Article: Chris #2 of Anti-Flag

In February of this year, I followed the Anti-Flag as they played five cities across Ontario in the span of a week. At one of those shows, I had the opportunity to interview bassist Chris #2. Below the cut is an article based on that interview, as well as some photos I took that week. To see more Anti-Flag photos from the rest of the tour, check out the rest of MindTheMusicTO!

Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto. Feb 12th

The lights dimmed in Hamilton’s Club Absinthe as Pittsburgh political-punk band  Anti-Flag took to the stage to play their decade-old album, The Terror State, in its entirety. They struck the starting notes of “Turncoat,” and the band and crowd in the sold-out show erupted into song. An hour earlier, I was sitting on a filing cabinet in a tiny room upstairs, filled to the brim with the band’s luggage to keep it out of the minus 40 temperatures outside, chatting with bassist Chris Barker about their upcoming album American Spring, and how returning to their roots is helping the band move forward.

Barker shifted on his suitcase “chair.” The lanky, dark-haired man’s black hoodie covered his loud tattoos, and he struck a peaceful demeanor compared to the usual energy he exerts jumping across a stage. He remained just as well spoken as when he shouts out against bigotry and inequality to a hall of concertgoers.

Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto. Feb 12th

The band was halfway through their weeklong Ontario anniversary tour for The Terror State, a tour they opted to do as a way to get back to their roots before releasing the band’s 10^th album, their first one since the band turned 20 a couple of years ago.  The bassist’s sentiments have evolved through political changes, as has the music. This is reflected in his live updating of the song Cities Burn - written about 9/11. “A nation in fervor has given up,” a line from that song, describes the reactions of even his most left-wing friends when they told the band that they should change their name and stop questioning the government so soon after such a tragic event. “I felt like an island,” he admitted. More recently, Barker has begun altering that line as his sentiments evolve, most recently replacing it with “Money, money changes everything.” He also believes that since 2003 there has been a shift from arrogance and blatancy without accountability – for example with the patriot act – to secrecy. “The Terror State, in 2013, would probably be called The Surveillance State,” Barker concluded.

  

Music that questions political motives has fluctuated in popularity throughout North American history. Although there was a spike in 2004 with albums including Green Day’s American Idiot, the scene has moved back into the shadows since then. “I think it’s going to be a big year for music with an agenda, music with a message,” the bassist reassured me. Anti-Flag will be a contributor, releasing their 20^th album American Spring on May 26^th.

The Red Dog, Peterborough. Feb 14th

The album title was inspired by the Arab Spring, mass revolutionary protests across Egypt and much of the Arab world in 2010 and 2011. “The way we communicate now through technology has leveled the world’s playing field,” Barker proposed. “People can communicate with people around the world instantly. That’s going to be one way that we chip away at nation states and chip away at economic slavery. It’s going to be one way we break down the invisible barriers between people.” 

Anti-Flag has said the album will be “angry and personal,” and from the new songs the band has been playing, it is clear that a running theme will be their disillusionment with Obama and American politics since he took office. When the president was elected, those who voted for him let out a collective exhale. Since then, Barker said, “The reality has been he’s just been super-serving the corporate elite, and in doing so he’s throwing average citizens of the world under the bus.”

This dissatisfaction is clear in songs released so far, such as “To Hell with Boredom,” or their newest music video, “Fabled World,” which premiered on April 1^st, and features lyrics such as “We live in a fabled world, of terror, day and night, all hidden in plain sight / We live in a fabled world, where the poor and the weak, are pawns for profit's sake.”

Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto. Feb 12th

In addition to being an illustration of the band’s discontent with global politics, the album will also be a personal one for the band. An example that Barker brought up were the parallels he’s been noticing in the incompetence of the American justice system. In early 2007, Barker’s sister was a victim of violent crime and died as a result. Since then, Barker believes, the trials of her killer have been

severely mishandled. “When I watched the Ferguson verdict, I immediately thought of [her].” He confessed, referring to the recent court decision finding police officer Darren Wilson not guilty of murdering Michael Brown. His eyes were fixated on the blank wall behind me. In addition to her trial, the bassist has also gone through relationship changes amongst other personal turmoil over the last few years. “Not saying that there will be five songs on the record that’re like ‘I’m so sad, I need a glass of water,’” he assured me with a chuckle. “It’s about being open to actual grief and actual loss and saying these are real emotions and I’m raw and I’m angry, and I’m trying to foster my thoughts together in such a way that people can relate to it.”

Anti-Flag’s attitude has always factored in the idea that anger can be positive, so long as it stays productive.  The upcoming album and recent tour are no exception, releasing new songs that continue questioning authority, and playing old ones that are still relevant today. “Until we treat each other with the respect that we deserve, and the world functions according to humanity as its main focus and not greed or self-involvement, we’re gonna be on this treadmill that we’re on,” Barker proclaimed. There is hope though, and while it lies in the hands of the masses, Barker maintains that it does not end with what cars we choose to drive or what light bulbs we use in our house. “[What we need is] pressure coming from the people to be a cognoscente about more than just ourselves.”

Chris #2 and Justin Sane
Call the Office, London. Feb 17th