FAT WRECK CHORDS
The political activist band Anti-Flag makes its Hawaii debut at Punk on a Rock 3.
"Tour and work your ass off" is the credo for any good band on the road, especially indie-minded punk bands. Hot bands due at
third Punk on a Rock
By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comThat road wends its way to Honolulu tomorrow as the third annual Punk on a Rock festival features the return of New York band the Bouncing Souls, plus the island debuts of veteran agitproppers Anti-Flag, pop-minded Drowning Adam and revivalists One Man Army. (Local bands the 86 List and Extra Stout will open the festivities.)
Army drummer Chip Hanna was driving with his band mates through Kansas when we caught up with him. We mentioned that the band's latest album, "Rumors and Headlines," sounds as if it was made with the Clash in mind, and Hanna doesn't deny that seminal British band's influence.
"Yeah, I was around during that whole scene, what with the Clash and the Sex Pistols back in '77. It's hard to get away from that classic sound.
With The Bouncing Souls, Anti-Flag, One Man Army and Drowning Adam, and Punk on a Rock 3
local bands The 86 List and Extra Stout
Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.
When: 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. tomorrow
Tickets: $15, all ages
Call: 255-7040 or visit www.punkonarock.com
"Even though the band has been the major idea of (singer-guitarist) Jack Dalrymple's since '96, everything else is democratic. There's no bullshit around here and it's a great creative atmosphere. We believe in going for whatever sounds the best, which is good drums, good crunchy guitar and good melodic vocals. We don't do no rock opera songs!" he said with a cackle.
WHILE Sacramento has never been known as a hotbed of underground musical activity, Jesse McKeever begs to differ. The guitarist for Drowning Adam said that the Northern California capital "has a big scene, and all of us in the band knew of each other for eight years before coming together.
"We all got together after feeling burned out with our original bands -- especially for those of us who played in hardcore bands. We got sick of the screaming vocals and the same-styled, fast music."
Even though their tempos remain accelerated, McKeever said Drowning Adam's music is more melodic.
Front man Ryan Scalise said, "We don't necessarily classify what we do as punk rock -- it's more sped-up rock 'n' roll. We don't claim to be punk, either, because we don't live that edgy, down-and-out lifestyle.
The band's goal is to join the Vans Warped Tour.
"We have our own record label to sell our music, and we're in the process of booking some gigs in the surrounding states. It's definitely D.I.Y.," McKeever said.
"But we want to be on the road 24-7," added Scalise. "You know, touring in a van or a motor home -- it's all about quittin' your day jobs."
THEN there's Anti-Flag. With a name like that, no one would be surprised to discover strong sociopolitical expression backs up that moniker. Justin Sane, band mates Chris, #2 and Pat Thetic, said their message hasn't weakened one iota since the band started in Pittsburgh in 1994.
"Music is a good way of expressing messages of equality, reaching people by stirring their emotions and making them want to get involved in an activist way," Sane said. "We started this band when we very young, and we saw all the problems in our city and country that frustrated us, so our music deals with social and political issues."
One current topic is President Bush's saber-rattling stance toward Iraq.
"There's so little support for this action against Iraq around the world," Sane said. "The majority of European and Arab states have come out against it -- except for Britain, of course, which is the U.S.'s lapdog. Saddam Hussein is not a threat to them or anybody else. Bush is just using 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq and take their oil. It has nothing to do with the security of the American people."
Anti-Flag played at the recent National Day of Protest rally in Washington, D.C., and Sane said he and the band "would talk to kids after the show, and they never thought that going to war had so many levels of dispute and saw now how pointless it all was. So our music is definitely making an impact."
The band looks to the defunct Rage Against the Machine (whom they opened for several times on their "Battle of Los Angeles" tour) as role models.
"With Rage, it was 'What could be possible is possible.' They used their notoriety to talk about slave labor, not shopping at Gap and looking for companies that support human rights. They used their influence over people to bring these issues to the forefront.
"So it's been worth all of the hard work we've been trying to do. The reality of the situation is that we could exert more influence if we became more like Rage than an underground band playing in someone's basement," Sane said.
And that next step in Anti-Flag's career will be an interesting one. Former Rage (now Audioslave) guitarist Tom Morello has been enlisted to produce the band's next album.
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