Anti-Flag
Anti-Flag is an American political
punk rock band from
Pittsburgh. Despite relatively modest beginnings and a back catalogue off of independent labels, the band has risen to steady popularity, having performed tours on four continents and signed to a major label. The band is perhaps best known for their political views and ideals.
Anti-Flag was originally formed by Justin Sane and Pat Thetic in their hometown of Pittsburgh in 1988. The band name originates from the experiences Justin and Pat had in their hometown. When the two would go to local punk shows, they often saw patrons of the shows chanting slogans for "freedom not fascism" while waving the American Flag and sporting the flag on their jackets. However, these same patrons would constantly participate in violence against those who did not completely agree with their point of view. Justin and Pat saw the brandishing of the American Flag and using it as a tool against others as a form of fascism.
Justin's sister, Lucy Fester, as well as other various guitarists and bassists moved in and out of the band, which never really solidified. After playing only one show, the band fell apart.[
1]
In 1993, Justin and Pat formed a new band, now with
Andy Flag on bass, which they again named Anti-Flag. In 1996, the band released their first album,
Die for the Government, on
New Red Archives. Andy Flag left the band in the Summer of 1996 because of personal disputes between himself and Justin.
In 1997, musician Chris Head began filling in on bass. In 1998, Jamie Cock took over as the new bassist, moving Chris Head over to second guitar, which he preferred. The current lineup finalized in 1999 when Chris Barker, also known as Chris #2, replaced Jamie Cock on bass.
In 1999, Anti-Flag released the album
A New Kind of Army on
Go-Kart Records/
A-F Records (A-F Records being Anti-Flag's own independent label). The album addressed a wide variety of topics such as
racism,
fascism, troubled youth, police brutality, and unity within the American youth. The coverart page unfolded into a poster featuring the phrase "Too smart to fight. Too smart to kill. Join now. A new kind of army."
In 2000, Anti-Flag was invited to participate in
Vans Warped Tour. During this time, the members of Anti-Flag met some of modern punk rock's most famous figures, including
NOFX's Fat Mike, owner of the
Fat Wreck Chords record label. This meeting spawned a friendship that would lead to Anti-Flag's release of two albums on the label.
In 2001, Anti-Flag released the album
Underground Network on
Fat Wreck Chords. The release of the album is arguably the band's breakout from the punk rock underground to the punk rock spotlight. The album continued to address the issues of
fascism (specifically neo-Nazis infiltrating the "punk scene") and the United States' foreign policy. The album was the first to contain the now commonplace booklet filled with essays from historians and political commentators, most notably
Professor Howard Zinn.
In 2002, Anti-Flag released the album
Mobilize on
A-F Records. The album featured new songs as well as eight live tracks of songs from other albums. In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, Anti-Flag spoke out against the (according to the band) rush to war by the United States government. During this time, many music stores pulled Anti-Flag's records from shelves, as their music was labeled as "anti-American."
In 2003, Anti-Flag released the album
The Terror State on
Fat Wreck Chords. The album primarily focused on criticizing the
Bush Administration's handling of the
War on Terrorism. Again, the album contained a booklet full of essays from the band as well as other political commentators. The album contains a song whose lyrics were originally written by
Woody Guthrie entitled "Post-War Breakout." The track's music was arranged by the members of Anti-Flag, as Guthrie had never committed the arrangements to paper. Also, the first wave of
The Terror State contains a bonus track entitled "Fuck the Flag."
On
October 8,
2004,
U.S. Representative Jim McDermott gave a speech in the House of Representatives, praising Anti-Flag for their work in encouraging young people to register and vote. [
2]
In 2005, Anti-Flag signed a two-album record contract with
major label RCA. The first of these two albums,
For Blood and Empire, was released on March 21st, 2006. The album's main focus is the criticism of the (according to the band) continued mishandling of the
War on Terrorism by the United States Government.
Throughout Anti-Flag's career, many other bands have been added to the roster the band's own label,
A-F Records. These bands include
The Code,
Much the Same,
The Unseen, and more.
Anti-Flag's lyrics espouse a variety of
left-wing and
progressive political ideals, and take a strong stand against
fascism and
nationalism, as well as dealing with lighter topics like the
punk scene and romance. They have consistently contended that the American system of
militarism and
capitalism is destructive to the world as a whole.
In contrast to a large number of the band's contemporaries and fans, as well as much of the 'punk image' in general, each of Anti-Flag's current members follow the
straight edge lifestyle, whether by name or not. Justin Sane in particular is heavily allergic to
cigarette smoke due to a bout of
pneumonia during an early US tour that permanently scarred his lungs. Normally written into their touring contract is a smoke-free clause, forcing venues to ban smoking indoors on the night of their appearance.
Perhaps the largest criticism of Anti-Flag is the viewpoint that the band is "un-American." Many people claim the band's message conveys a very "anti-American" attitude. While many American citizens would view words such as "patriotism" and "nationalism" as qualities to aspire to, Anti-Flag sees these words as tools used by politicians to rally the public around causes that might otherwise seem unnecessary or militant.
The very name of the band, "Anti-Flag," often creates criticism of its own. While many see the name as a term meaning "anti-American," according to the coverart foldout included in the album
A New Kind of Army, "Anti-Flag does not mean Anti-American. Anti-Flag means anti-war. Anti-Flag means the common people of the world are better off living in unity and peace. Anti-Flag means to stand against corporate greed that hurts millions while benefitting a handful of extremely rich. Anti-Flag means to fight against mindless nationalism. Anti-Flag means unity."
Anti-Flag's decision to sign to
major label RCA is also a major source of criticism among critics and fans alike. RCA is owned by Sony BMG, one of the largest corporations in the world. Some fans find this decision hypocritical due to Anti-Flag's previously overt
anti-capitalist lyrics. Furthermore, critics have highlighted the contradiction between releasing an album entitled "
Underground Network" and espousing the benefits of independent media, and then signing to a major label.
However, in an interview with English newspaper,
The Guardian, Justin Sane said "We've been approached by the major labels over the past seven or eight years but we thought we were having an impact where we were. They were never willing to give us complete control. This time they were willing to give us complete control over what we record, the artwork, who we tour with. We won't be censored. If there was ever a time to take a chance to be heard on a mass scale then this is the time. "I feel like we've been a voice in the wilderness for too long."[
3] Fans who defend the band's decision argue moving to a larger label was a practical and sensible solution to the problem of communicating the band's message to established and potential audiences who live in the central United States.
The "gunstar" is chief symbol of the band. The gunstar is a star whose corners are formed by five broken
M-16 assault rifles. It originally debuted on the cover of the album
Mobilize, and has since also appeared on the cardboard cover of
For Blood and Empire.The pieces of this can be pushed out to form a stencil. Anti-Flag puts the symbol on much of their merchandise, and it is also fairly common for fans to be
tattooed with it.[
4]
*Justin Sane of Anti-Flag appears on the front cover of the Warped Tour 2005 Compilation CD. However, Anti-Flag did not participate in Warped Tour 2005, nor did they contribute any songs to the compilation for that year.[
5]
|
Lead singer Justin Sane at a concert in Philadelphia |
*Justin Sane (Justin Geever) - Guitar and Vocals
*Chris #2 (Chris Barker) - Bass and Vocals
*Chris Head - Guitar and backup Vocals
*Pat Thetic (Pat Robenson) - Drums
*1988 to 1989: Lucy Fester - lead vocals
*1993 to 1996: Andy Flag (Andy Wright) - bass and vocals
*1998 to 1999: Jamie Cock - bass and vocals
Studio Albums
*
Die for the Government (1996)
New Red Archives*
Their System Doesn't Work for You (1998)
A-F Records*
A New Kind of Army (1999)
Go-Kart Records/
A-F Records*
Underground Network (2001)
Fat Wreck Chords*
Mobilize (2002)
A-F Records*
The Terror State (2003)
Fat Wreck Chords*
For Blood and Empire (2006)
Other Releases
*
North America Sucks (1998)
Nefer Records*
Live at the Fireside Bowl (2000)
Liberation Records*
BYO Split Series, Vol. 4 (a split album with the
Bouncing Souls) (2002)
BYO RecordsCompilations on which Anti-Flag appears:
*
Dropping Food On Their Heads is Not Enough: Benefit for RAWA (2002)
Geykido Comet Records*
Protect: Compilation to Benefit the National Association to Protect Children (2005) Fat Wreck Chords
* Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 (2003) Fat Wreck Chords
* Warped Tour 2001
Compilation (2001) Side One Dummy Records
* Warped Tour 2004
Compilation (2004) Side One Dummy Records
* Warped Tour 2006'' Compilation (2006)
Side One Dummy Records*
Death of a Nation (2004)This DVD contains 23 live videos from the "Death of a Nation Tour" in the USA, interviews with the band, behind the scenes content from the "Turncoat" video, and the two unreleased new videos from the band, and much more.
* "Turncoat" (2003) from
The Terror State album
* "Death of a Nation" (2004) from
The Terror State album
* "Post-War Breakout" (2004) from
The Terror State album
* "The Press Corpse" (2006) from the
For Blood and Empire album
* "1 Trillion Dollar$" (2006) from the
For Blood and Empire album
* "This is the End (For You My Friend)" (2006) from the
For Blood And Empire Album
*
List of Punk Bands*
Homepage*
The People United (major fan site)*
Fan site with daily updated Anti-Flag News*
Anti-Flag Lyrics*
Music Videos*
Ska, Punk And Other Junk.com Interview with Anti-Flag
*
Interview with Anti-Flag by Ross Cottingham*
Interview With Pat Thetic*
Official MySpace
