ANTI-FLAG: INTERVIEW WITH JUSTIN SANE; By Jim Testa

"I know for a fact that a band can make a difference in one person's life and for that reason I feel that music is an incredible and important tool for change."

Justin Sane doesn’t need a presidential election to be political; ever since his Pittsburgh-based band Anti-Flag burst onto the national scene in the late Nineties, he’s been turning stages into soapboxes and using his band’s fiery political punk-rock to champion the environment and the underdog while speaking out against war and social injustice.  We caught up with the singer/songwriter just as Barack Obama emerged as the likely Democratic candidate for president, and asked his views about the upcoming election, his band’s newest release (The Bright Lights Of America, released by RCA in April, 2008,)  and the future of the United States.

Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for president.  How do you feel about that? In my opinion, McCain is just another four years of Bush, which would be an absolute disaster. I believe that McCain could lead to war with Iran or worse. His record is one of a person who believes that problems in this world are fixed by waging war. Needless to say I'm not endorsing him… I'm not excited about Obama (or Clinton) but my dog was knocked out of the race long ago; so whether Clinton or Obama, they will have my backing, not because I'm a huge fan of either, but because I fear McCain that much!
I think it's important to keep in mind that Bush has proven that is does matter who is president of the United States... I've had some friends in the past tell me that it doesn't matter who you vote for; that Republicans and Democrats are all the same. But I have little doubt that if Al Gore had won the White House eight years ago, the United States military would have never invaded Iraq.  So it does matter who is president.

Voting in the primaries this year has been at record levels. Do you sense the American people are finally waking up out of their apathy and getting more involved in the political process?The answer to your question is, yes; I believe that America is looking for a new direction. The only option the people of the US have heard from the Bush White House is that of war and violence. It's attack, attack, attack.  Kill, kill, kill. I think that having experienced that over the last eight years, the American people are looking for something more.

Let’s assume that you are elected President on November 4. What would be the first things you’d do on assuming office?I would make the USA one hundred percent free from foreign oil! …By funding programs, specifically solar projects and green projects that are currently under way in the US on a small scale, the U.S. could rid itself of dependency on the oil of our enemies while creating thousands and thousands of new, good paying jobs for Americans.  The problem is that this policy would not be beneficial to the oil industry, an industry that the White House has very close ties  to; and for that reason, the White House has just screwed around the people of the U.S. for the last eight years. On top of that, they have sold out the environment for the last eight years.  This country has stuck a finger in the eye of the international community when it comes to the environment.  With the kind of energy policy I am speaking of, the U.S.  could cripple its enemies while at the same time improve the environment. 

Anti-Flag took a lot of flak from some parts of the punk community for signing to a major label. You’ve just released your second album on RCA. How has that experience been? Any regrets? In short, no. Harking back to the former question, we signed to RCA at a time when no bands in the mainstream were criticizing the Bush regime.  We signed with RCA before Green Day's "American Idiot," before Neil Young's record, before Bruce Springsteen stepped up to criticize Bush. I'm happy that those artists came forward, I applaud them for doing so - especially at a time when no one in the mainstream outside  the Dixie Chicks were doing so. But a big part of the reason we signed with RCA had to do with the fact that we believe that every person faces a moment in their lifetime when there is a need to stand up be counted. For us, that time really had to do with the invasion of Iraq. We believed that maybe we could have an influence on this war if our ideas were injected into the mainstream, injected into the minds of Americans in the same way Bill O'Reilly and Fox News is.  Regrets?  The only regret comes in people in the punk community not understanding why we decided to work with RCA. …We had really good intentions of making as positive an impact on society as we could, and  we took a lot of shit.  I can honestly say that I think we made the right choice at the right time and for the right reasons… And that record succeeded in doing a lot; in particular, U.S. Representative Jim McDermott cited it as a major factor in pushing through his Congressional Study on Depleted Uranium munitions. I'm proud of those things. But I'm not going to lie, the fact that some people in the punk community interpreted our intentions wrong was a disappointment. 

Most commentators in the music industry agree that the major label system as we knew it is coming to an end. How do you envision Anti-Flag surviving in the brave new world of digital downloads? I agree. It is dead and all I have to say about that is, Good!  Let it die a slow and painful death! …Where does Anti-Flag fit into this picture?  Hmmm… That's an interesting question… We'll see how enthusiastic RCA is about this record and what kind of job they do with it… If they are really committed to us and work hard on this record, in the same way they did on the last record, we'll hang around at RCA; if not, we'll get the fuck out. There's no point in staying someplace where people aren't excited about the art and message you are creating.The future will be interesting. We're really going to have to assess each opportunity that comes our way and decide what is the best way to distribute our ideas, our music. Going back to the DIY model looks more and more like a model that is suited for what is happening in music today.

How optimistic are you for America’s future? I could talk about this subject for hours because it is in so many ways what this record, "The Bright Lights of America" is really about.  It asks all of the questions you just asked and more... For starters, I'll say that in my case it wasn't just one punk band, but it was a number of punk bands that changed my life; in particular the Clash. So I'm a living example of the power one band can have over another human being.  So I know for a fact that a band can make a difference in one person's life and for that reason I feel that music is an incredible and important tool for change.At this point, I know our band has made a difference in many people's lives, because I've been told so by more people than I can count. To me that is the biggest inspiration of all…  That said, I grew up very poor, and I seriously mean poor.  Like, I can remember standing in the food bank line with my mom and I know what it is to go to bed hungry. Having come from that background, I know how important it is now that I'm in a position to have a positive impact on another's life to never stop trying to make the world better for all people.  Maybe what we do will only have an impact on one kid’s life, but that one kid might have been me 15 or 20 years ago. So I never feel like giving up or quitting because I know that a small act of kindness can make the difference in another person's life.  That's why we do food bank drives, coat drives, and the like.  That's why we've gotten involved with organizations such as the African Well Fund, the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, Amnesty International.  That's also why we've started organizations like www.MilitaryFreeZone.org.  I didn't have it easy growing up and now that I'm in a position to have some kind of positive impact on theworld, I don't take that for granted. In short, I think America has a real chance. The best part of what we do is traveling and meeting all kinds of people. America is full of tremendous, amazing people, America definitely has a chance, I have no doubt about that.

What’s the rest of the year look like for Anti-Flag? Will you be touring? What role do you see yourself taking in the fall elections?We'll be on tour almost all year.  We're playing at the Republican National Convention as uninvited guests. That is going to kick ass! The goal is to highlight everything that should have happened in the last eight years of Republican rule that hasn't, including a green energy policy that frees America from Middle East oil, an endless illegal war based on endless illegal lies, a major loss of decent paying jobs for Americans, an administration that authorized the use of torture, no health care relief for Americans... The list is endless. That's what we're doing around election time. That and encouraging people to vote for Obama. Because John McCain is four more years of Bush and we can't have that! The reality is that Bush's foreign policy is McCain's foreign policy.   We need better in America and we can do better!