Anti-Flag
Biography
Making their debut at a local Pittsburgh radio station in 1993, Anti-Flag got together for the sake of responding to their disgust at religion, nationalism, and fascism. Justin Sane (vocals/guitar), Andy Flag (bass/vocals), and Pat Thetic (drums) bopped around their hometown much to the dismay of skinheads while recruiting a following who proudly wore torn-up upside-down flags as patches. In 1997, after releasing a handful of singles, opening for their idols the U.K. Subs, the Exploited, and the Circle Jerks, and briefly touring the East Coast -- which led to the departure of Andy Flag -- Die for the Government was released, and 20,000 copies, four bassists, and four North American tours later, Anti-Flag gained their reputation for recapturing the old-school ethics of punk: fast, loud, obnoxious, and anti-everything that ends with an "ism."
Chris Head was added to the lineup in 1997 and two years later bassist Chris #2 joined on as well to complete the four-piece. Their System Doesn't Work for You, a reissue of their out of print EP North America Sucks along with additional previously unreleased songs, followed in 1998 on the band's newly founded A-F Records. They released A New Kind of Army in 1999 on Go Kart Records, hoping not only to push their beliefs to a wider audience but, more importantly, just to play out around the world while flipping two fingers in the air to everyone they're against. A summer stint on the Warped Tour brought an expanded audience and new friends, including NOFX's Fat Mike over at Fat Wreck Chords. The label put out 2001's Underground Network, recorded with the help of Mass Girorgini (Screeching Weasel, Common Rider). Half of the tracks for their next effort, Mobilize, were recorded live in their hometown in December 2001; the disc came out in February 2002, and it fittingly also contained many songs, most explicitly "911 for Peace," that reflected the recent World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
In early 2002, Sane released a solo record entitled Life, Love and the Pursuit of Justice via A-F, and it mostly contained a sonically stripped-down version of his main band's political agenda. Anti-Flag's contribution to the BYO Split Series came out in fall 2002 with their split with the Bouncing Souls, and a year later they issued their next full-length, The Terror State, on Fat Wreck. The four-song EP Live at Fireside Bowl also appeared on Liberation. Released in 2004, the live Death of a Nation DVD chronicled the band's U.S. tour in support of The Terror State, and that same year, A-F reissued A New Kind of Army. Not surprisingly, the band also became involved with Punk Voter, a coalition of punk bands and artists who worked to raise voter awareness and participation -- namely against George W. Bush -- for the 2004 election, and headlined the Rock Against Bush tour. In a somewhat unexpected move, Anti-Flag next signed to RCA in April 2005; they issued For Blood and Empire the following March. In October 2007 the band released A Benefit for Victims of Violent Crime on their own A-F label, an EP (with a combination of both new songs and live tracks) whose proceeds went to the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, a decision made after Chris #2 lost his sister to homocide earlier that year. ~ Mike DaRonco, All Music Guide
Selected Discography
murderdollsh u n n i
If you bad mouth the place where you were born and you dont like it no one said you had to stay here they can go live in china then lets see them make there mark there. |
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Their songs have always been that way and thats what got them "famous".... they are called anti-flag dumbass. america is about freedom of speech right? and its not bad mouthing their country, its about waking up to the corrupt ways of our leaders....
"bigshow5 says: 10-30-2009 I like how people make it big then bad mouth the place that gave them there fame" |
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I need to buy an Anti-Flag shirt. Kinda sounds weird saying that, as it kinda goes against the spirit of the band, but i guess they need to eat too...
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I like how people make it big then bad mouth the place that gave them there fame
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Yeah, Anti-Flag is one of the greats because they won't back down from their ideals, unlike DKM, who will stay safe and not make a big fuss.
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I remember after 9/11 Anti-Flag still flew an upside down flag at their shows. While on tour the Dropkick Murphy's started talking sh>..t to them, Anti-Flag left the tour. I then read a review in a notable punk/surf/sk a t e mag that commended DKM for their bravery in defending this brave nation. That was the beginning of the end for this country; when we abandon protest in the name of pride and hipocracy. Anti-Flag will always be punk...they will always be punk...
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Oh I'm sorry you can't get your point across, because your grammar sucks and all the sentences seem to run together. Now go to school and learn to write, dumbass. Also, do you have any idea how pretentious your name is? I bet you're like 13 and you have never had to work for anything in you life, am i right?
Unlike like your grammar, this band is f**king amazing. I still wanna say that they had more albums before A New Kind of Army, tho. |
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yes thank you for correcting me sgt.scratcha n d b i t c h because i really needed to be corrected and i dont care that their message hasn't changed because i guess you would know considering that your comments on bands don't change either which you would know exactly when someone was being redundant oh wait i guess i am being redundant right now oh no i am so sorry but you need not comment back on anyy of my statements because well your views mean absolutely nothing to me thank you again for your
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Thank you very much for you completely redundant, repetitive comment. As poorly drafted as that was, you may have a point, i think. "Selling out" is also known as "getting paid." That's right, even Anti-Flag has to eat...
P.S. Their message hasn't change in nearly 15 years... |
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solutley love punk music but this selling out s**t kills me
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what is all this talk of selling out? so what if someone "sells out" it is such bull s**t if a band even trys to change their sound all of sudden they've sold out? i love punk music but this s**t with selling out kills me i don't get it i still don't get it all these years i have loved punk and i just sometimes wish people would stop making all punks look like we have no taste and just shut up! ugh! and im not talking to emosuxsobad or sgt.scratch and sniff but seriously i just dont get it i abs
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"Commis?" Do you mean "commies?" The preferred term is "hyper socialist." Haha, my cousin told me to get into punk rock, but it just kinda happens that i like their political views.
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Why is everybody talking about politics? Is that seriously a reason people start listening to Punk Rock? You missed the point you damn commis.
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This band kicks a**. Even "Bright Lights" is good. Don't like, then that's why you have a "thumbs down" button.
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I ESCAPED FLORIDA WHEN FLORIDA WAS WON BY OBAMA, MOVED TO NEW MEXICO, ALBUQUERQUE THE CITY IS CONSERVITIVE , BUT SURROUNDING CITES LIKE CORRALES, UPTOWN, ETC ARE FULL OF YOUR LIBERAL LEZ, QUEER LEFTIST SUPPORTERS ESPECIALLY CALIFORINA PIZZA INC, I THINK THEY GAVE ME FOOD POISOING ON PURPOSE THINKING THAT I WAS A CONSERVITIVE IN SHORT WE ARE ALL AMERCIANS WE ALL HAVE TO GET ALONG NO MATTER WHAT IN GREAT DEPRESSINON NUMBER 2 OF COURSE. PLEASE VOICE YOUR COMPLAINTS OR COMMENTS I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR
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I didn't say Locke, read below. It's not just due to lobbying. Government is an immoral system of institutiona l i z e d force. For starters, please see http://tolfa . u s . No good change can ever happen through force.
Also, you make an ad hominem fallacy directed towards Locke. Yes, his logic was inconsistent and therefore wrong regarding women, but that does not mean that his logic regarding other areas is incorrect such as his theories on natural law. |
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Im a liberal, but i did not vote for Obama. I can see through the facade a mile away. Any politician, especially the president, is corrupt. This is due to lobbying. Also, saying that only classical liberals, such as John Locke, were the only good liberals is foolish. Locke was a sexist who believed women are inherently irrational and incapable of anything but motherhood.
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"Besides everyone knows that only liberals have brains." Yet they elected Obama which is just a continuation of Bush's White House and authoritaria n statist policies. Whats new dude?
The only good liberals were the classical liberals (Bastiat, Proudhon and the like). They understood freedom. |
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Only a retard would say that. There is a difference between speaking up and whining. If you're to stupid to speak up you deserve to be oppressed. If you whine about your s**tty life, like say... the gay...er... the fray, you are just an a**hole. Besides everyone knows that only liberals have brains. That's why Bush was elected... twice.
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Yeah, I used to listen to Dead Kennedys and other leftist propaganda bands when I was in high school, but that was over 20 years ago. There was a famous quote (attributed to Winston Churchill, but I don't think he was the one who said it) that went along the lines of, "If you're 18 and are not liberal, you don't have a heart. If you're 30 and not conservative , you don't have a brain." Anti-Flag, Dead Kennedys, and other politico-pun k s come across as just a bunch of whiners. (Then again, at l
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Love the music, I have seen them twice, and have met and talked with both Justin and Pat...They were genuine and real, can’t wait to see them again!
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why do they have only one of their actual punk albums up what the f**k all their later s**t sucks
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notisaidthel i t t l e r e d g l e n n , you're an idiot. and the brainwashing of america's youth is evident in these posts. anarchy means no rulers. there is actually a very sound philosophica l groundwork behind it, spanning over 100 years of thinkers. it encompasses morals, ethics, economics and just about anything else you can think of. anarchy is freedom. government is slavery.
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Anti-Flag are a bit too political for my tastes, though I do admire what they do and who they are.
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Anarchy puts the power in the hands of a different group of maniacs. darwinism is the only true form of government. it's a scary thing relying on the benevolence of the strong, but i'll take an idiot like bush over terry nichols any day.
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Raychel you have it right but i don't see anarchy as a form of government, more as an idea to a better form of government with less corruption. and f**k that militia bullshit where you protest with violence you'll never get anywhere learn how the system works then use it to get your way.
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