Tickets are moving quickly for next months Anti-Flag, Strike Anywhere & The Flatliners tour. Anti-Flag return to our shores in support of their latest album ‘The General Strike‘ which is out now via SideOneDummy / Shock. We caught up with Chris #2 from the band to tackle our Hotseat Questions this week. Expand this post to take a read and re-cap tour details. Grab a ticket while you still can if you aren’t sorted yet.
THE BASICS
Name : Chris #2
Band : Anti-Flag
Job In Band : Bass and Vocals
Website Address : www.Anti-Flag.com
HOME
Hometown : Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Hometown is best known for : Steel and Sports
Best venue in your hometown : The Mr. Roboto Project
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : Against Me! at roboto in 2002
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : Anti-Flag, Strike Anywhere, The Flatliners, Worlds Scariest Police Chases… a show so good we built a tour out of it!
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? We wanted to be a band that commented on issues that we believed were important. Follow in the steps of the bands that we heard and saw that encouraged us and gave us the confidence to pick up our own instruments.
How long has the band been going? The first record came out in 1996 – ‘Die For The Government’. We’ve been touring and working consistently since then.
Any particular story behind the name? Anti-Flag was born out of frustration with the punk scene in Pittsburgh at the bands inception. Bands were saying the pledge of allegiance at shows. Nationalism was acceptable in punk rock. We felt the antithesis of that. We made our statement immediately with the bands name.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… ‘The General Strike’ just came out a couple of weeks ago… We took 2.5 yrs to make this record. We realize now to be an important moment in the history of our band and we didn’t want to fuck it up. We wanted to get back to the core ideals that lead us to creating music in the first place. This album is what we believe Anti-Flag should be focused on. What we believe Anti-Flag should sound like.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? I think the achievement is lasting this long. creating a thumb print that we can look back on and feel confident will serve the band positively even after we’re dead and gone.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? Nirvana – Drain You. It was the first song that I heard that made me want to recreate the sound.
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? Probably Green Day. After learning guitar I needed to find community. I found that in punk rock.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? Punk rock band. O.B.S (our band sucks).
Most prized music related item you own? 1978 musicmaster bass. or my pedal board that I use in my other band White Wives.
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? I play ice hockey. religiously.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Playing songs for people. meeting new people. that 45min to an hour where all is right with the world.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… leaving home.
ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? WATER
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? Malaysia. The people were so kind. The food was great. They took us to a diy punk show. The best weather. greatest time.
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? Maybe headlining Rhienkultur in Germany. 20,000+ people, great energy, really fond memory.
Got a favourite song to play live? ‘Project For A New American Century’, ‘If You Wanna Steal’, or ‘Got The Numbers’.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? I fell almost off the stage in NYC. landed on my back, no real pain. just emotional.
Any pre-show rituals? I brush my teeth moments before every show. it is the last thing I do before we go on.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? The fact that promoting tours has become difficult. You’re lead to believe it can be done digitally, but there is so much information you’re fighting with to get the word out, it’s impossible to know if anyone is aware. The age of people searching for music, has kind of changed, but people are still looking for an outlet. Looking for punk rock. We find more and more every day.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? Muddy Waters – I Can’t Be Satisfied
Last album you acquired? The Menzingers – On The Impossible Past
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? The Menzingers
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? THE MENZINGERS!
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? Leaving for Europe in a few. Then OZ, Warped Tour, European festivals… There’s talk of Canada and South America. We will be quite busy until the end of the year.
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? The Clash – S/T. Because I think we’d do it justice. It’s just 4 guys and instruments. No production to fuck up and we love the songs enough that people would hear that.
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? Maybe Green Day, I think they could really juice up our melodies. It might be too sweet actually.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? Dead Kennedys. My favorite band.
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? The Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. But I never will, they just tore it down.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? Matt Freeman – Rancid. So I could learn his bass lines and become a better player! and get to see rancid every night!
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. STRIKE ANYWHERE AND THE FLATLINERS! ha.
PLUG TIME
Got any last words? Our new record The General Strike is out now. We will be touring Australia in May/June with STRIKE ANYWHERE and THE FLATLINERS. It should be a rager. We hope to see and meet as many kind folks there as possible. Thank you.
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Full tour details [Here].
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NEW ALBUM OUT NOW
Purchase online [Here] on CD or Vinyl.
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