti-Flag weren't having any of it, and the release of debut album ‘Die For The Government’ felt like part political statement, part call to arms. The band has come under a lot scrutiny over the years for those strong views, but Chris remains adamant that music and politics should mix.

“All of the greatest songs, whether they are love songs, they are all political statements,” he says, before adding: “I think this is the aspect of politics that has been removed and we need to put that back. Politics is personal.”

Anti-Flag is no stranger to politics turning personal - the band has seen its fair share of struggle through the years, including a US-wide ban on the sale of its albums and t-shirts after the events of September 11, 2001 and broadcasting bans placed on its songs.

“There were difficult times you know,” Chris recalls. “There would be times when we would play shows and the bouncers would turn around and spit at us because we were talking about Bill Clinton and how the wars of oppression that he was waging were wrong.”
 
Such is the life of a politically motivated artist perhaps, but the band has also gained positive support from the American Senate from using its collective voice and strong advocacy. In 2004 US representative Jim McDermott publicly commended them for encouraging American youths to vote.

The band has recently slightly shifted its focus. With the April release of their latest record ‘The Bright Lights of America’ under their belts, Anti-Flag are taking a different approach to their live shows by teaming up with local charities to give money back to each community they play in.
 
“That is the main focus of our band right now. We are trying to find ways to create a real tangible win for the people that come to our shows because there are a lot of things in this world that are truly and greatly messed up,” says Chris.

Having recently played a show in London, the band teamed up with local homeless charity Emmaus to set up a clothing drive and donation collection. Chris says: “At every show we’ll find a way to get involved with the local community.”

So, has the band matured since its 1988 debut?

“There is more new on the album than people had hoped for,” laughs Chris. “We set out to challenge our selves. We wanted to add a lot of different instruments and sounds- so we did.”

The new album, produced by the famed Tony Visconti, incorporates orchestral percussion, strings and horns, says Chris, in order to give the songs more texture.

“We were going for a big sound because we felt that some of the ideas we were trying to put across through the songs were interesting. The music should match that or at least keep your interest while we drop some sort of knowledge on you,” says Chris.

Although the band recently went commercial following a stint with NOFX’s Fat Wreck Chords and signed with RCA (under SonyBMG), Chris is adamant they haven't sold themselves to the corporate devil: They just don't have the time.
 
“It has never been easier for us as a band that is politically motivated. This is an interesting time because people are paying more attention to politics,” says Chris, who mentions the band's upcoming protest rally shows at both the Republican and Democratic conventions as evidence of the collision of political activism and populist appeal.
 
And it's clear that that political idealism remains as core to Anti-Flag as ever.

“If our shows are a place for two hours or three hours a night where racism, homophobia and sexism - all the things we’re seeing in our day to day lives - won’t exist then," says Chris, "that is a great thing.”

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