ANTI-FLAG plays Observatory Santa Ana Feb. 25, North Park Feb. 26 and Troubadour Feb. 27 photo: Megan Thompson
The punk scene is a growing entity of activism that is pro-people, anti-war. The band Anti-Flag chose a band name that captures the political sentiment of their lyrics, approaching topics such as gun violence, the Black Lives Matter movement, and drone strikes.
In support of their album American Spring, members Justin Sane (guitar / vocals), Pat Thetic (drums), Chris Head (guitar) and Chris #2 (bass / vocals) will be hitting SoCal Feb. 25-27 playing the Observatory Santa Ana, the Observatory North Park and the Troubadour consecutively.
According to Sane, the revolutionary movements and civil wars in the Arab world that lashed out against oppression and censorship inspired American Spring.
“The record was really inspired on a lot of levels by the fact that what we saw happen with the Arab Spring was an uprising in a part of the world that was considered impossible to have an uprising in because of the kind of militaristic, police-state style themes that were in that part of the world,” Sane said.
The Arab Spring became the stepping-stone for an activist movement and gave Anti-Flag the push to inspire their fans to spark the same type of movements in the U.S.
“The Arab Spring didn’t necessarily have the kind of outcome we would have liked to have seen but what it did prove is that change is possible in any place at any time,” Sane said. “But of course change comes one person at a time; it comes from one person being brave enough to make a statement and take a stand. In the case of the Arab Spring, it was one young woman deciding she was going to go protest in the middle of the town square.”
Anti-Flag speaks out against the militaristic-focused world we are living in that continues to use violence as a means to an end. A big part of this is seen in the U.S. through drone strikes, something the band speaks about in their song “Sky is Falling”
“It’s a song where in a really personal way I tried to write in the perspective of someone who is in an area where it is impending that they are going to be bombed. That song, to me, is a statement not only of the terror that people deal with day in and day out because of the current geopolitical situation and a lot of the foreign policy in the United States, but it’s also a reflection of the kind of militarism that is continuously offered up as a solution to the world’s problems.
“What we’ve seen since 9/11, even since Obama has come into office, every time there is an escalation of militarism and, in President Obama’s case, the use of drones, we only see an increase of violence and an increase in strife and an increase in the people who become enemies of America.”
Drone strikes, however, are only the start of the activist album that is American Spring. “Fabled World,” the first song that was released from the album, focuses on the oppression that people face in a “white washed” world. The lyrics speak about how the weak and poor are taken advantage of in a capitalist’s world.
“A lot of the issues that are now a main part of the Black Lives Matter movement, these were all issues that were really on the forefront of our minds. The record became that much more relevant domestically.”
Punk rock has stripped the traditional “white kids” scene that it held to become a tool in the artistic political movement that isn’t afraid to approach the important issues of racism.
“Punk rock has traditionally been a white kids music. I don’t know why that is, but I know growing up in our little punk scene there was one black kid that I’d see,” Sane recalls. “What really drew me to punk rock was it was on the forefront of so many ideas, such as fighting racism, sexism, homophobia, and that people were judged on their actions and how they treat other people versus the color of their skin or their sexuality or their gender. The Black Lives Matter movement, when it started, I think, in the punk scene that was a no-brainer. That made total sense.”
With such strong themes in their lyrics, Anti-Flag has created a passionate following and inspired listeners. Even backed by their political focus the band performs with the same excitement in the music itself, not just in the meaning.
“One thing that I think is really special about our shows and one thing we always try to promote about our shows is that they should be a safe place for everyone to have an equal opportunity to have a good time. Our shows are a place for celebration of the fact that we found each other.”