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(static buzzes)
2
00:00:11,969 --> 00:00:14,636
(crowd murmurs)
3
00:00:30,628 --> 00:00:33,023
- [Man] You wanna tell us
real quick where we are?
4
00:00:33,023 --> 00:00:37,219
- We took a train a few
stops into Toulouse proper
5
00:00:37,219 --> 00:00:40,637
and then just walked right down the street
6
00:00:40,637 --> 00:00:43,324
and ended up in this square,
7
00:00:43,324 --> 00:00:47,371
and it's clearly a memorial
for the attack in Paris.
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00:00:47,371 --> 00:00:48,504
(crowd applauds)
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00:00:48,504 --> 00:00:51,571
Somebody just appeared out there.
10
00:00:51,571 --> 00:00:53,361
I'm not sure who it is though.
11
00:00:53,361 --> 00:00:57,778
I'm on the side of the
people, so I'll clap for them.
12
00:01:04,255 --> 00:01:06,421
- Anti-Flag is one of the hardest working
13
00:01:06,421 --> 00:01:08,905
bands in show business.
14
00:01:08,905 --> 00:01:11,227
Every time I contact those guys,
15
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they're always on tour, for
20 years they've been on tour.
16
00:01:22,468 --> 00:01:24,544
I saw them play at the
Key Club in Los Angeles
17
00:01:24,544 --> 00:01:27,017
at some benefit show and
I was just blown away
18
00:01:27,017 --> 00:01:31,499
by the unapologetic political
ferocity of the show.
19
00:01:31,499 --> 00:01:34,827
- My friends, in three simple words sing
20
00:01:34,827 --> 00:01:39,660
fuck police brutality!
(upbeat punk music)
21
00:01:40,948 --> 00:01:43,041
- Not a huge amount of American bands
22
00:01:43,041 --> 00:01:48,041
that have such a strong
political content in their music.
23
00:01:48,556 --> 00:01:52,300
And so that's always drawn me to them.
24
00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:53,531
- I grew up on punk music,
25
00:01:53,531 --> 00:01:56,069
and there was a lot of social commentary
26
00:01:56,069 --> 00:01:58,768
and political commentary
in a lot of those songs
27
00:01:58,768 --> 00:02:00,466
by other bands, but they were like,
28
00:02:00,466 --> 00:02:05,033
that was the forefront of their,
you know, their existence.
29
00:02:05,033 --> 00:02:07,273
- I remember seeing the balcony,
and I grew up in Chicago,
30
00:02:07,273 --> 00:02:09,109
so I've seen many shows at the Metro,
31
00:02:09,109 --> 00:02:12,701
and watching the floor
just erupt with just energy
32
00:02:12,701 --> 00:02:15,589
and enthusiasm and
sing-alongs and thinking like,
33
00:02:15,589 --> 00:02:17,182
holy shit, this band is incredible..
34
00:02:17,182 --> 00:02:19,229
- Kills fucking fascists.
35
00:02:19,229 --> 00:02:22,231
- It's kind of an interesting,
an interesting melange
36
00:02:22,231 --> 00:02:23,944
of clash and discharge,
37
00:02:23,944 --> 00:02:26,092
raw and playing at the
very edge of their ability,
38
00:02:26,092 --> 00:02:27,668
which I am a huge fan of.
39
00:02:27,668 --> 00:02:30,331
It could go tragically
wrong at any moment.
40
00:02:30,331 --> 00:02:32,019
There's a tension that's there
41
00:02:32,019 --> 00:02:35,230
that a lot of my favorite music has that,
42
00:02:35,230 --> 00:02:37,473
and they definitely have it.
43
00:02:37,473 --> 00:02:39,957
- You've got a Pat who is
both sort of personally
44
00:02:39,957 --> 00:02:42,873
really on the front lines
of political activism,
45
00:02:42,873 --> 00:02:45,086
also is a great drummer and
sort of the steam engine
46
00:02:45,086 --> 00:02:48,244
of the band, and then you
have Chris number one,
47
00:02:48,244 --> 00:02:52,795
who is the strong, silent
type, his waters run silent,
48
00:02:52,795 --> 00:02:54,682
but his waters run deep.
49
00:02:54,682 --> 00:02:56,776
And number two was of
course the, you know,
50
00:02:56,776 --> 00:03:00,167
the fiery leapfrogging punk presence
51
00:03:00,167 --> 00:03:04,109
who, you know, is barking
orders to the youth of the day
52
00:03:04,109 --> 00:03:06,809
about the solidarity that
they must have at the show,
53
00:03:06,809 --> 00:03:08,617
we must take care of each other.
54
00:03:08,617 --> 00:03:10,939
And then Justin, who is the
heart and soul of the band
55
00:03:10,939 --> 00:03:13,043
and wears his feelings on his sleeve
56
00:03:13,043 --> 00:03:14,702
and just is a great front man,
57
00:03:14,702 --> 00:03:16,524
those four things come
together to make for
58
00:03:16,524 --> 00:03:19,441
really one of the great punk bands.
59
00:03:20,941 --> 00:03:23,627
- Oh yeah, whenever I look back
on the history of the band,
60
00:03:23,627 --> 00:03:28,026
there are definite consistencies
that stand out to me.
61
00:03:28,026 --> 00:03:31,835
I mean, whether there was
a Republican or Democrat
62
00:03:31,835 --> 00:03:36,223
in the White House, or punk
rock was in or out of fashion
63
00:03:36,223 --> 00:03:38,491
in the mainstream, or, you know,
64
00:03:38,491 --> 00:03:42,782
whether there were five or
5,000 kids at an Anti-Flag show,
65
00:03:42,782 --> 00:03:45,449
we still consistently made music
66
00:03:46,321 --> 00:03:50,504
and fought battles that
were important to us.
67
00:03:50,504 --> 00:03:53,921
And to me, this feels like the only thing
68
00:03:54,822 --> 00:03:57,823
I've ever wanted to do with my life.
69
00:03:57,823 --> 00:04:01,790
And I'll probably die
while I'm doing this,
70
00:04:01,790 --> 00:04:03,707
but I'm cool with that.
71
00:04:05,178 --> 00:04:07,678
(tense music)
72
00:04:09,335 --> 00:04:10,686
♪ You're gonna die, gonna die ♪
73
00:04:10,686 --> 00:04:12,428
♪ Gonna die for the government ♪
74
00:04:12,428 --> 00:04:15,452
♪ Die for a country that's shit ♪
75
00:04:15,452 --> 00:04:17,704
♪ We're looking to start a new army ♪
76
00:04:17,704 --> 00:04:20,134
♪ Underground network ♪
77
00:04:20,134 --> 00:04:23,209
♪ Alternative communication ♪
78
00:04:23,209 --> 00:04:25,572
♪ Turncoat, killer ♪
79
00:04:25,572 --> 00:04:28,031
♪ Liar, thief ♪
80
00:04:28,031 --> 00:04:30,285
♪ Talk, talk, talk, talk about it ♪
81
00:04:30,285 --> 00:04:33,093
♪ They wanna tiptoe, walk around it ♪
82
00:04:33,093 --> 00:04:35,494
♪ These times can break you ♪
83
00:04:35,494 --> 00:04:40,077
♪ These times can leave you torn apart ♪
84
00:04:43,245 --> 00:04:47,226
- Pat and I met playing under nine soccer,
85
00:04:47,226 --> 00:04:49,987
but we really became friends through music
86
00:04:49,987 --> 00:04:52,348
and that started when we were teenagers
87
00:04:52,348 --> 00:04:55,231
'cause we were both interested
in playing in bands.
88
00:04:55,231 --> 00:04:57,186
- We had known each other for a long time.
89
00:04:57,186 --> 00:05:00,145
As we grew together and we realized that
90
00:05:00,145 --> 00:05:02,654
we were looking for other things in life
91
00:05:02,654 --> 00:05:04,365
and playing music was one of them.
92
00:05:04,365 --> 00:05:07,960
- I had a guitar and I had
a drum set and I was like,
93
00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:09,971
"Hey dude, why don't
you come over and play?"
94
00:05:09,971 --> 00:05:11,510
And we made like the worst music.
95
00:05:11,510 --> 00:05:13,157
I mean, he could hardly play the drums
96
00:05:13,157 --> 00:05:14,617
and I really couldn't play the guitar,
97
00:05:14,617 --> 00:05:17,579
so it was like, I wouldn't
really call it music,
98
00:05:17,579 --> 00:05:20,364
- But I remember watching
"Another State of Mind"
99
00:05:20,364 --> 00:05:23,257
and it's a movie that Social Distortion
100
00:05:23,257 --> 00:05:27,062
and Minor Threat were in and
they got into an old school bus
101
00:05:27,062 --> 00:05:29,289
and drove around the
country and played in shows.
102
00:05:29,289 --> 00:05:31,814
And I saw that at a very young age
103
00:05:31,814 --> 00:05:34,543
and I was like, that is what
I want to do with my life.
104
00:05:34,543 --> 00:05:37,072
- The first expectations
were that it would be fun
105
00:05:37,072 --> 00:05:39,501
to play in a band, and
then Minor Threat formed
106
00:05:39,501 --> 00:05:40,743
and so I was playing in a band.
107
00:05:40,743 --> 00:05:41,929
And then after that, the idea was
108
00:05:41,929 --> 00:05:44,714
wouldn't it be amazing to
make a record at some point?
109
00:05:44,714 --> 00:05:47,212
And then it was, wouldn't it be fun,
110
00:05:47,212 --> 00:05:49,597
it'd be amazing to go play other places.
111
00:05:49,597 --> 00:05:51,354
You know, the aspiration was like, well,
112
00:05:51,354 --> 00:05:53,878
if we've got to play New
York and then that's it,
113
00:05:53,878 --> 00:05:56,213
we're Kiss, I mean, this is it.
114
00:05:56,213 --> 00:05:58,846
This is, you know, that was the,
115
00:05:58,846 --> 00:06:00,758
it was just amazing to even think that
116
00:06:00,758 --> 00:06:02,410
that could be possible, but still,
117
00:06:02,410 --> 00:06:04,729
it was, the reason why
Minor Threat broke up
118
00:06:04,729 --> 00:06:06,917
the first time was the guitar
player had to go to college.
119
00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:08,847
It's like, okay, well I
have to go to school now.
120
00:06:08,847 --> 00:06:10,264
Yeah, I get it.
121
00:06:10,264 --> 00:06:12,837
I mean, we just, no idea that
122
00:06:12,837 --> 00:06:14,790
we'd be talking about this now,
123
00:06:14,790 --> 00:06:16,558
that it was important in any way.
124
00:06:16,558 --> 00:06:18,311
I mean, it was important to us
125
00:06:18,311 --> 00:06:21,133
and it was something
that we enjoyed doing.
126
00:06:21,133 --> 00:06:21,966
- When I first started,
127
00:06:21,966 --> 00:06:23,588
I was just putzing around
in my parents' back room
128
00:06:23,588 --> 00:06:24,844
with some kids from around the corner,
129
00:06:24,844 --> 00:06:27,044
so it was really just like most people,
130
00:06:27,044 --> 00:06:29,175
it was just a way of being social.
131
00:06:29,175 --> 00:06:31,847
It was, you know, a little
gang, we're in a little band.
132
00:06:31,847 --> 00:06:33,156
- You know, people have
asked me like, what,
133
00:06:33,156 --> 00:06:35,288
when did your political education begin?
134
00:06:35,288 --> 00:06:37,437
It began, I was the only
black kid in an all white town
135
00:06:37,437 --> 00:06:38,608
to be out on the playground.
136
00:06:38,608 --> 00:06:39,612
When I first walked out there,
137
00:06:39,612 --> 00:06:42,352
I got to see sort of injustice firsthand.
138
00:06:42,352 --> 00:06:44,999
And I didn't really choose
to be a guitar player,
139
00:06:44,999 --> 00:06:48,673
that chose me, and then
once I was anointed
140
00:06:48,673 --> 00:06:51,239
with that blessing or that curse, it was,
141
00:06:51,239 --> 00:06:53,614
I always thought it was my responsibility
142
00:06:53,614 --> 00:06:57,676
to weave my convictions into my vocation.
143
00:06:57,676 --> 00:06:58,907
- My mother was born in Pittsburgh.
144
00:06:58,907 --> 00:07:00,065
My dad was born in Ireland.
145
00:07:00,065 --> 00:07:01,984
He immigrated to
Pittsburgh, my parents met.
146
00:07:01,984 --> 00:07:05,317
My folks grew up devout Irish Catholics.
147
00:07:06,553 --> 00:07:09,803
That changed very rapidly in the 1970s.
148
00:07:11,291 --> 00:07:13,302
One of, I think one of the positive things
149
00:07:13,302 --> 00:07:16,327
about the Irish or the Catholic religion
150
00:07:16,327 --> 00:07:18,232
is liberation theology.
151
00:07:18,232 --> 00:07:21,133
And it's the idea that you
should spend time with the poor
152
00:07:21,133 --> 00:07:22,984
and you should help the poor
153
00:07:22,984 --> 00:07:24,587
and you should fight for the poor.
154
00:07:24,587 --> 00:07:29,587
My mom decided that the Irish
Catholic church was sexist
155
00:07:29,881 --> 00:07:31,747
and that it wasn't the place for her.
156
00:07:31,747 --> 00:07:34,267
She felt like it was
really limiting to women
157
00:07:34,267 --> 00:07:36,645
and she didn't think any
people should be limited
158
00:07:36,645 --> 00:07:38,149
in any way, and then this is like
159
00:07:38,149 --> 00:07:39,900
right in the midst of the Vietnam war,
160
00:07:39,900 --> 00:07:41,466
people are starting to figure out that
161
00:07:41,466 --> 00:07:43,705
the government is lying about the war.
162
00:07:43,705 --> 00:07:46,729
And so all of a sudden my
parents took this big shift
163
00:07:46,729 --> 00:07:48,621
away from the Catholic church.
164
00:07:48,621 --> 00:07:52,121
And I, I'm kind of the end result of that.
165
00:07:53,814 --> 00:07:55,423
Hello father.
- Hi guys.
166
00:07:55,423 --> 00:07:58,472
- So this is Martin and Teresa Geever.
167
00:07:58,472 --> 00:07:59,305
- Here we are.
168
00:07:59,305 --> 00:08:01,428
- And they're the reason
that I'm here in this world,
169
00:08:01,428 --> 00:08:04,548
rabble rousing and
causing all this trouble.
170
00:08:04,548 --> 00:08:06,856
- You never learned it from us.
171
00:08:06,856 --> 00:08:08,252
- No.
(laughing)
172
00:08:08,252 --> 00:08:11,753
- My mom was the first
person that my dad knew of
173
00:08:11,753 --> 00:08:14,385
that was opposed to the Vietnam war.
174
00:08:14,385 --> 00:08:16,385
It was hard to rebel in my family.
175
00:08:16,385 --> 00:08:20,112
- So a lot of Irish
music is protest music.
176
00:08:20,112 --> 00:08:23,053
And I just grew up with
that with my mom and dad.
177
00:08:23,053 --> 00:08:24,986
And I'm sure Ayman did too.
178
00:08:24,986 --> 00:08:27,970
And then there was
always something going on
179
00:08:27,970 --> 00:08:29,886
in this country that you had to protest.
180
00:08:29,886 --> 00:08:33,370
I don't think I ever
insisted that the kids
181
00:08:33,370 --> 00:08:37,616
go along with what we
believe, I think we lived it
182
00:08:37,616 --> 00:08:40,498
and then they got a chance to decide.
183
00:08:40,498 --> 00:08:43,252
- My dad would keep all his
tools and whatnot down here,
184
00:08:43,252 --> 00:08:45,103
you can see it's total disaster.
185
00:08:45,103 --> 00:08:47,734
And then you come up these steps.
186
00:08:47,734 --> 00:08:50,514
We'd have to load our gear
up and down this stairwell,
187
00:08:50,514 --> 00:08:52,648
which was always a nightmare.
188
00:08:52,648 --> 00:08:54,840
And this is what it is today.
189
00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,802
It's kind of a,
190
00:08:56,802 --> 00:08:59,719
my dad paints and my sister paints.
191
00:09:00,566 --> 00:09:02,822
You could see the ceiling's really low.
192
00:09:02,822 --> 00:09:05,551
You know, you kind of, we
had to set the drums up here
193
00:09:05,551 --> 00:09:08,129
because it was the only
space that was open enough
194
00:09:08,129 --> 00:09:11,059
for the drums to be able to fit.
195
00:09:11,059 --> 00:09:14,134
It's not much to behold these days.
196
00:09:14,134 --> 00:09:15,551
It is what it is.
197
00:09:16,794 --> 00:09:18,877
It was good to us though.
198
00:09:21,603 --> 00:09:24,249
- Everybody else wanted to go to college
199
00:09:24,249 --> 00:09:26,409
and to start the next phase of your lives,
200
00:09:26,409 --> 00:09:28,375
and I was like, fuck you, I'm gonna go,
201
00:09:28,375 --> 00:09:30,848
and I couldn't join the
Peace Corps 'cause I wasn't,
202
00:09:30,848 --> 00:09:32,050
didn't have a degree.
203
00:09:32,050 --> 00:09:33,548
I couldn't do a lot of other things.
204
00:09:33,548 --> 00:09:35,614
Obviously didn't want
to join the military.
205
00:09:35,614 --> 00:09:37,721
So to get out of Pittsburgh,
206
00:09:37,721 --> 00:09:41,021
I found a camp for mentally
handicapped people in Iowa
207
00:09:41,021 --> 00:09:44,604
and I was like, I got on
a Greyhound bus and left.
208
00:09:44,604 --> 00:09:47,210
Right before Justin realized
that he was gonna come back
209
00:09:47,210 --> 00:09:49,359
to Pittsburgh, he called me up and said,
210
00:09:49,359 --> 00:09:50,479
"okay, here's the deal."
211
00:09:50,479 --> 00:09:52,895
He said, "this kid, Andy,
he's really good bass player.
212
00:09:52,895 --> 00:09:54,608
Me, you, and Andy we'll get the band
213
00:09:54,608 --> 00:09:57,308
and we'll really make a
go playing in the band."
214
00:09:57,308 --> 00:09:58,687
- Ninth grade rolls around, eighth,
215
00:09:58,687 --> 00:10:01,034
probably eighth grade and my mom was like,
216
00:10:01,034 --> 00:10:02,165
"Hey, I'm gonna this church
217
00:10:02,165 --> 00:10:04,087
and I want you to come with me."
218
00:10:04,087 --> 00:10:06,272
And I was like, "are you
out of your fucking mind?"
219
00:10:06,272 --> 00:10:09,285
She's like, "you know,
someday you might move away,
220
00:10:09,285 --> 00:10:12,241
and when you do like, you
know, you might be down
221
00:10:12,241 --> 00:10:14,401
or you know, you're gonna
be looking for people.
222
00:10:14,401 --> 00:10:18,536
I just want to be sure that
you don't fall in with a cult."
223
00:10:18,536 --> 00:10:21,920
So she's like, "look, there's this church,
224
00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,146
they're called the
Unitarian Universalists,
225
00:10:24,146 --> 00:10:25,979
they're really open minded,
226
00:10:25,979 --> 00:10:27,760
you don't even have to
believe in God to go there."
227
00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:29,002
And that's where I met Andy.
228
00:10:29,002 --> 00:10:31,501
So Andy and I met as a result of my mom
229
00:10:31,501 --> 00:10:33,052
making me go to church.
230
00:10:33,052 --> 00:10:34,480
- And I was like, okay, that's great.
231
00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:38,208
And then when Justin came
home from San Francisco,
232
00:10:38,208 --> 00:10:42,744
we started working on Anti-Flag
with Andy, me and Justin.
233
00:10:42,744 --> 00:10:45,163
- I wanted to name the
band Anti-Flag because
234
00:10:45,163 --> 00:10:49,090
every time corrupt politicians
want to start a war,
235
00:10:49,090 --> 00:10:53,018
they pull out the flag, and with the flag,
236
00:10:53,018 --> 00:10:56,528
they bring this corrupted patriotism.
237
00:10:56,528 --> 00:11:00,362
And time and again, what we see is that
238
00:11:00,362 --> 00:11:05,072
these wars benefit no one
but this corrupt group
239
00:11:05,072 --> 00:11:09,218
of politicians and the wealthy
people that they represent.
240
00:11:09,218 --> 00:11:12,080
- We played a lot of shows
in the Pittsburgh area.
241
00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,306
We would put on our own
shows because again,
242
00:11:15,306 --> 00:11:19,680
there wasn't the infrastructure
of clubs and promoters
243
00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:21,490
because nobody cared about punk rock.
244
00:11:21,490 --> 00:11:24,752
We decided that we would rent musical gear
245
00:11:24,752 --> 00:11:27,175
and we set up the recording
equipment ourselves
246
00:11:27,175 --> 00:11:31,372
and recorded "Die For the
Government" and "System."
247
00:11:31,372 --> 00:11:32,722
♪ You're gonna die, gonna die ♪
248
00:11:32,722 --> 00:11:34,462
♪ Gonna die for your government ♪
249
00:11:34,462 --> 00:11:37,042
♪ Die for your country that's shit ♪
250
00:11:37,042 --> 00:11:38,770
♪ You're gonna die, gonna die ♪
251
00:11:38,770 --> 00:11:40,606
♪ Gonna die for your government ♪
252
00:11:40,606 --> 00:11:43,329
♪ Die for your country that's shit ♪
253
00:11:43,329 --> 00:11:46,329
(upbeat punk music)
254
00:11:53,294 --> 00:11:54,780
- When we recorded "Die
For the Government,"
255
00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:57,628
I don't know what we thought
we were gonna do with it.
256
00:11:57,628 --> 00:11:59,654
I have no idea, a friend of ours,
257
00:11:59,654 --> 00:12:02,797
the old man who had the
old man radio hour in Erie,
258
00:12:02,797 --> 00:12:05,403
he had some contact with New Red Archives
259
00:12:05,403 --> 00:12:08,897
and Nicky Garratt, who was in the UK Subs.
260
00:12:08,897 --> 00:12:10,971
- With "Die For the Government,"
261
00:12:10,971 --> 00:12:13,788
I was excited because the UK Subs
262
00:12:13,788 --> 00:12:15,705
was one of my favorite bands.
263
00:12:15,705 --> 00:12:18,568
- And I remember Nicky Garratt calling us
264
00:12:18,568 --> 00:12:20,565
and saying, "Hey, I heard your record
265
00:12:20,565 --> 00:12:22,402
and I'd like to put it out."
266
00:12:22,402 --> 00:12:26,559
And that was, yeah, it was
an amazing moment for us.
267
00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:28,962
'Cause we didn't, it
didn't make any sense to us
268
00:12:28,962 --> 00:12:30,394
that he would call.
269
00:12:30,394 --> 00:12:33,620
- The record was actually
gonna have distribution,
270
00:12:33,620 --> 00:12:35,010
which was incredible.
271
00:12:35,010 --> 00:12:36,172
It was gonna be distribution
272
00:12:36,172 --> 00:12:38,281
outside of like the little DIY distros,
273
00:12:38,281 --> 00:12:42,962
which to me was important
because we had this message that,
274
00:12:42,962 --> 00:12:44,730
you know, this overall philosophy
275
00:12:44,730 --> 00:12:46,647
that we were trying to put
out into the mainstream,
276
00:12:46,647 --> 00:12:49,601
I was like, wow, you know,
like for the first time
277
00:12:49,601 --> 00:12:53,152
I was like, wow, we could take
this out of the punk basement
278
00:12:53,152 --> 00:12:57,213
and possibly impact other people with it,
279
00:12:57,213 --> 00:13:00,308
other kids who might be
thinking about joining the army,
280
00:13:00,308 --> 00:13:03,924
maybe they'll hear this record
and they won't join the army
281
00:13:03,924 --> 00:13:05,183
Andy left the band.
282
00:13:05,183 --> 00:13:06,788
- [Pat] He and Justin didn't get along.
283
00:13:06,788 --> 00:13:08,649
They both had very strong personalities.
284
00:13:08,649 --> 00:13:10,352
- Andy was a great guy.
285
00:13:10,352 --> 00:13:13,499
If Andy and I hadn't
been in a band together,
286
00:13:13,499 --> 00:13:15,288
we would have been awesome friends,
287
00:13:15,288 --> 00:13:17,088
but being in a band together,
288
00:13:17,088 --> 00:13:18,654
we were just both so strong-headed
289
00:13:18,654 --> 00:13:20,922
about how things should be that
290
00:13:20,922 --> 00:13:22,804
we just butt heads, you know?
291
00:13:22,804 --> 00:13:25,782
- And that made my whole world collapse.
292
00:13:25,782 --> 00:13:27,564
We don't have a band anymore
293
00:13:27,564 --> 00:13:31,219
and this thing that I love
so much is gonna go away.
294
00:13:31,219 --> 00:13:34,263
And Justin and I were like, you know what?
295
00:13:34,263 --> 00:13:38,025
Fuck Andy, we're gonna
continue this no matter what.
296
00:13:38,025 --> 00:13:40,592
- Then we had a bunch
of fill in bass players,
297
00:13:40,592 --> 00:13:42,670
people who were not gonna be in a band,
298
00:13:42,670 --> 00:13:46,072
but that would fill in for
a tour or a couple of shows.
299
00:13:46,072 --> 00:13:49,124
- What happened is we went
back to 1988 with Justin and I.
300
00:13:49,124 --> 00:13:51,363
We're like, "who wants to play bass?"
301
00:13:51,363 --> 00:13:53,768
Anybody we know who can play bass,
302
00:13:53,768 --> 00:13:55,036
come and be in our band.
303
00:13:55,036 --> 00:13:57,844
And then we found Cock who was Canadian.
304
00:13:57,844 --> 00:14:02,554
- Her name was actually Jamie,
but her nickname was Cock.
305
00:14:02,554 --> 00:14:05,310
- And she was the perfect
person to join our band
306
00:14:05,310 --> 00:14:08,226
because she's like, "I'm
on welfare in Canada.
307
00:14:08,226 --> 00:14:10,802
I just have to go home every couple months
308
00:14:10,802 --> 00:14:14,476
to prove to the welfare agency
that I'm looking for a job,
309
00:14:14,476 --> 00:14:15,761
even though I'm not.
310
00:14:15,761 --> 00:14:18,783
And then they pay me money
and I can do whatever I want."
311
00:14:18,783 --> 00:14:21,294
And we're like, "you're the
perfect one to be in our band."
312
00:14:21,294 --> 00:14:24,534
- But before Jamie, actually
we, Chris Head played bass.
313
00:14:24,534 --> 00:14:26,776
We knew we had to get somebody permanent.
314
00:14:26,776 --> 00:14:28,354
Our friend Sean Wayland said,
315
00:14:28,354 --> 00:14:31,151
"Hey, you should get this kid Chris Head,
316
00:14:31,151 --> 00:14:32,890
he's as insane as you guys,
317
00:14:32,890 --> 00:14:34,374
all he wants to do is play in a band."
318
00:14:34,374 --> 00:14:36,586
- The things that I was doing were not
319
00:14:36,586 --> 00:14:38,358
really very gratifying.
320
00:14:38,358 --> 00:14:42,631
It's kind of the singer of
the band was a drunk kind of,
321
00:14:42,631 --> 00:14:44,429
and the other guys in the band
322
00:14:44,429 --> 00:14:46,080
really didn't want to
be playing in the band
323
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:47,619
and just were doing it
just for something to do,
324
00:14:47,619 --> 00:14:50,778
and I was kind of like hoping
to find something more.
325
00:14:50,778 --> 00:14:52,244
- [Justin] So Pat and I agreed.
326
00:14:52,244 --> 00:14:54,074
We were like, we should
ask them to be in the band,
327
00:14:54,074 --> 00:14:56,340
but we don't want him to play bass,
328
00:14:56,340 --> 00:14:58,215
he's not good enough
and we could see that.
329
00:14:58,215 --> 00:15:00,022
He just didn't have the
right feel for bass,
330
00:15:00,022 --> 00:15:01,577
but I knew he could play guitar,
331
00:15:01,577 --> 00:15:02,844
and he was a good guitar player.
332
00:15:02,844 --> 00:15:05,707
So I was like, look,
let's add a second guitar.
333
00:15:05,707 --> 00:15:06,880
- I was like, yeah, this is great.
334
00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,442
I'm in the band, you know? Awesome.
335
00:15:09,442 --> 00:15:12,548
I'm gonna be doing music
again, I'm super stoked.
336
00:15:12,548 --> 00:15:15,298
(machine grinds)
337
00:15:19,193 --> 00:15:23,224
I've always been into like arts and crafts
338
00:15:23,224 --> 00:15:24,314
and things like that.
339
00:15:24,314 --> 00:15:28,243
I grew up, before I joined the
band that was doing pottery
340
00:15:28,243 --> 00:15:30,377
and a lot of drawing in high school.
341
00:15:30,377 --> 00:15:32,630
I was actually gonna go
and become a ceramicist
342
00:15:32,630 --> 00:15:34,683
before I joined Anti-Flag,
343
00:15:34,683 --> 00:15:38,207
and that's, you know, I guess, yeah.
344
00:15:38,207 --> 00:15:41,314
I was actually gonna go
away to ceramic school
345
00:15:41,314 --> 00:15:43,897
and get a master's of the arts.
346
00:15:46,349 --> 00:15:47,818
Yeah, I'm sure people don't,
347
00:15:47,818 --> 00:15:50,665
wouldn't expect someone in Anti-Flag
348
00:15:50,665 --> 00:15:55,498
to be sitting here making
little green plant arrangements.
349
00:15:56,758 --> 00:15:59,508
(dramatic music)
350
00:16:09,905 --> 00:16:11,295
- [Man] What was the outcome, dude?
351
00:16:11,295 --> 00:16:14,632
- The outcome? We lost, it was terrible.
352
00:16:14,632 --> 00:16:17,465
You know, the first cassette
tape I ever got was MC Hammer,
353
00:16:17,465 --> 00:16:19,132
"Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em," ya know,
354
00:16:19,132 --> 00:16:21,065
and it was awesome when
I played it all the time
355
00:16:21,065 --> 00:16:22,699
and I loved it.
356
00:16:22,699 --> 00:16:26,047
And then my brother, he was like 16 and 17
357
00:16:26,047 --> 00:16:28,438
and he was always on the
other side of the law.
358
00:16:28,438 --> 00:16:29,896
I would meet cops and they'd be like,
359
00:16:29,896 --> 00:16:32,525
oh, you're, you know,
Mike's little brother.
360
00:16:32,525 --> 00:16:33,838
Yeah, we're gonna get them.
361
00:16:33,838 --> 00:16:35,551
You know, they would say
shit like that to me,
362
00:16:35,551 --> 00:16:37,157
like 10 years old, you know?
363
00:16:37,157 --> 00:16:39,533
And so very early on, I knew I hated cops,
364
00:16:39,533 --> 00:16:41,801
even though I didn't know
why I hated cops, you know?
365
00:16:41,801 --> 00:16:43,543
My brother would always work on his cars
366
00:16:43,543 --> 00:16:44,976
in the garage at the house.
367
00:16:44,976 --> 00:16:47,514
I heard this music coming from his car
368
00:16:47,514 --> 00:16:51,319
and it was a song called
"Fuck the Police" by NWA.
369
00:16:51,319 --> 00:16:53,939
And I was like, fuck MC Hammer,
370
00:16:53,939 --> 00:16:55,881
this is what I listen to now.
371
00:16:55,881 --> 00:16:58,015
That's all I listened to as a kid,
372
00:16:58,015 --> 00:17:00,474
and I would be popular
with my little friends
373
00:17:00,474 --> 00:17:03,185
because I had tapes that
said the F word, you know?
374
00:17:03,185 --> 00:17:06,198
But like, for me, it like
really struck a chord with me
375
00:17:06,198 --> 00:17:08,682
because like these
people were talking about
376
00:17:08,682 --> 00:17:11,328
being fucked with, by cops all the time,
377
00:17:11,328 --> 00:17:13,930
and like, that was something
that I could identify with
378
00:17:13,930 --> 00:17:15,940
because my brother was going through it.
379
00:17:15,940 --> 00:17:18,888
That's kind of like the
gateway drug to it all,
380
00:17:18,888 --> 00:17:22,804
that you talk about and
that I hope Anti-Flag to be,
381
00:17:22,804 --> 00:17:25,422
is that you can get a
record in a record store,
382
00:17:25,422 --> 00:17:27,823
but then you look at the back
of it and you listen to it
383
00:17:27,823 --> 00:17:29,482
and you're like, what inspired this?
384
00:17:29,482 --> 00:17:32,010
Little did I know that that
was happening in Pittsburgh
385
00:17:32,010 --> 00:17:36,696
with Aus-Rotten and Bad Genes
and Anti-Flag and these bands.
386
00:17:36,696 --> 00:17:40,743
And I would go and see them
when they played in town.
387
00:17:40,743 --> 00:17:43,552
And actually like my first punk rock show
388
00:17:43,552 --> 00:17:46,223
was an Anti-Flag show at Charlie's.
389
00:17:46,223 --> 00:17:47,490
- We would always be playing Pittsburgh.
390
00:17:47,490 --> 00:17:50,321
Our first shows like as a
band, we would always go out
391
00:17:50,321 --> 00:17:52,092
and it was like this running joke,
392
00:17:52,092 --> 00:17:54,430
it came to a point where everyone,
393
00:17:54,430 --> 00:17:56,036
we would get there and the
guy who owned the house
394
00:17:56,036 --> 00:17:58,180
was like yeah, you know,
I think Justin Sane
395
00:17:58,180 --> 00:17:59,330
might come out to the show.
396
00:17:59,330 --> 00:18:00,950
We're like "whoa, no way."
397
00:18:00,950 --> 00:18:03,866
- It was the first time
that I've realized that
398
00:18:03,866 --> 00:18:06,604
someone from our town could make songs
399
00:18:06,604 --> 00:18:10,187
that people would care
about and listen to.
400
00:18:11,087 --> 00:18:13,478
- [Justin] He was like this
naggy little brother, you know,
401
00:18:13,478 --> 00:18:15,810
that was like, "dude, can I
come to the show with you?
402
00:18:15,810 --> 00:18:17,025
Hey, can I hang out with you?
403
00:18:17,025 --> 00:18:19,103
What are you doing?
Why are you doing that?
404
00:18:19,103 --> 00:18:20,806
What do you like, why do you like that?
405
00:18:20,806 --> 00:18:22,020
Who's your favorite band?"
406
00:18:22,020 --> 00:18:24,479
You know, like, and it was usually wasted.
407
00:18:24,479 --> 00:18:27,527
Like he'd just be drunk and
falling all over himself.
408
00:18:27,527 --> 00:18:31,264
- I just, I probably drank a
bunch of box wine and was like,
409
00:18:31,264 --> 00:18:34,979
"good show, dude, play this fucking song."
410
00:18:34,979 --> 00:18:36,646
You know, who knows?
411
00:18:37,597 --> 00:18:39,696
- When we were kids, like
that was part of like,
412
00:18:39,696 --> 00:18:42,589
being in the punk scene
was like drinking 40s
413
00:18:42,589 --> 00:18:44,212
and smashing them on the wall
414
00:18:44,212 --> 00:18:47,315
and then walking into like
the VFW hall or whatever,
415
00:18:47,315 --> 00:18:49,302
and you know, being at a show.
416
00:18:49,302 --> 00:18:51,487
- We started writing "New Kind of Army"
417
00:18:51,487 --> 00:18:55,103
and Cock was becoming
more and more of a burden
418
00:18:55,103 --> 00:18:58,451
through this process, and
we couldn't just play.
419
00:18:58,451 --> 00:18:59,746
Like if somebody called us and said,
420
00:18:59,746 --> 00:19:02,288
"Hey, you want to play a show
next week in Pittsburgh?"
421
00:19:02,288 --> 00:19:05,096
We couldn't because we had
to go drive up to Canada,
422
00:19:05,096 --> 00:19:07,648
get her, bring her back across the border.
423
00:19:07,648 --> 00:19:08,998
We're never sure whether
we're gonna be able to
424
00:19:08,998 --> 00:19:10,589
get her back into the country,
425
00:19:10,589 --> 00:19:13,858
and so it became more
and more problematic.
426
00:19:13,858 --> 00:19:16,140
- When it became apparent that that Jamie
427
00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:18,624
wasn't gonna be our bass player anymore,
428
00:19:18,624 --> 00:19:20,082
I knew we had to find somebody
429
00:19:20,082 --> 00:19:23,009
and I just wanted to find
somebody who's dedicated
430
00:19:23,009 --> 00:19:25,860
to just going out and doing
it as much as we were.
431
00:19:25,860 --> 00:19:27,443
- Basically what had happened was
432
00:19:27,443 --> 00:19:30,558
I was better friends with
Jamie than I was really
433
00:19:30,558 --> 00:19:34,040
anyone else in the band and
got a letter one day from her
434
00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:35,849
that she was back in Canada
435
00:19:35,849 --> 00:19:37,913
and that she was no longer in the band.
436
00:19:37,913 --> 00:19:41,358
While I was reading that
letter, my phone rang,
437
00:19:41,358 --> 00:19:43,163
and this is my mom's phone,
438
00:19:43,163 --> 00:19:46,622
I was 16 years old or something like that.
439
00:19:46,622 --> 00:19:50,009
- Called him up and I was
like, "Hey man, you know,
440
00:19:50,009 --> 00:19:54,682
we're needing a bass player
and can you play bass?
441
00:19:54,682 --> 00:19:55,802
You know?"
442
00:19:55,802 --> 00:19:57,920
And he's like, "yeah, yeah,
yeah. I can play bass."
443
00:19:57,920 --> 00:19:59,286
So I was like, "well,
why don't you come over
444
00:19:59,286 --> 00:20:02,536
and we'll sit down and
we'll see how you do."
445
00:20:02,536 --> 00:20:05,820
- He was smart enough
to know to not bring me
446
00:20:05,820 --> 00:20:08,288
to like a practice with everybody.
447
00:20:08,288 --> 00:20:11,501
- So he came over and we
went upstairs in the shack
448
00:20:11,501 --> 00:20:14,446
and we sat down and I was
like, "okay, you know,
449
00:20:14,446 --> 00:20:16,728
here's one of our songs
and here's how it goes."
450
00:20:16,728 --> 00:20:19,090
- And I practiced and he was like,
451
00:20:19,090 --> 00:20:21,898
"you don't know how to play bass,"
452
00:20:21,898 --> 00:20:24,825
because I played guitar and I
thought it was the same thing.
453
00:20:24,825 --> 00:20:25,891
And it's not.
454
00:20:25,891 --> 00:20:28,051
- [Justin] I mean, he
couldn't play like four notes.
455
00:20:28,051 --> 00:20:31,333
He was terrible. Like, it
was amazing how bad he was.
456
00:20:31,333 --> 00:20:34,426
- He politely told me I
didn't know how to play bass,
457
00:20:34,426 --> 00:20:36,856
and then not only did that,
458
00:20:36,856 --> 00:20:39,243
he kind of took it one step further
459
00:20:39,243 --> 00:20:42,441
and we went through a bunch
of things and he, you know,
460
00:20:42,441 --> 00:20:45,237
all the way down to how to
hold a fucking guitar pick.
461
00:20:45,237 --> 00:20:47,210
- So we've met a few more times
462
00:20:47,210 --> 00:20:50,217
each time he just got
like noticeably better.
463
00:20:50,217 --> 00:20:52,905
And within a couple of
weeks, like I was like,
464
00:20:52,905 --> 00:20:54,983
I'll tell you what, man,
why don't you come over
465
00:20:54,983 --> 00:20:58,618
and you and Pat and Chris, and
I want you all play together.
466
00:20:58,618 --> 00:21:00,371
- I didn't know anything about it, him,
467
00:21:00,371 --> 00:21:02,910
and subsequently I know that he and Justin
468
00:21:02,910 --> 00:21:05,556
were formulating plans behind my back.
469
00:21:05,556 --> 00:21:07,676
And so I wasn't real happy about this,
470
00:21:07,676 --> 00:21:09,998
and obviously Justin was aware of this,
471
00:21:09,998 --> 00:21:12,595
my frustration with the plan,
472
00:21:12,595 --> 00:21:15,232
but he said, "well, let them
come into the practice room
473
00:21:15,232 --> 00:21:17,259
and we'll see what he can do."
474
00:21:17,259 --> 00:21:20,484
He came in and he said,
"hi, my name is Chris."
475
00:21:20,484 --> 00:21:24,023
And I said, "we already
have a Chris in the band."
476
00:21:24,023 --> 00:21:26,086
And I said, "you'll be number two."
477
00:21:26,086 --> 00:21:28,113
And that is really shitty thing to say,
478
00:21:28,113 --> 00:21:29,556
but then that name stuck
479
00:21:29,556 --> 00:21:31,367
and he's been number two since then.
480
00:21:31,367 --> 00:21:33,447
- So it was funny, Two leaves
481
00:21:33,447 --> 00:21:36,022
and Pat are talking
about it and Pat's like,
482
00:21:36,022 --> 00:21:38,805
"yeah, there's like some potential there.
483
00:21:38,805 --> 00:21:41,544
This might work, but I
don't know, we'll see."
484
00:21:41,544 --> 00:21:43,636
And Head was like, "I don't want him.
485
00:21:43,636 --> 00:21:46,134
He's no good. He's annoying."
486
00:21:46,134 --> 00:21:47,405
- And I remember seeing Two at shows
487
00:21:47,405 --> 00:21:49,011
and just thinking this dude's,
488
00:21:49,011 --> 00:21:50,710
you want this fucking
crazy dude in the band?
489
00:21:50,710 --> 00:21:53,678
He's like 16 years old and
he's just seems like a nutjob.
490
00:21:53,678 --> 00:21:58,446
- Like Head fuckin' was so,
had no interest whatsoever.
491
00:21:58,446 --> 00:22:02,064
Like he didn't like him,
he wasn't good at bass.
492
00:22:02,064 --> 00:22:04,602
It was just like, Head
was like, "fuck this kid."
493
00:22:04,602 --> 00:22:06,345
For me though, it was like,
494
00:22:06,345 --> 00:22:09,744
that marks the current lineup
that we had ever since.
495
00:22:09,744 --> 00:22:12,000
And that's really where the history
496
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,430
of Anti-Flag truly starts.
497
00:22:14,430 --> 00:22:16,374
(punk music)
♪ Drink drank punk ♪
498
00:22:16,374 --> 00:22:17,778
♪ Drink drank punk ♪
499
00:22:17,778 --> 00:22:19,975
♪ Drink drank punk ♪
500
00:22:19,975 --> 00:22:22,545
The words are "drink drank punk."
501
00:22:22,545 --> 00:22:25,028
On the count of one, two, three,
502
00:22:25,028 --> 00:22:28,470
for the love of god, don't fuck up.
503
00:22:28,470 --> 00:22:29,803
One, two, three!
504
00:22:31,048 --> 00:22:33,298
- [Crowd] Drink drank punk!
505
00:22:34,366 --> 00:22:37,355
- We'll see you when we fuckin' see ya,
506
00:22:37,355 --> 00:22:39,438
good night and good luck!
507
00:22:45,293 --> 00:22:47,993
Peace.
(upbeat guitar riff)
508
00:22:47,993 --> 00:22:49,238
- We always wanted to be on Fat
509
00:22:49,238 --> 00:22:51,528
because Fat was the record
company that was doing stuff.
510
00:22:51,528 --> 00:22:55,265
Even though I felt as a West
coast punk rock was sold out
511
00:22:55,265 --> 00:22:57,750
punk rock and East coast
punk rock was true punk rock.
512
00:22:57,750 --> 00:22:59,965
- Especially in Pittsburgh,
all the bands were political.
513
00:22:59,965 --> 00:23:02,357
And if you weren't political,
you were kind of a poser band.
514
00:23:02,357 --> 00:23:06,069
- East coast punk was about
squatters and revolution.
515
00:23:06,069 --> 00:23:10,986
- I think that there is a
certain thing about east of Ohio.
516
00:23:12,804 --> 00:23:15,789
You need snow to really get it,
517
00:23:15,789 --> 00:23:17,693
that the leather jacket makes more sense.
518
00:23:17,693 --> 00:23:19,540
- It was really interesting for us to like
519
00:23:19,540 --> 00:23:22,234
have an opportunity to go out
and tour with these bands,
520
00:23:22,234 --> 00:23:26,009
and then realize like,
oh yeah, you know what?
521
00:23:26,009 --> 00:23:28,126
These guys actually are just like us.
522
00:23:28,126 --> 00:23:29,507
Like, they're really cool.
523
00:23:29,507 --> 00:23:31,517
And they came out of the exact same scene
524
00:23:31,517 --> 00:23:33,705
that we came out of.
525
00:23:33,705 --> 00:23:37,038
I met Fat Mike at a Bouncing Souls show.
526
00:23:38,955 --> 00:23:41,129
Pete from the Souls introduced me to Mike
527
00:23:41,129 --> 00:23:43,584
and I gave him a copy of
"Die For the Government,"
528
00:23:43,584 --> 00:23:46,191
and Mike was really cool,
he was like, Oh yeah, man.
529
00:23:46,191 --> 00:23:49,269
So it's cool, and he
called me like the next day
530
00:23:49,269 --> 00:23:52,116
or the day after and he's like,
531
00:23:52,116 --> 00:23:56,449
"Hey, Justin, like, yeah,
like, yeah, it's Fat Mike.
532
00:23:57,994 --> 00:24:00,162
why don't we do something together?"
533
00:24:00,162 --> 00:24:03,445
And I was just like, "fuck
yeah," like I was so stoked.
534
00:24:03,445 --> 00:24:07,817
- So I think we sent them a
copy of "New Kind of Army"
535
00:24:07,817 --> 00:24:11,207
that we created, and Fat Mike said to us,
536
00:24:11,207 --> 00:24:15,282
"it's not good enough
to be on Fat proper."
537
00:24:15,282 --> 00:24:18,242
- He just totally pulled the
rug out from underneath me
538
00:24:18,242 --> 00:24:20,927
and he's like, but I don't
want to put it out on Fat.
539
00:24:20,927 --> 00:24:24,037
- And he said, "but I'm
starting this other record label
540
00:24:24,037 --> 00:24:26,065
called Honest Don's."
541
00:24:26,065 --> 00:24:28,553
- Honest Don's put out a
sampler and Mike was like,
542
00:24:28,553 --> 00:24:31,727
"look, I'm gonna put you on
the sampler and you know,
543
00:24:31,727 --> 00:24:34,128
see how you guys like it,
it'll be good for Anti-Flag.
544
00:24:34,128 --> 00:24:35,305
People get to know the name.
545
00:24:35,305 --> 00:24:37,004
Sampler's gonna be everywhere."
546
00:24:37,004 --> 00:24:39,960
I open it up, right, and like
take out of a box like this.
547
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,904
And it's like, okay, got the CD
548
00:24:41,904 --> 00:24:45,750
and it's a picture of this like clown
549
00:24:45,750 --> 00:24:48,978
and he's kneeling over
a giant bowl of cereal
550
00:24:48,978 --> 00:24:51,344
that looks like Cocoa Puffs
or something like that,
551
00:24:51,344 --> 00:24:54,339
and he's taking a shit
in the bowl of cereal,
552
00:24:54,339 --> 00:24:56,913
it's called "Honest Don's Greatest Shits."
553
00:24:56,913 --> 00:24:59,901
We all just looked at
each other and we're like,
554
00:24:59,901 --> 00:25:03,101
"we can't be on this fucking
label. There's no way."
555
00:25:03,101 --> 00:25:05,315
So I make the call to Fat Mike.
556
00:25:05,315 --> 00:25:07,500
And I remember it was
like Pat sitting here
557
00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:08,879
and I'm on the phone with him here.
558
00:25:08,879 --> 00:25:10,362
And we're like really nervous, you know,
559
00:25:10,362 --> 00:25:12,674
because I'm gonna try to talk
them into putting us on Fat.
560
00:25:12,674 --> 00:25:14,843
And I'm like, "yeah,
man, I got that sampler."
561
00:25:14,843 --> 00:25:17,235
I'm like, "dude, that is not us."
562
00:25:17,235 --> 00:25:19,719
And he's like, he's like, "well,"
563
00:25:19,719 --> 00:25:21,677
he offered an extra five grand
564
00:25:21,677 --> 00:25:23,661
'cause he really wanted
to put out our record.
565
00:25:23,661 --> 00:25:27,578
And I was just like,
"dude, I can't do it."
566
00:25:27,578 --> 00:25:31,707
And he was like, "well, I'm
not, I can't put it on Fat."
567
00:25:31,707 --> 00:25:35,918
I was like, "all right,
well we're not gonna do it."
568
00:25:35,918 --> 00:25:38,881
And he went, "what?" (laughs)
569
00:25:38,881 --> 00:25:41,196
That, it was amazing,
he was like, genuinely,
570
00:25:41,196 --> 00:25:43,356
I think he was like, I blew his mind
571
00:25:43,356 --> 00:25:45,153
that we weren't gonna do it.
572
00:25:45,153 --> 00:25:46,596
He was like, "that was a mistake."
573
00:25:46,596 --> 00:25:48,391
He was like, "I should've
put you guys on Fat."
574
00:25:48,391 --> 00:25:51,888
That record sold 100,000
records really fast,
575
00:25:51,888 --> 00:25:55,086
and it's sold 100,000 records faster
576
00:25:55,086 --> 00:25:57,989
than the record we put out
in Fat, the next record.
577
00:25:57,989 --> 00:26:00,248
So, ultimately it was kind of funny.
578
00:26:00,248 --> 00:26:02,675
He was like, "yeah, I
fucked up on that one."
579
00:26:02,675 --> 00:26:05,280
- It felt almost like a contest you won.
580
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,276
It's like, oh, we're gonna do
a record on this cool label,
581
00:26:08,276 --> 00:26:10,086
we're gonna tour the world once,
582
00:26:10,086 --> 00:26:11,966
and then we're gonna go back
to school and get real jobs.
583
00:26:11,966 --> 00:26:13,893
You know, it was kind of, that's
what it would've felt like.
584
00:26:13,893 --> 00:26:15,098
Every time I hit a city, I was like,
585
00:26:15,098 --> 00:26:16,016
I'm never going back here,
586
00:26:16,016 --> 00:26:18,650
I should take a lot of pictures, you know.
587
00:26:18,650 --> 00:26:21,873
- In 1999, Rage Against the
Machine, were going on tour,
588
00:26:21,873 --> 00:26:25,366
and each member of Rage
got to pick one band
589
00:26:25,366 --> 00:26:27,867
to play, open up a quarter of the tour.
590
00:26:27,867 --> 00:26:29,948
My choice was Anti-Flag,
that's the good news.
591
00:26:29,948 --> 00:26:32,648
The bad news is there was
no way to contact the band.
592
00:26:32,648 --> 00:26:35,520
The only contact information was a PO box,
593
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,007
I believe somewhere in Pittsburgh.
594
00:26:37,007 --> 00:26:39,381
So I wrote letters to that PO box saying,
595
00:26:39,381 --> 00:26:41,666
"this is Tom Morello from
Rage Against the Machine.
596
00:26:41,666 --> 00:26:44,064
We would like to take you
on tour. Please respond."
597
00:26:44,064 --> 00:26:47,145
- And I had just seen the
"Guerrilla Radio" video.
598
00:26:47,145 --> 00:26:49,205
I'm watching like this band's,
599
00:26:49,205 --> 00:26:50,964
this is who we should be playing with.
600
00:26:50,964 --> 00:26:53,042
Like, this is a band that's huge
601
00:26:53,042 --> 00:26:54,716
and they're saying the
same things we're saying.
602
00:26:54,716 --> 00:26:57,012
Dude, they're awesome. We
need to play with that band.
603
00:26:57,012 --> 00:26:59,997
I'm gonna call Greg at
Go-Kart and see if we can get,
604
00:26:59,997 --> 00:27:02,952
see if he knows anybody who
knows anybody who knows anybody
605
00:27:02,952 --> 00:27:05,721
who can get us in touch with
Rage Against the Machine,
606
00:27:05,721 --> 00:27:09,638
and that same day or in
the same like 48 hours,
607
00:27:11,916 --> 00:27:15,723
Tom Morello called Go-Kart
'cause he had bought
608
00:27:15,723 --> 00:27:18,234
"A New Kind of Army" and he was like,
609
00:27:18,234 --> 00:27:20,113
"I want to play shows with these guys."
610
00:27:20,113 --> 00:27:23,501
And so I finally got
ahold of Greg at Go-Kart,
611
00:27:23,501 --> 00:27:26,133
and he was like, I was like,
"hey, did you get my message
612
00:27:26,133 --> 00:27:29,171
about Tom?" and he was like,
"yeah, did he call you too?"
613
00:27:29,171 --> 00:27:32,057
And I was like, "no, I
called you seeing if you had
614
00:27:32,057 --> 00:27:33,732
any contacts for them."
615
00:27:33,732 --> 00:27:38,135
And he was like, "wait, what?
Like they just called us."
616
00:27:38,135 --> 00:27:40,997
And so like, it just, it was crazy.
617
00:27:40,997 --> 00:27:43,807
- The Rage Against the
Machine tour came around
618
00:27:43,807 --> 00:27:45,681
and we were super stoked to do it.
619
00:27:45,681 --> 00:27:47,853
And it was my favorite band at the time.
620
00:27:47,853 --> 00:27:51,905
And it was gonna be massive
arenas on the east coast.
621
00:27:51,905 --> 00:27:54,061
One of the being a show that was protested
622
00:27:54,061 --> 00:27:56,996
by the entire police
force of Philadelphia.
623
00:27:56,996 --> 00:27:59,153
- I remember being in the
hotel before the show,
624
00:27:59,153 --> 00:28:03,012
watching the news and the
chief of police was on the news
625
00:28:03,012 --> 00:28:05,783
telling parents not to let
their kids go to the show
626
00:28:05,783 --> 00:28:09,217
because Rage Against the Machine
supported Mumia Abu-Jamal
627
00:28:09,217 --> 00:28:12,519
and the police were protesting the show.
628
00:28:12,519 --> 00:28:15,543
So when we arrived, the
entire arena was surrounded
629
00:28:15,543 --> 00:28:18,174
by cop cars, with all of
their lights going off
630
00:28:18,174 --> 00:28:19,672
in protest to the show.
631
00:28:19,672 --> 00:28:22,332
I already, I was just like
"this band's doing it."
632
00:28:22,332 --> 00:28:25,400
Like all the shit we talk about,
like this band's doing it.
633
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,247
- Getting to that arena and
seeing the line circled around
634
00:28:28,247 --> 00:28:29,813
with the police with all their lights on.
635
00:28:29,813 --> 00:28:33,078
- No one was deterred
by the chief of police.
636
00:28:33,078 --> 00:28:34,565
The show was very successful.
637
00:28:34,565 --> 00:28:37,197
In fact, they like opened up more tickets
638
00:28:37,197 --> 00:28:39,386
than they've ever sold at that place.
639
00:28:39,386 --> 00:28:43,803
And so I remember tuning my
guitar and turning around
640
00:28:44,717 --> 00:28:46,982
and they had sold the
seats behind the stage,
641
00:28:46,982 --> 00:28:48,375
like the back corner.
642
00:28:48,375 --> 00:28:51,319
And so there was more
people like behind my amp
643
00:28:51,319 --> 00:28:54,678
than I've ever played to before my life.
644
00:28:54,678 --> 00:28:57,011
Rage came out, and you know,
645
00:28:58,772 --> 00:29:00,644
de la Rocha said something like.
646
00:29:00,644 --> 00:29:01,958
- Well let's make it clear.
647
00:29:01,958 --> 00:29:03,362
- We don't support any killers.
648
00:29:03,362 --> 00:29:05,682
- Especially not killer cops.
649
00:29:05,682 --> 00:29:07,599
- And then they played "Guerrilla Radio,"
650
00:29:07,599 --> 00:29:11,903
and then I was like, "this
is what I was talking about."
651
00:29:11,903 --> 00:29:12,736
- Let me tell you, it's not easy
652
00:29:12,736 --> 00:29:14,525
to open for Rage Against the Machine.
653
00:29:14,525 --> 00:29:16,268
At the Drive-In opened
a quarter of that tour
654
00:29:16,268 --> 00:29:18,345
and were booed off stage
on a nightly basis.
655
00:29:18,345 --> 00:29:21,869
- And At the Drive-In had
the toughest go of it,
656
00:29:21,869 --> 00:29:24,717
like to the point where de
la Rocha would have to go on
657
00:29:24,717 --> 00:29:26,375
and introduce them every night.
658
00:29:26,375 --> 00:29:29,807
You know, you always hear like
this story about, you know,
659
00:29:29,807 --> 00:29:32,630
The Offspring opening up for somebody,
660
00:29:32,630 --> 00:29:35,502
getting booed off the stage
and rocks thrown at them.
661
00:29:35,502 --> 00:29:37,623
And now they go on to mega stardom.
662
00:29:37,623 --> 00:29:40,269
And so I often wonder, hey,
maybe it would have gone,
663
00:29:40,269 --> 00:29:42,242
maybe our trajectory would
have been a lot higher
664
00:29:42,242 --> 00:29:45,183
had we gotten rocks thrown at us
665
00:29:45,183 --> 00:29:47,696
while playing with Rage
Against the Machine.
666
00:29:47,696 --> 00:29:51,779
- Unfortunately, we did
really well on that tour.
667
00:29:53,430 --> 00:29:57,746
We were recording in Pittsburgh,
the record "Mobilize."
668
00:29:57,746 --> 00:29:59,235
- And I woke up in the morning
669
00:29:59,235 --> 00:30:02,230
and I was gonna be headed to the studio.
670
00:30:02,230 --> 00:30:05,362
There's a morning radio show
that I like to listen to,
671
00:30:05,362 --> 00:30:08,425
and I remember the day,
it was a news program
672
00:30:08,425 --> 00:30:10,865
and they were talking
about that a small plane
673
00:30:10,865 --> 00:30:13,217
had run into the World Trade Center,
674
00:30:13,217 --> 00:30:14,905
but they thought it was an accident,
675
00:30:14,905 --> 00:30:16,940
and they thought it was a small plane,
676
00:30:16,940 --> 00:30:19,603
and the details were pretty iffy.
677
00:30:19,603 --> 00:30:21,288
I left, I ate breakfast, I left the house,
678
00:30:21,288 --> 00:30:24,258
I got into the car and just
as I turned the car on,
679
00:30:24,258 --> 00:30:27,905
the radio came on and I heard
the radio announcer saying,
680
00:30:27,905 --> 00:30:29,917
"Oh my God, Oh my God."
681
00:30:29,917 --> 00:30:33,627
And I knew something
really bad had happened.
682
00:30:33,627 --> 00:30:35,965
So turn the car off,
went back in the house.
683
00:30:35,965 --> 00:30:38,798
I turned on the TV and that was uh,
684
00:30:38,798 --> 00:30:41,419
they showed the second plane hit.
685
00:30:41,419 --> 00:30:43,093
And then that's when I knew
686
00:30:43,093 --> 00:30:44,832
this wasn't gonna be a regular day.
687
00:30:44,832 --> 00:30:47,654
I knew something was, was really bad.
688
00:30:47,654 --> 00:30:50,153
(tense music)
689
00:30:50,153 --> 00:30:51,272
- We called each other
690
00:30:51,272 --> 00:30:53,663
and we said we're not coming in today.
691
00:30:53,663 --> 00:30:55,337
- Everybody's too freaked out.
692
00:30:55,337 --> 00:30:57,792
You know, what do we, we didn't feel like
693
00:30:57,792 --> 00:31:02,544
we were going to be able to
work in a productive way.
694
00:31:02,544 --> 00:31:05,772
- For me personally, I
had, my dad apparently
695
00:31:05,772 --> 00:31:08,254
was in New York city getting
ready to have a meeting
696
00:31:08,254 --> 00:31:09,553
in the World Trade Center,
697
00:31:09,553 --> 00:31:11,716
and I didn't even know he was up there,
698
00:31:11,716 --> 00:31:14,465
and I'm sitting there
watching all this on the news,
699
00:31:14,465 --> 00:31:16,960
you know, probably about
2:30, 3:00 rolls around.
700
00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:19,662
My mom calls me and she's like,
"yeah, your father's okay."
701
00:31:19,662 --> 00:31:22,862
When the planes hit, they
were right down below,
702
00:31:22,862 --> 00:31:24,673
and then they finally got out of the city
703
00:31:24,673 --> 00:31:26,387
and I had to actually drive up to New York
704
00:31:26,387 --> 00:31:28,200
to pick my dad up.
705
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,545
- And then it was almost pretty immediate,
706
00:31:30,545 --> 00:31:33,311
like it was in the next
eight hours of that
707
00:31:33,311 --> 00:31:35,646
which it became known
as a terrorist attack
708
00:31:35,646 --> 00:31:37,896
and nationalism ran rampant
709
00:31:38,792 --> 00:31:42,464
and people were waving American
flags and calling for blood.
710
00:31:42,464 --> 00:31:46,131
And, and we were in a
band called Anti-Flag.
711
00:31:47,092 --> 00:31:50,019
(somber music)
712
00:31:50,019 --> 00:31:51,738
Yeah, there were a few conversations
713
00:31:51,738 --> 00:31:52,940
as to what we should do.
714
00:31:52,940 --> 00:31:55,075
And then the next couple of weeks,
715
00:31:55,075 --> 00:31:58,946
while being in the studio
and working on those songs,
716
00:31:58,946 --> 00:32:02,095
it became a discussion about
717
00:32:02,095 --> 00:32:04,587
whether or not we're still a band.
718
00:32:04,587 --> 00:32:07,385
- Basically. We thought the
band was gonna be, you know,
719
00:32:07,385 --> 00:32:09,925
no more because people are gonna not want
720
00:32:09,925 --> 00:32:11,221
to hear what we had to say anymore.
721
00:32:11,221 --> 00:32:14,339
People were, you know, our
records got pulled places,
722
00:32:14,339 --> 00:32:15,944
our t-shirts all got pulled.
723
00:32:15,944 --> 00:32:18,875
- Hot Topic, which was the one stop shop
724
00:32:18,875 --> 00:32:21,609
for all your alternative
needs at the time,
725
00:32:21,609 --> 00:32:24,126
they sent back all of our merch
726
00:32:24,126 --> 00:32:25,826
and they pulled it from the shelves.
727
00:32:25,826 --> 00:32:27,785
Our records came down everywhere.
728
00:32:27,785 --> 00:32:29,211
- And that was, that was everywhere.
729
00:32:29,211 --> 00:32:31,295
You know, you're getting
records all over the place.
730
00:32:31,295 --> 00:32:34,179
People sending our shit
back to us, you know,
731
00:32:34,179 --> 00:32:35,654
saying that they didn't believe in
732
00:32:35,654 --> 00:32:37,379
what we had to say anymore.
733
00:32:37,379 --> 00:32:41,842
And no, even like my parents
I think questioned, you know,
734
00:32:41,842 --> 00:32:43,754
what we were doing at the time.
735
00:32:43,754 --> 00:32:46,955
- We knew the response was
gonna be violence to violence,
736
00:32:46,955 --> 00:32:51,955
and we knew that there had to
be an opposing voice to that.
737
00:32:52,423 --> 00:32:55,486
- And then we wrote "911 for Peace"
738
00:32:55,486 --> 00:32:59,292
and decided that it was
more important than ever
739
00:32:59,292 --> 00:33:01,182
for us to be Anti-Flag.
740
00:33:01,182 --> 00:33:02,626
♪ I don't wanna die ♪
741
00:33:02,626 --> 00:33:03,601
♪ I don't wanna kill ♪
742
00:33:03,601 --> 00:33:04,908
♪ I don't wanna kill ♪
743
00:33:04,908 --> 00:33:06,258
♪ I don't wanna die ♪
744
00:33:06,258 --> 00:33:08,663
♪ We all are human ♪
745
00:33:08,663 --> 00:33:11,039
♪ Let's start to prove it ♪
746
00:33:11,039 --> 00:33:12,767
- We put the song up for free,
747
00:33:12,767 --> 00:33:15,506
and I remember it had
like 100,000 downloads
748
00:33:15,506 --> 00:33:18,570
in the first day and
people were kinda like,
749
00:33:18,570 --> 00:33:19,866
we broke our servers.
750
00:33:19,866 --> 00:33:23,581
Yeah, that was certainly
a moment where we,
751
00:33:23,581 --> 00:33:25,644
we recognized that we weren't alone.
752
00:33:25,644 --> 00:33:29,044
- That was the tour where
were we said to ourselves
753
00:33:29,044 --> 00:33:30,840
"all right, it's been long enough."
754
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:35,173
Now we have to critically
assess what our government
755
00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:38,755
and what our representatives are doing.
756
00:33:38,755 --> 00:33:42,899
And we need to be free
to express how we feel
757
00:33:42,899 --> 00:33:44,882
about the direction they're taking us in.
758
00:33:44,882 --> 00:33:47,179
- Constantly running into skinheads,
759
00:33:47,179 --> 00:33:49,188
constantly running into people.
760
00:33:49,188 --> 00:33:52,997
It was on the Mobilized
tour where in Florida
761
00:33:52,997 --> 00:33:56,367
people came to the show,
they wanted to kill us.
762
00:33:56,367 --> 00:33:59,437
- I mean, you would be
shocked. You'd be surprised.
763
00:33:59,437 --> 00:34:01,514
It's almost hard to believe, but it's,
764
00:34:01,514 --> 00:34:04,769
to me it's understandable
why that happened.
765
00:34:04,769 --> 00:34:07,764
People were in shock. People
were scared and mourning.
766
00:34:07,764 --> 00:34:11,166
So I understand why people
fell animosity towards us.
767
00:34:11,166 --> 00:34:13,840
They were looking for justice or revenge
768
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:15,691
or whatever you want to call it,
769
00:34:15,691 --> 00:34:17,606
and we were one of the
first groups to come out
770
00:34:17,606 --> 00:34:20,903
and say that going to
war over 9/11 is wrong.
771
00:34:20,903 --> 00:34:24,007
Not a lot of people wanted
to hear that message
772
00:34:24,007 --> 00:34:25,576
at that very moment.
773
00:34:25,576 --> 00:34:28,597
♪ Sing power to the peaceful ♪
774
00:34:28,597 --> 00:34:33,250
♪ Power, power to the peaceful ♪
775
00:34:33,250 --> 00:34:35,574
♪ Power to the peaceful, whoa ♪
776
00:34:35,574 --> 00:34:39,336
♪ It's power to the peaceful ♪
777
00:34:39,336 --> 00:34:43,035
- Large groups of pro-Russia
troops surrounding
778
00:34:43,035 --> 00:34:45,751
Ukrainian bases, ordering
their forces off of them
779
00:34:45,751 --> 00:34:47,389
so they can occupy them.
780
00:34:47,389 --> 00:34:50,100
The international warning to
Russia to end its invasion
781
00:34:50,100 --> 00:34:51,517
is being ignored.
782
00:34:53,555 --> 00:34:56,281
- I got a 5,000 rupee dollar bill.
783
00:34:56,281 --> 00:34:57,736
- [Chris] If I go in the water?
784
00:34:57,736 --> 00:35:00,465
- If you take up all your
clothes and run in there.
785
00:35:00,465 --> 00:35:02,715
(laughing)
786
00:35:04,609 --> 00:35:05,442
- 5,000.
787
00:35:05,442 --> 00:35:09,267
- We went to Russia for
three or four shows.
788
00:35:09,267 --> 00:35:13,155
- It's funny how like you go to places
789
00:35:13,155 --> 00:35:15,718
and you play in a band
790
00:35:15,718 --> 00:35:19,268
for a really, really fucking long time,
791
00:35:19,268 --> 00:35:22,144
and no one really bats
an eyelash, you know.
792
00:35:22,144 --> 00:35:26,718
Like most of the time it's
like, oh, you're cool.
793
00:35:26,718 --> 00:35:29,339
Like, wait, you get to go
to Europe, that's amazing.
794
00:35:29,339 --> 00:35:30,998
Like good for you, you know?
795
00:35:30,998 --> 00:35:33,576
And this was one of the first times where
796
00:35:33,576 --> 00:35:37,655
folks came out of the woodwork
and were like, "don't go."
797
00:35:37,655 --> 00:35:40,679
- According to people around
us, we shouldn't have gone
798
00:35:40,679 --> 00:35:44,876
because we're very close
to a war with Russia.
799
00:35:44,876 --> 00:35:46,817
- And I thought that
was really interesting.
800
00:35:46,817 --> 00:35:48,602
Like Steve, our drum tech,
801
00:35:48,602 --> 00:35:52,843
I remember like his Facebook
page whenever he was like,
802
00:35:52,843 --> 00:35:56,742
"I'm gonna Russia," like
people like, you know,
803
00:35:56,742 --> 00:35:59,492
he's like a younger kid, so like,
804
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,884
I'm sure it was yinzer
moms and things of the ilk
805
00:36:03,884 --> 00:36:07,639
came out and they were like,
"be careful, please, Stevie,
806
00:36:07,639 --> 00:36:10,794
come back alive," you know, and
all of this like crazy shit.
807
00:36:10,794 --> 00:36:13,093
And I was thinking to myself
like that never happens.
808
00:36:13,093 --> 00:36:15,401
It's always like "good for you!" You know?
809
00:36:15,401 --> 00:36:18,680
And so the have the dynamic of,
810
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:21,233
to have the dynamic of that change,
811
00:36:21,233 --> 00:36:23,756
and see it had changed
was really interesting.
812
00:36:23,756 --> 00:36:26,331
And then we landed in Russia
813
00:36:26,331 --> 00:36:30,370
and we spent the first four
days in St. Petersburg.
814
00:36:30,370 --> 00:36:35,370
We had our best experience
ever in Russia on this trip.
815
00:36:35,678 --> 00:36:37,269
- You know, they call St. Petersburg
816
00:36:37,269 --> 00:36:39,618
the Pittsburgh of Russia.
817
00:36:39,618 --> 00:36:42,199
They don't, but I do.
818
00:36:42,199 --> 00:36:46,044
One thing that was really
striking to me was when we landed,
819
00:36:46,044 --> 00:36:49,257
they took a picture of us
because they were like,
820
00:36:49,257 --> 00:36:51,001
people are canceling shows.
821
00:36:51,001 --> 00:36:53,240
So this we'll put this
picture on Instagram
822
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:55,615
and people will know
you're actually in Russia.
823
00:36:55,615 --> 00:36:59,214
- My experience in Russia
was absolutely incredible.
824
00:36:59,214 --> 00:37:01,164
It really gave me a great sense
825
00:37:01,164 --> 00:37:03,245
of how well propaganda works.
826
00:37:03,245 --> 00:37:05,027
You talk to people face to face,
827
00:37:05,027 --> 00:37:08,321
and once you get beyond
whose side is right
828
00:37:08,321 --> 00:37:11,492
when it comes down to politics,
829
00:37:11,492 --> 00:37:14,732
you realize that there's
a ton of people out there
830
00:37:14,732 --> 00:37:16,327
just trying to make the world better
831
00:37:16,327 --> 00:37:19,121
on a day to day basis for
the people around them.
832
00:37:19,121 --> 00:37:21,710
And that the majority
of people don't want to
833
00:37:21,710 --> 00:37:25,793
have anything to do with
their leader's bullshit.
834
00:37:28,622 --> 00:37:30,945
- This is a train full of our gear,
835
00:37:30,945 --> 00:37:34,871
which means there's no room for
us 'cause there's only gear.
836
00:37:34,871 --> 00:37:36,602
- [Chris] Where are we going?
837
00:37:36,602 --> 00:37:39,935
- Uh (stammers) Moscow.
838
00:37:42,704 --> 00:37:45,296
- This is the a fucking
glamorous life, bro.
839
00:37:45,296 --> 00:37:48,536
- But then the shows,
they were really great.
840
00:37:48,536 --> 00:37:50,912
They were all successful and packed shows
841
00:37:50,912 --> 00:37:55,912
and people, I feel as if it
was like a sigh of relief,
842
00:37:56,204 --> 00:37:59,704
like, you know, like people in Russia want
843
00:38:01,379 --> 00:38:04,750
folks to know that not
everyone is homophobic,
844
00:38:04,750 --> 00:38:08,624
not everyone is racist
or sexist or, you know,
845
00:38:08,624 --> 00:38:11,108
pro or against Ukrainian.
846
00:38:11,108 --> 00:38:13,229
I think for them to have an opportunity
847
00:38:13,229 --> 00:38:14,995
to have like a night of solace,
848
00:38:14,995 --> 00:38:17,412
like that's eventually
what the shows became.
849
00:38:17,412 --> 00:38:20,789
They weren't political
statements one way or another,
850
00:38:20,789 --> 00:38:22,988
as much as they were just
a place to go and be free
851
00:38:22,988 --> 00:38:26,228
for an hour, and then
everybody wanted to hug.
852
00:38:26,228 --> 00:38:28,328
Like it was crazy, man.
853
00:38:28,328 --> 00:38:31,063
Like there was no such
thing as personal space.
854
00:38:31,063 --> 00:38:33,611
Like everyone was just
like getting you in that.
855
00:38:33,611 --> 00:38:35,943
And this, this tends to be a trend,
856
00:38:35,943 --> 00:38:39,561
but the scenarios that we kind
of get the most freaked out
857
00:38:39,561 --> 00:38:42,300
about end up working out really well,
858
00:38:42,300 --> 00:38:45,805
and the ones that were
like this is a sure bet,
859
00:38:45,805 --> 00:38:48,098
that ends up being a goddamn clusterfuck.
860
00:38:48,098 --> 00:38:52,069
So there's no, there's
obviously no rhyme or reason
861
00:38:52,069 --> 00:38:53,768
to any of this stuff.
862
00:38:53,768 --> 00:38:57,149
- Russia is trying to
take over the Ukraine.
863
00:38:57,149 --> 00:38:59,741
The Ukrainians are trying
to keep the Russians out,
864
00:38:59,741 --> 00:39:03,320
or at least some of them are,
and since we left Russia,
865
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:06,775
there was a Malaysian
flight that got shot down.
866
00:39:06,775 --> 00:39:10,356
- Based on reports from
Reuters and Interfacts,
867
00:39:10,356 --> 00:39:15,356
a Malaysian airlines flight
with about 295 people on board
868
00:39:15,793 --> 00:39:18,317
has crashed, we are told from reports
869
00:39:18,317 --> 00:39:21,111
in Reuters and Interfacts,
this happened in Ukraine
870
00:39:21,111 --> 00:39:22,867
near the Russian border.
871
00:39:22,867 --> 00:39:26,255
- The plane gets shot down.
It's a fucking tragedy.
872
00:39:26,255 --> 00:39:30,868
And we don't know what to
do about, we feel helpless.
873
00:39:30,868 --> 00:39:32,209
I mean much like everybody else does.
874
00:39:32,209 --> 00:39:35,898
- I thought, yeah, this
is what happens when,
875
00:39:35,898 --> 00:39:40,713
when people use power and
violence to get their way.
876
00:39:40,713 --> 00:39:42,307
- So that all being said,
877
00:39:42,307 --> 00:39:44,857
we get the news that the
plane has been shot down.
878
00:39:44,857 --> 00:39:48,502
We internally sit, the
four of us with Jesse,
879
00:39:48,502 --> 00:39:50,378
and I think it was Justin, he's like,
880
00:39:50,378 --> 00:39:52,104
"well, it's cool, man, we're on a bus."
881
00:39:52,104 --> 00:39:54,098
And Jesse's like, "actually,
that's the one show
882
00:39:54,098 --> 00:39:56,416
you fly into." (laughs)
883
00:39:56,416 --> 00:39:58,505
And we're like, "awesome."
884
00:39:58,505 --> 00:40:01,540
So we're afraid, but we're gonna do it.
885
00:40:01,540 --> 00:40:03,583
We're not gonna let fear dictate anything.
886
00:40:03,583 --> 00:40:07,428
- I'm not worried about it at
all, but I'm probably naive.
887
00:40:07,428 --> 00:40:10,697
I think that horrible
things happen all the time
888
00:40:10,697 --> 00:40:12,547
to everybody all over the world,
889
00:40:12,547 --> 00:40:16,003
and it's either gonna
happen to you or it's not,
890
00:40:16,003 --> 00:40:18,322
and you can't really do anything.
891
00:40:18,322 --> 00:40:22,483
And if you live in fear of
bad things happening to you,
892
00:40:22,483 --> 00:40:24,183
you never get anything done.
893
00:40:24,183 --> 00:40:28,980
So I'm a believer of just stay
on task, get the job done.
894
00:40:28,980 --> 00:40:30,910
And if something bad happens to you,
895
00:40:30,910 --> 00:40:32,596
your relatives will make a lot of money
896
00:40:32,596 --> 00:40:35,497
'cause you'll sell a lot of
records after you're dead.
897
00:40:35,497 --> 00:40:40,497
(tense music)
(engine hums)
898
00:41:06,263 --> 00:41:10,245
- If someone falls down, we pick them up.
899
00:41:10,245 --> 00:41:13,495
If someone falls down, we pick them up.
900
00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:17,794
You got it?
(crowd cheers)
901
00:41:17,794 --> 00:41:20,766
Everyone else, hands up like
this, hands up like this,
902
00:41:20,766 --> 00:41:25,349
hands up like this.
(audience clapping)
903
00:41:30,867 --> 00:41:32,200
That's the shit!
904
00:41:33,970 --> 00:41:35,303
That's the shit.
905
00:41:42,613 --> 00:41:45,325
That's fucking massive.
906
00:41:45,325 --> 00:41:48,325
(upbeat punk music)
907
00:41:50,884 --> 00:41:53,130
- He realizes that the
people on the ground,
908
00:41:53,130 --> 00:41:55,639
they don't, it has
nothing to do with them.
909
00:41:55,639 --> 00:41:57,544
It's all about the power
910
00:41:57,544 --> 00:42:02,116
and people trying to show
that they control this region
911
00:42:02,116 --> 00:42:05,660
or they control that region,
but a friend of mine said,
912
00:42:05,660 --> 00:42:08,034
"how does it feel to be in a country
913
00:42:08,034 --> 00:42:10,558
that's been at war for the last 10 years?"
914
00:42:10,558 --> 00:42:14,735
And I'm like, "well, the day
to day life, we don't feel it."
915
00:42:14,735 --> 00:42:17,023
We were in a war with Afghanistan.
916
00:42:17,023 --> 00:42:19,979
We were in the war in Iraq for years.
917
00:42:19,979 --> 00:42:24,555
And the day to day, our
life, we don't feel it.
918
00:42:24,555 --> 00:42:26,547
Much like the people in Russia,
919
00:42:26,547 --> 00:42:28,835
the day to day life, they're not feeling
920
00:42:28,835 --> 00:42:30,806
like they're invading
the Ukraine right now.
921
00:42:30,806 --> 00:42:34,158
They feel like they're just
going about their business.
922
00:42:34,158 --> 00:42:36,741
(upbeat music)
923
00:42:39,391 --> 00:42:42,918
- "Rock Against Bush" was Fat Mike's baby,
924
00:42:42,918 --> 00:42:47,335
and his argument, and I
think it was a very sound one
925
00:42:48,263 --> 00:42:51,853
was that he played a show and there were
926
00:42:51,853 --> 00:42:54,568
maybe 5,000 people at the show in Florida,
927
00:42:54,568 --> 00:42:58,651
and had he had said
something about the election,
928
00:43:01,155 --> 00:43:04,702
maybe some of those
people would have voted
929
00:43:04,702 --> 00:43:09,241
not for George W. Bush
and possibly for Al Gore.
930
00:43:09,241 --> 00:43:12,496
And that would have changed
the outcome in Florida.
931
00:43:12,496 --> 00:43:14,087
Mike said, "let's put together this tour,
932
00:43:14,087 --> 00:43:15,990
and what we'll do is we'll
go into the states that
933
00:43:15,990 --> 00:43:20,061
the election is close and
try and make young people
934
00:43:20,061 --> 00:43:23,134
impassioned about this electoral process."
935
00:43:23,134 --> 00:43:25,481
- [Announcer] Gentleman is
recognized for one minute.
936
00:43:25,481 --> 00:43:28,881
- Mr. Speaker, I want to
introduce you to four young men.
937
00:43:28,881 --> 00:43:33,131
Justin Sane, Chris Two,
Chris Head, and Pat Thetic.
938
00:43:35,554 --> 00:43:39,183
They are a major punk
band called Anti-Flag.
939
00:43:39,183 --> 00:43:42,750
They're straight edge
punk, no drugs, no alcohol,
940
00:43:42,750 --> 00:43:45,973
just kids from Pittsburgh with
interesting colored hairdos
941
00:43:45,973 --> 00:43:49,201
and a great message for young
people, register and vote
942
00:43:49,201 --> 00:43:51,822
or be told what to do
and where to go and fight
943
00:43:51,822 --> 00:43:54,263
by an administration that
will not talk straight
944
00:43:54,263 --> 00:43:55,502
to the American people.
945
00:43:55,502 --> 00:43:57,261
- On this tour, we'd
get up in the morning,
946
00:43:57,261 --> 00:43:59,976
we'd go to protests, we'd go to rallies
947
00:43:59,976 --> 00:44:04,102
and talk to people about
who are doing political work
948
00:44:04,102 --> 00:44:06,508
and electoral work and things like that.
949
00:44:06,508 --> 00:44:10,020
- If you want to make change,
you're gonna get out and vote.
950
00:44:10,020 --> 00:44:12,461
And that's why what punk rock is doing,
951
00:44:12,461 --> 00:44:16,227
punk folk is doing is
in my view, stirring up
952
00:44:16,227 --> 00:44:19,510
and making people think about
the opportunity they have
953
00:44:19,510 --> 00:44:21,345
to actually make a change.
954
00:44:21,345 --> 00:44:25,012
Lots of punk rock is
about apathy and anger,
955
00:44:25,936 --> 00:44:28,243
and it's the apathy I want to get rid of
956
00:44:28,243 --> 00:44:30,011
and get the anger going.
957
00:44:30,011 --> 00:44:34,670
- We had speakers every night,
we had student organizations
958
00:44:34,670 --> 00:44:36,922
and student movements coming out.
959
00:44:36,922 --> 00:44:41,812
- Please welcome Anti-Flag.
(audience applauds)
960
00:44:41,812 --> 00:44:45,066
- History is not shaped
by presidents or popes.
961
00:44:45,066 --> 00:44:48,937
History is not shaped
by congressmen or kings.
962
00:44:48,937 --> 00:44:53,058
History is certainly
not shaped by Fox News.
963
00:44:53,058 --> 00:44:57,551
History is shaped by the
people. It is shaped by us.
964
00:44:57,551 --> 00:44:58,930
- In order for a band to be great,
965
00:44:58,930 --> 00:44:59,862
or for an artist to be great,
966
00:44:59,862 --> 00:45:02,258
they have to be true to themselves,
and I was attempting to,
967
00:45:02,258 --> 00:45:05,379
I was trying to make Audioslave
a more political band
968
00:45:05,379 --> 00:45:06,828
than Rage Against the Machine.
969
00:45:06,828 --> 00:45:08,164
And then I woke up one day and thought,
970
00:45:08,164 --> 00:45:10,093
well, I'm the only guy in the
band that wants to do that.
971
00:45:10,093 --> 00:45:13,012
So this is not gonna be
an authentic endeavor
972
00:45:13,012 --> 00:45:16,480
unless it's real, and it took
a less political direction,
973
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:21,138
but I needed an outlet
for my worldview in music.
974
00:45:21,138 --> 00:45:22,891
I had been only playing folk music
975
00:45:22,891 --> 00:45:25,444
for maybe two or three years at the time.
976
00:45:25,444 --> 00:45:28,098
And standing out there
with an acoustic guitar
977
00:45:28,098 --> 00:45:32,773
alone in front of a punk,
teenage punk rock audience,
978
00:45:32,773 --> 00:45:35,689
waiting to go ape shit for
Anti-Flag to come on stage
979
00:45:35,689 --> 00:45:40,402
was a great artistic
learning experience for me.
980
00:45:40,402 --> 00:45:42,291
You know, this is an audience
that didn't know one of my,
981
00:45:42,291 --> 00:45:44,034
I didn't have a record out,
I didn't have a solo record.
982
00:45:44,034 --> 00:45:47,325
I was playing no material
that anyone was gonna know
983
00:45:47,325 --> 00:45:51,145
in a style of music that perhaps
they were unfamiliar with,
984
00:45:51,145 --> 00:45:52,819
and perhaps they were even hostile to,
985
00:45:52,819 --> 00:45:54,211
and going out there every day
986
00:45:54,211 --> 00:45:55,383
and trying to win over that crowd
987
00:45:55,383 --> 00:45:57,150
was something that was really
artistically fulfilling
988
00:45:57,150 --> 00:46:00,817
for me and was an
exciting part of the tour.
989
00:46:02,826 --> 00:46:04,807
- Unfortunately, it did not work,
990
00:46:04,807 --> 00:46:06,685
and it was very frustrating
when it didn't work,
991
00:46:06,685 --> 00:46:08,536
but that's how it goes.
992
00:46:08,536 --> 00:46:13,203
♪ As I was walking a ribbon of highways ♪
993
00:46:14,805 --> 00:46:16,581
So yeah, it was incredibly frustrating
994
00:46:16,581 --> 00:46:18,850
that Bush took the White
House for a second term,
995
00:46:18,850 --> 00:46:22,061
but I would argue the punk
voter was successful in that
996
00:46:22,061 --> 00:46:25,773
it helped activate a whole
new group of young activists.
997
00:46:25,773 --> 00:46:28,907
♪ This land was made for you and me ♪
998
00:46:28,907 --> 00:46:30,892
♪ This land is your land ♪
999
00:46:30,892 --> 00:46:33,012
♪ This land is my land ♪
1000
00:46:33,012 --> 00:46:37,357
♪ From California to the New York island ♪
1001
00:46:37,357 --> 00:46:39,532
♪ From the redwood forest ♪
1002
00:46:39,532 --> 00:46:42,419
♪ To the Gulf stream waters ♪
1003
00:46:42,419 --> 00:46:45,415
♪ This land was made for you and me ♪
1004
00:46:45,415 --> 00:46:46,375
♪ Take it, Number Two ♪
1005
00:46:46,375 --> 00:46:48,157
♪ I've walked and rambled ♪
1006
00:46:48,157 --> 00:46:50,332
♪ I've followed my footsteps ♪
1007
00:46:50,332 --> 00:46:54,720
♪ To the sparkling sands of the desert ♪
1008
00:46:54,720 --> 00:46:56,866
♪ When all around me ♪
1009
00:46:56,866 --> 00:46:59,497
♪ That voice was sounding ♪
1010
00:46:59,497 --> 00:47:04,497
♪ Yeah, this land was
made for you and me ♪
1011
00:47:04,710 --> 00:47:07,080
- [Justin] We left for the
Rock Against Bush tour.
1012
00:47:07,080 --> 00:47:08,852
- We flew out in the
morning and it was raining
1013
00:47:08,852 --> 00:47:11,733
in the morning, and we landed in Seattle
1014
00:47:11,733 --> 00:47:13,733
and we got a phone call.
1015
00:47:15,373 --> 00:47:18,778
The stream behind our offices was rising
1016
00:47:18,778 --> 00:47:20,445
and it was flooding.
1017
00:47:21,691 --> 00:47:24,622
Okay, but so was the water in the building
1018
00:47:24,622 --> 00:47:26,539
parking lot yet or not?
1019
00:47:30,127 --> 00:47:32,520
Okay, so it was up to the trailer.
1020
00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,407
- Everything's flooded,
the warehouse is flooded.
1021
00:47:35,407 --> 00:47:38,122
You can't even, you can't get across town,
1022
00:47:38,122 --> 00:47:40,307
Pittsburgh is totally flooded.
1023
00:47:40,307 --> 00:47:41,819
- [Firefighter] Unbelievable.
1024
00:47:41,819 --> 00:47:43,860
- [Reporter] Unbelievable is right.
1025
00:47:43,860 --> 00:47:46,438
The nearby Family Dollar store deluge,
1026
00:47:46,438 --> 00:47:49,066
muddy waters rushing through the streets,
1027
00:47:49,066 --> 00:47:53,443
the current so powerful it
carried away a huge dumpster.
1028
00:47:53,443 --> 00:47:55,737
Water up to the bumpers
of the few cars left
1029
00:47:55,737 --> 00:47:57,087
parked on the street.
1030
00:47:57,087 --> 00:48:00,407
- We invested everything
we had into the label
1031
00:48:00,407 --> 00:48:05,407
and it was working, and the
record label was doing well
1032
00:48:05,431 --> 00:48:08,617
and we had a list of about 20 bands
1033
00:48:08,617 --> 00:48:13,057
who were all making records
and releasing material.
1034
00:48:13,057 --> 00:48:17,371
- Everything that was
in there was trashed.
1035
00:48:17,371 --> 00:48:18,852
Yeah, it was a mess.
1036
00:48:18,852 --> 00:48:21,859
- The water was, you
know, over waist high,
1037
00:48:21,859 --> 00:48:24,399
almost chest high throughout
the entire office.
1038
00:48:24,399 --> 00:48:25,478
It's gonna to get there
1039
00:48:25,478 --> 00:48:28,637
'cause it's going rain
all day tomorrow too.
1040
00:48:28,637 --> 00:48:29,470
- Wow.
1041
00:48:31,175 --> 00:48:33,092
- [Pat] We are screwed.
1042
00:48:35,854 --> 00:48:37,507
- Well we can't think about it now.
1043
00:48:37,507 --> 00:48:39,372
There's nothing we can do.
1044
00:48:39,372 --> 00:48:42,450
Even if we got on a plane and got there,
1045
00:48:42,450 --> 00:48:44,090
they wouldn't even land us in Pittsburgh.
1046
00:48:44,090 --> 00:48:47,184
To be on that tour where
we needed to have focus
1047
00:48:47,184 --> 00:48:50,532
and to know things at
home were such a mess,
1048
00:48:50,532 --> 00:48:54,365
we just knew that losing
a computer in the mud
1049
00:48:55,998 --> 00:49:00,532
wasn't as dire of an
issue as the discussions
1050
00:49:00,532 --> 00:49:03,598
we were having at some of
these Rock Against Bush shows
1051
00:49:03,598 --> 00:49:05,880
where we were talking to young people,
1052
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:09,322
and those were really like
dire moments in activism.
1053
00:49:09,322 --> 00:49:11,035
They felt, they felt dire.
1054
00:49:11,035 --> 00:49:13,966
They felt like, they felt life or death.
1055
00:49:13,966 --> 00:49:16,032
Unfortunately, we were all right.
1056
00:49:16,032 --> 00:49:18,980
And I remember coming
home and it was, yeah,
1057
00:49:18,980 --> 00:49:21,648
it was brutal, it was really
depressing to come home.
1058
00:49:21,648 --> 00:49:24,064
If you've ever been through a flood,
1059
00:49:24,064 --> 00:49:27,451
everything just stinks and is waterlogged
1060
00:49:27,451 --> 00:49:31,152
and full of bacteria and it's
just a horrible existence.
1061
00:49:31,152 --> 00:49:33,690
Our truck was ruined, our, yeah,
1062
00:49:33,690 --> 00:49:35,618
everything that we had was ruined.
1063
00:49:35,618 --> 00:49:38,860
It wiped out the local
business that was next to us
1064
00:49:38,860 --> 00:49:40,357
that was a builder supply company.
1065
00:49:40,357 --> 00:49:41,751
It wiped them out completely.
1066
00:49:41,751 --> 00:49:45,970
So to look at it and to
say like our record label
1067
00:49:45,970 --> 00:49:47,889
and our band survived it,
1068
00:49:47,889 --> 00:49:51,101
and to see a company that had
been existence for 30 years
1069
00:49:51,101 --> 00:49:53,361
not be able to survive it, like,
1070
00:49:53,361 --> 00:49:56,278
there's definitely something to say
1071
00:49:57,826 --> 00:50:00,459
about us being able to keep it together.
1072
00:50:00,459 --> 00:50:03,268
And for lack of a better
term, keep it afloat.
1073
00:50:03,268 --> 00:50:06,817
- It would have been very
easy to pack up and say
1074
00:50:06,817 --> 00:50:10,609
"let's be done," but we just
kept moving little by little,
1075
00:50:10,609 --> 00:50:12,990
and sooner or later we were out of it
1076
00:50:12,990 --> 00:50:16,407
and we had good people who helped us out.
1077
00:50:18,456 --> 00:50:20,263
- You start these bands and you know,
1078
00:50:20,263 --> 00:50:21,819
you're not careerist about them at all.
1079
00:50:21,819 --> 00:50:23,961
I know all those guys and I'm
sure all of them never thought
1080
00:50:23,961 --> 00:50:25,598
they'd be doing this for a living.
1081
00:50:25,598 --> 00:50:28,461
You know, you start in
a garage with your buds.
1082
00:50:28,461 --> 00:50:30,819
You barely know how to play, you know,
1083
00:50:30,819 --> 00:50:33,267
and you never foresaw yourself
1084
00:50:33,267 --> 00:50:36,046
still playing music professionally.
1085
00:50:36,046 --> 00:50:37,882
I remember reading my first record review
1086
00:50:37,882 --> 00:50:41,097
and I was like, "Oh wait, now
I'm the guy in the review."
1087
00:50:41,097 --> 00:50:42,511
Like I used to be the
guy reading the reviews,
1088
00:50:42,511 --> 00:50:43,344
you know what I mean?
1089
00:50:43,344 --> 00:50:44,504
Just kinda like, Oh yeah,
I guess that record sucks.
1090
00:50:44,504 --> 00:50:45,957
Or, Oh yeah, this one's awesome.
1091
00:50:45,957 --> 00:50:47,125
And it's like, Oh no.
1092
00:50:47,125 --> 00:50:49,363
Now I'm in the review, and
you realize like, oh yeah,
1093
00:50:49,363 --> 00:50:51,865
you're, you're throwing
yourself out there.
1094
00:50:51,865 --> 00:50:55,201
- We'd had major label offers for years.
1095
00:50:55,201 --> 00:50:57,552
I mean, we've had major
label offers for five years.
1096
00:50:57,552 --> 00:50:59,997
We were never interested in them
1097
00:50:59,997 --> 00:51:04,720
mostly because we were comfortable
and happy where we were.
1098
00:51:04,720 --> 00:51:06,298
We just felt comfortable with the people
1099
00:51:06,298 --> 00:51:08,097
we were working with, working with Fat.
1100
00:51:08,097 --> 00:51:09,509
We were happy there.
1101
00:51:09,509 --> 00:51:12,265
They understood us, we understood
them. They were friends.
1102
00:51:12,265 --> 00:51:15,657
- We felt like Fat really
stuck their necks out for it.
1103
00:51:15,657 --> 00:51:17,989
Tom played the record for Rick Rubin
1104
00:51:17,989 --> 00:51:20,920
and Rick loved the record.
1105
00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:23,497
He asked us to come to LA and play a show.
1106
00:51:23,497 --> 00:51:27,061
- Rick Rubin approaching
us made total sense to us.
1107
00:51:27,061 --> 00:51:29,697
I mean, we knew where he
came from ideologically.
1108
00:51:29,697 --> 00:51:32,083
He came from a very similar
place that we came from.
1109
00:51:32,083 --> 00:51:33,732
His record label was American Records.
1110
00:51:33,732 --> 00:51:36,162
It was an upside down
American flag, you know?
1111
00:51:36,162 --> 00:51:38,106
I mean, we thought, wow, that's perfect.
1112
00:51:38,106 --> 00:51:39,417
That's where we want to be.
1113
00:51:39,417 --> 00:51:41,241
- I remember being like,
1114
00:51:41,241 --> 00:51:44,424
"we're really just gonna
fly to LA and play a show
1115
00:51:44,424 --> 00:51:46,221
because Rick Ruben wants us to?"
1116
00:51:46,221 --> 00:51:48,863
Like, that seems fucking lame.
1117
00:51:48,863 --> 00:51:51,280
Like, what is this? You know?
1118
00:51:52,117 --> 00:51:55,045
But then you think about
it and you're like,
1119
00:51:55,045 --> 00:51:59,045
well, I mean, Slayer,
Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys.
1120
00:52:00,553 --> 00:52:03,866
It was enough to turn our heads.
1121
00:52:03,866 --> 00:52:05,769
- [Justin] After going to a major label,
1122
00:52:05,769 --> 00:52:08,469
our punk rock career could be over.
1123
00:52:08,469 --> 00:52:10,575
- We started getting a
lot more of the criticism
1124
00:52:10,575 --> 00:52:13,246
of becoming, you know, sellouts.
1125
00:52:13,246 --> 00:52:15,435
But to be honest with
you, we were sellouts
1126
00:52:15,435 --> 00:52:18,106
whenever they put out
the first seven inch,
1127
00:52:18,106 --> 00:52:19,539
we were getting shit for that.
1128
00:52:19,539 --> 00:52:21,976
"Die For the Government"
came out on New Red Archives,
1129
00:52:21,976 --> 00:52:23,707
Pat and Justin were sellouts for that.
1130
00:52:23,707 --> 00:52:25,300
- And that's when I
realized like, you know,
1131
00:52:25,300 --> 00:52:27,934
they were going through what
a lot of us went through
1132
00:52:27,934 --> 00:52:31,384
as bands that grew up in a punk rock
1133
00:52:31,384 --> 00:52:34,622
and hardcore scene playing political music
1134
00:52:34,622 --> 00:52:38,464
and then found yourselves getting popular.
1135
00:52:38,464 --> 00:52:40,933
- I was one of those kids
back in the day, I'll admit,
1136
00:52:40,933 --> 00:52:43,461
when you know, like Rancid and Green Day
1137
00:52:43,461 --> 00:52:46,581
started picking up steam
and being played on MTV.
1138
00:52:46,581 --> 00:52:51,112
I was like, "ugh, this just
sucks, dude, fuck 'em."
1139
00:52:51,112 --> 00:52:53,299
I don't necessarily feel
like they were sell outs,
1140
00:52:53,299 --> 00:52:54,980
or I'd never labeled them as that,
1141
00:52:54,980 --> 00:52:57,918
but the dude that used to
pick on me in high school
1142
00:52:57,918 --> 00:52:59,877
was now listening to Rancid and Green Day
1143
00:52:59,877 --> 00:53:01,190
and rocking out to them.
1144
00:53:01,190 --> 00:53:03,063
- When Bad Religion
signed to a major label
1145
00:53:03,063 --> 00:53:05,194
when I was 15 years old
and I was mad at them
1146
00:53:05,194 --> 00:53:06,629
for doing that, you know what I mean?
1147
00:53:06,629 --> 00:53:08,488
And so it's something I think it's natural
1148
00:53:08,488 --> 00:53:12,581
to kind of want to keep your favorite band
1149
00:53:12,581 --> 00:53:14,658
that only you really know about,
1150
00:53:14,658 --> 00:53:16,617
you and your friends know
about, in your pocket.
1151
00:53:16,617 --> 00:53:19,153
- We knew we were gonna get a shit storm
1152
00:53:19,153 --> 00:53:21,394
for signing to a major label,
1153
00:53:21,394 --> 00:53:25,095
but I also think that it
speaks to the ambition
1154
00:53:25,095 --> 00:53:27,415
of this band to be heard.
1155
00:53:27,415 --> 00:53:28,954
- That started the whole slew
1156
00:53:28,954 --> 00:53:31,045
of all the other majors
becoming interested in us.
1157
00:53:31,045 --> 00:53:33,034
- Rick Rubin was king,
1158
00:53:33,034 --> 00:53:36,604
and if Rick wanted to sign your band
1159
00:53:36,604 --> 00:53:41,050
and the other major labels
weren't at least in presence,
1160
00:53:41,050 --> 00:53:43,573
their bosses felt as if
1161
00:53:43,573 --> 00:53:45,816
they weren't doing a good enough job.
1162
00:53:45,816 --> 00:53:47,829
How did you not know about this band
1163
00:53:47,829 --> 00:53:49,488
that Rick Rubin wants to sign?
1164
00:53:49,488 --> 00:53:51,886
So what we ended up being a part of
1165
00:53:51,886 --> 00:53:54,913
was this insane bidding war for Anti-Flag
1166
00:53:54,913 --> 00:53:56,856
through a bunch of major labels
1167
00:53:56,856 --> 00:53:58,611
who probably never listened to us,
1168
00:53:58,611 --> 00:54:02,055
probably had no idea
of what we were about,
1169
00:54:02,055 --> 00:54:05,497
but just knew that it would
look bad on their career
1170
00:54:05,497 --> 00:54:08,359
as A&R folks if they
weren't in the same room
1171
00:54:08,359 --> 00:54:09,979
when Rick Rubin was in the room.
1172
00:54:09,979 --> 00:54:13,965
You know, that's the quote
unquote music business,
1173
00:54:13,965 --> 00:54:14,962
and it's stupid.
1174
00:54:14,962 --> 00:54:18,051
- And one of the things
that I really enjoy doing
1175
00:54:18,051 --> 00:54:21,424
is asking the presidents
of these companies
1176
00:54:21,424 --> 00:54:23,901
whether they were gonna
have a job next year,
1177
00:54:23,901 --> 00:54:26,341
because they knew they didn't know.
1178
00:54:26,341 --> 00:54:28,623
They knew that the
industry was collapsing,
1179
00:54:28,623 --> 00:54:30,290
US was going war.
1180
00:54:30,290 --> 00:54:33,822
The major media was afraid of everybody
1181
00:54:33,822 --> 00:54:35,860
because of September 11th.
1182
00:54:35,860 --> 00:54:40,860
A protest is one thing, but
artwork and ideas in the culture
1183
00:54:41,152 --> 00:54:45,339
that are there every day
are, have a lot more power.
1184
00:54:45,339 --> 00:54:48,604
- If you're making art
that everyone can agree on,
1185
00:54:48,604 --> 00:54:50,479
you're probably making pretty shitty art.
1186
00:54:50,479 --> 00:54:53,331
An artist's responsibilities
are very simple, in my view.
1187
00:54:53,331 --> 00:54:55,759
It's to be true to yourself, that's it.
1188
00:54:55,759 --> 00:54:58,557
- Going on stage and saying, you know,
1189
00:54:58,557 --> 00:55:00,901
we're against the war in Iraq.
1190
00:55:00,901 --> 00:55:03,834
You know, we think that it's
based on a false premise
1191
00:55:03,834 --> 00:55:05,984
and we shouldn't be there.
1192
00:55:05,984 --> 00:55:09,502
And if you were an audience
member in that crowd,
1193
00:55:09,502 --> 00:55:11,392
you'd say, "okay, I'm at a punk rock show
1194
00:55:11,392 --> 00:55:12,447
with a band called Anti-Flag,
1195
00:55:12,447 --> 00:55:14,632
Rise Against, and Against
Me, they're talking about
1196
00:55:14,632 --> 00:55:17,022
how they were against
the war, big surprise."
1197
00:55:17,022 --> 00:55:19,305
But when our band started
at existing outside
1198
00:55:19,305 --> 00:55:24,305
of the punk rock world, those
words had more weight to them.
1199
00:55:24,782 --> 00:55:29,575
- This came, especially at a
time where in the mainstream,
1200
00:55:29,575 --> 00:55:33,575
there was a total vacuum
about the righteousness
1201
00:55:34,597 --> 00:55:38,051
of the Iraq war, and we felt like
1202
00:55:38,051 --> 00:55:41,376
if we had an opportunity
to insert ourselves
1203
00:55:41,376 --> 00:55:44,829
into that discussion that we could have,
1204
00:55:44,829 --> 00:55:46,398
we could have an effect,
1205
00:55:46,398 --> 00:55:48,866
but ultimately when I look back on it,
1206
00:55:48,866 --> 00:55:50,650
it was totally worth it.
1207
00:55:50,650 --> 00:55:54,793
Would I do it again tomorrow
if I had that same opportunity
1208
00:55:54,793 --> 00:55:56,899
and I felt like I could take it
1209
00:55:56,899 --> 00:55:58,995
and do something positive with it?
1210
00:55:58,995 --> 00:56:00,409
Fucking right, I would.
1211
00:56:00,409 --> 00:56:02,314
- Through it, we met a really nice guy.
1212
00:56:02,314 --> 00:56:04,542
His name was Matt Marshall, and he signed,
1213
00:56:04,542 --> 00:56:07,026
he's the one who signed us to RCA.
1214
00:56:07,026 --> 00:56:09,564
- And you know, the peace
movement hadn't stopped
1215
00:56:09,564 --> 00:56:11,548
the invasion of Iraq, but what I thought
1216
00:56:11,548 --> 00:56:16,231
was really amazing was that
we had a couple of thousand
1217
00:56:16,231 --> 00:56:20,580
punk rock kids that
were not gonna go fight
1218
00:56:20,580 --> 00:56:22,296
and kill and die for oil.
1219
00:56:22,296 --> 00:56:24,796
And to me, that was a victory,
1220
00:56:28,101 --> 00:56:31,258
realizing that our music had had an impact
1221
00:56:31,258 --> 00:56:33,315
and changed some of their minds.
1222
00:56:33,315 --> 00:56:35,239
Like it's amazing when you
meet somebody who says,
1223
00:56:35,239 --> 00:56:38,329
"you know, man, after 9/11,
I was gonna join the military
1224
00:56:38,329 --> 00:56:40,359
and then I found your band
1225
00:56:40,359 --> 00:56:44,378
and it totally changed
what I was gonna do."
1226
00:56:44,378 --> 00:56:48,773
It was that night when
I thought to myself,
1227
00:56:48,773 --> 00:56:52,747
we made the right decision going with RCA.
1228
00:56:52,747 --> 00:56:55,086
- Music is a really like a
really strong guiding light
1229
00:56:55,086 --> 00:56:58,289
to a lot of people of all
ages from all over the world.
1230
00:56:58,289 --> 00:57:00,902
If there's a message in
there that can really
1231
00:57:00,902 --> 00:57:03,265
get under someone's skin and
make them think about the world
1232
00:57:03,265 --> 00:57:06,289
around them, I mean, I
think we're all better off.
1233
00:57:06,289 --> 00:57:07,899
- It's pretty much changed everything.
1234
00:57:07,899 --> 00:57:09,288
Like the way that I grew up,
1235
00:57:09,288 --> 00:57:12,538
I guess my family is quite conservative
1236
00:57:14,234 --> 00:57:16,871
and quite right wing ideas.
1237
00:57:16,871 --> 00:57:18,223
And that's how I was brought up
1238
00:57:18,223 --> 00:57:19,750
and I just didn't know any better.
1239
00:57:19,750 --> 00:57:21,478
And then I started hearing bands like this
1240
00:57:21,478 --> 00:57:23,436
and bands like Green Day
and like Bad Religion
1241
00:57:23,436 --> 00:57:26,027
and things like that that
just changed everything.
1242
00:57:26,027 --> 00:57:27,997
They just changed the whole
way that I was thinking
1243
00:57:27,997 --> 00:57:29,362
and the whole way that I saw the world.
1244
00:57:29,362 --> 00:57:33,234
- And then it unlocked
an entire world for us.
1245
00:57:33,234 --> 00:57:36,151
We all of a sudden had a label in Berlin.
1246
00:57:36,151 --> 00:57:38,461
We had a label in London.
1247
00:57:38,461 --> 00:57:42,484
We had a label in Spain.
We had a label in Japan.
1248
00:57:42,484 --> 00:57:45,303
- Us and Against Me had a good time
1249
00:57:45,303 --> 00:57:48,006
giving Anti-Flag shit for
signing to a major label.
1250
00:57:48,006 --> 00:57:49,911
And then as history would unfold,
1251
00:57:49,911 --> 00:57:51,988
both of us would eventually
sign to a major label.
1252
00:57:51,988 --> 00:57:54,702
- I feel like they walked
on eggshells around us
1253
00:57:54,702 --> 00:57:56,629
because they were afraid of us.
1254
00:57:56,629 --> 00:57:58,129
They were afraid to offend us.
1255
00:57:58,129 --> 00:58:00,102
They didn't want to do anything wrong.
1256
00:58:00,102 --> 00:58:04,437
They knew at any moment
we could turn on them,
1257
00:58:04,437 --> 00:58:06,173
and they were afraid of that.
1258
00:58:06,173 --> 00:58:07,540
- [Pat] They were so afraid of us
1259
00:58:07,540 --> 00:58:10,456
and didn't know what to do
with us, they wouldn't say no.
1260
00:58:10,456 --> 00:58:13,114
- They spent money on Military Free Zone,
1261
00:58:13,114 --> 00:58:17,197
which was our nonprofit
organization which worked
1262
00:58:18,190 --> 00:58:22,240
to stop predatory military
recruitment in schools.
1263
00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:26,657
We had them give money to
local DIY punk rock venues.
1264
00:58:29,614 --> 00:58:34,392
We had them give money to
independent media companies,
1265
00:58:34,392 --> 00:58:36,756
you know, that we supported.
1266
00:58:36,756 --> 00:58:39,506
(crowd cheering)
1267
00:58:41,096 --> 00:58:43,587
- It was that the end of
the Blood and Empire touring
1268
00:58:43,587 --> 00:58:45,052
and we were touring across Canada
1269
00:58:45,052 --> 00:58:47,421
with a band called Billy Talent.
1270
00:58:47,421 --> 00:58:51,064
Through that entire tour
we were doing coat drives
1271
00:58:51,064 --> 00:58:53,116
'cause it was winter in Canada.
1272
00:58:53,116 --> 00:58:55,003
All that we asked was that
1273
00:58:55,003 --> 00:58:58,336
if you came to the meet and
greet, like bring a coat.
1274
00:58:58,336 --> 00:59:00,190
And so every day we'd have a box
1275
00:59:00,190 --> 00:59:01,687
and we'd fill it up with coats
1276
00:59:01,687 --> 00:59:05,266
and then we drop it off to
the local homeless shelter.
1277
00:59:05,266 --> 00:59:09,829
And we're sitting in the food
court and I got a phone call
1278
00:59:09,829 --> 00:59:11,996
and it was my sister's ex,
1279
00:59:15,146 --> 00:59:17,578
who is the father of my nephew.
1280
00:59:17,578 --> 00:59:21,101
Oh, he, what he said to
me was "Chrissy's dead."
1281
00:59:21,101 --> 00:59:23,331
That was the first thing he said to me.
1282
00:59:23,331 --> 00:59:26,648
You know, after a couple
seconds of trying to
1283
00:59:26,648 --> 00:59:29,659
like gain reference to
what he was talking about
1284
00:59:29,659 --> 00:59:33,372
or what the hell any of that meant,
1285
00:59:33,372 --> 00:59:36,039
I found out that she was killed.
1286
00:59:37,047 --> 00:59:41,047
Her and her boyfriend
slash fiance, depending on
1287
00:59:42,524 --> 00:59:45,611
what they told you that
day in their relationship.
1288
00:59:45,611 --> 00:59:48,917
It was actually a cousin
of mine who came by
1289
00:59:48,917 --> 00:59:53,198
and saw that the dogs were
outside and that the door's open.
1290
00:59:53,198 --> 00:59:55,667
It just looked odd to her,
so she walked up the steps.
1291
00:59:55,667 --> 00:59:58,760
They were in the dining
room and you could see them
1292
00:59:58,760 --> 01:00:00,397
right through the door.
1293
01:00:00,397 --> 01:00:03,480
So, and, and yeah, it was over drugs.
1294
01:00:04,604 --> 01:00:08,021
We still don't really know what happened.
1295
01:00:09,503 --> 01:00:11,420
We know that it wasn't,
1296
01:00:12,876 --> 01:00:15,691
if it was over drugs, it wasn't over much.
1297
01:00:15,691 --> 01:00:20,691
It was probably 30 to a hundred
dollars worth of cocaine.
1298
01:00:20,930 --> 01:00:24,873
And she was shot twice
in the back of the head
1299
01:00:24,873 --> 01:00:27,873
and her boyfriend then, they assume,
1300
01:00:29,306 --> 01:00:31,984
charged at the person who shot her
1301
01:00:31,984 --> 01:00:35,734
and he was shot in the
chest and the stomach.
1302
01:00:36,815 --> 01:00:40,648
And then the guy just
left out the front door.
1303
01:00:41,567 --> 01:00:45,376
My niece was there and
she was 11, 11 months old.
1304
01:00:45,376 --> 01:00:48,293
They found her on my sister's chest
1305
01:00:50,921 --> 01:00:54,405
whenever they came and cleaned up.
1306
01:00:54,405 --> 01:00:57,072
And it took a, it took not long,
1307
01:00:58,170 --> 01:01:03,170
it was maybe a day or so before
they had found the murderer,
1308
01:01:03,383 --> 01:01:05,695
as they said, and we sat there
1309
01:01:05,695 --> 01:01:08,272
and we heard the confession tape.
1310
01:01:08,272 --> 01:01:10,486
The kid, when they took him in,
1311
01:01:10,486 --> 01:01:12,632
he confessed to killing them.
1312
01:01:12,632 --> 01:01:15,857
And then what, through the trial,
1313
01:01:15,857 --> 01:01:18,857
we watched them do a pretty good job
1314
01:01:20,584 --> 01:01:25,084
of creating reasonable doubt,
and that's all you need.
1315
01:01:25,981 --> 01:01:30,814
He was found not guilty, and
in the process, I felt insane
1316
01:01:32,342 --> 01:01:34,354
'cause I saw it happening.
1317
01:01:34,354 --> 01:01:37,302
I could tell that it was being mishandled.
1318
01:01:37,302 --> 01:01:40,885
I could tell that the
prosecution was inept
1319
01:01:45,287 --> 01:01:49,972
and that the main goal was
to just create this idea
1320
01:01:49,972 --> 01:01:53,004
that maybe it wasn't him and,
1321
01:01:53,004 --> 01:01:55,616
and they succeeded in that
because even to this day,
1322
01:01:55,616 --> 01:01:57,142
I don't know if it was him.
1323
01:01:57,142 --> 01:01:59,695
I heard the confession tape as well.
1324
01:01:59,695 --> 01:02:02,598
And I don't trust police as
far as I can fucking throw them
1325
01:02:02,598 --> 01:02:06,603
to not scare a 19 year old
kid, he was 18 or 19 years old,
1326
01:02:06,603 --> 01:02:08,936
into confessing to that, so,
1327
01:02:12,440 --> 01:02:15,023
you're challenged to, you know,
1328
01:02:15,942 --> 01:02:19,282
all the beliefs that you have
and you live in this world
1329
01:02:19,282 --> 01:02:21,189
where you write these punk rock songs
1330
01:02:21,189 --> 01:02:26,189
and you support the Mumia
Abu-Jamal who's on death row.
1331
01:02:26,231 --> 01:02:28,919
And then you're at the
dinner table with your uncle
1332
01:02:28,919 --> 01:02:32,011
who's saying "fry him," and you're like,
1333
01:02:32,011 --> 01:02:34,902
well, I don't necessarily
believe in the death penalty,
1334
01:02:34,902 --> 01:02:39,569
but I also know how everyone
is hurting because of this.
1335
01:02:41,513 --> 01:02:45,619
And if this kid really did
it, what's his punishment?
1336
01:02:45,619 --> 01:02:48,402
Like, what do you do then?
1337
01:02:48,402 --> 01:02:52,310
I still don't fucking, I don't
know, I don't have a clue.
1338
01:02:52,310 --> 01:02:54,822
(somber music)
1339
01:02:54,822 --> 01:02:56,827
- When you're in a band for 20 some years,
1340
01:02:56,827 --> 01:02:59,105
a lot of bad shit happens to you.
1341
01:02:59,105 --> 01:03:01,523
When shit gets bad, the four of us
1342
01:03:01,523 --> 01:03:02,954
are gonna be there for each other.
1343
01:03:02,954 --> 01:03:05,537
Two, I think in his dark hours,
1344
01:03:06,732 --> 01:03:10,366
looks to work and looks to rock and roll
1345
01:03:10,366 --> 01:03:14,170
to distract him through the process.
1346
01:03:14,170 --> 01:03:19,047
- [Two] I know that I was really
keen on not taking a break
1347
01:03:19,047 --> 01:03:21,964
and not putting down an instrument.
1348
01:03:23,550 --> 01:03:25,308
I wanted to become a better musician
1349
01:03:25,308 --> 01:03:29,198
and a better song writer and
I was really focused on that.
1350
01:03:29,198 --> 01:03:31,781
(somber music)
1351
01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:37,067
- [Justin] In the two
and a half years between
1352
01:03:37,067 --> 01:03:40,180
"For Blood and Empire" and
"The Bright Lights of America,"
1353
01:03:40,180 --> 01:03:43,924
everyone who worked on our
record at RCA was let go.
1354
01:03:43,924 --> 01:03:46,129
So we had a completely new team
1355
01:03:46,129 --> 01:03:47,750
working "Bright Lights of America,"
1356
01:03:47,750 --> 01:03:51,161
a team that frankly wasn't
invested in it at all.
1357
01:03:51,161 --> 01:03:54,553
- [Pat] Justin brought in
the idea of Tony Visconti,
1358
01:03:54,553 --> 01:03:59,290
who did David Bowie records
and had just most recently,
1359
01:03:59,290 --> 01:04:01,219
and this is why it was on Justin's brain,
1360
01:04:01,219 --> 01:04:04,486
done "Ringleader of the
Tormentors," the Morrissey record.
1361
01:04:04,486 --> 01:04:07,081
That record had a lot of the
stuff we were talking about,
1362
01:04:07,081 --> 01:04:09,521
had timpani, it had bells and whistles
1363
01:04:09,521 --> 01:04:11,211
and children's choirs.
1364
01:04:11,211 --> 01:04:13,386
- And there was a lot of
things at our disposal
1365
01:04:13,386 --> 01:04:14,898
to get a little more experimental with,
1366
01:04:14,898 --> 01:04:17,100
like we had strings come
in and play on the record.
1367
01:04:17,100 --> 01:04:21,002
And, you know, I took a
stab at banjo on the record,
1368
01:04:21,002 --> 01:04:22,333
which, you know,
1369
01:04:22,333 --> 01:04:24,657
I had never picked up a banjo
in my life until that point.
1370
01:04:24,657 --> 01:04:27,278
- We'd been playing long enough
and we'd been playing a lot,
1371
01:04:27,278 --> 01:04:31,571
and all of a sudden we were
pretty good musicians, you know?
1372
01:04:31,571 --> 01:04:34,298
And I think in a lot of ways,
1373
01:04:34,298 --> 01:04:36,674
we were just really excited by that.
1374
01:04:36,674 --> 01:04:38,172
- We were like, well, you know,
1375
01:04:38,172 --> 01:04:40,005
if they're willing to
pay for Tony Visconti,
1376
01:04:40,005 --> 01:04:41,719
this might be a really
cool experience for us
1377
01:04:41,719 --> 01:04:44,529
to work with one of
those magical producers.
1378
01:04:44,529 --> 01:04:45,862
So let's try it.
1379
01:04:46,703 --> 01:04:49,966
(banjo music)
1380
01:04:49,966 --> 01:04:52,536
The record didn't sound
aggressive, you know,
1381
01:04:52,536 --> 01:04:55,142
it wasn't a very
aggressive-sounding record
1382
01:04:55,142 --> 01:04:58,650
and that was by design and,
you know, we stand by it.
1383
01:04:58,650 --> 01:05:01,801
I think that there's some
of the most impactful
1384
01:05:01,801 --> 01:05:04,738
emotional songs that we've ever done,
1385
01:05:04,738 --> 01:05:06,723
but we saw the writing on the wall.
1386
01:05:06,723 --> 01:05:09,423
We knew that we were done with RCA
1387
01:05:09,423 --> 01:05:11,367
the day the album came out.
1388
01:05:11,367 --> 01:05:15,230
You know, we got them to
spend their last dime on us.
1389
01:05:15,230 --> 01:05:19,496
- I truly feel as though we
made a deal with the devil,
1390
01:05:19,496 --> 01:05:21,749
took his gold and told him to fuck off.
1391
01:05:21,749 --> 01:05:24,948
For me as a person to know
that I fucking pissed off
1392
01:05:24,948 --> 01:05:27,811
that many rich people
and took their money,
1393
01:05:27,811 --> 01:05:29,511
it makes me happy.
1394
01:05:29,511 --> 01:05:31,470
- We took the RCA money
1395
01:05:31,470 --> 01:05:34,047
and we built our own studio in Pittsburgh.
1396
01:05:34,047 --> 01:05:36,461
Subsequently have been
able to use it to record
1397
01:05:36,461 --> 01:05:39,661
four or five releases that
we've put out on AF Records
1398
01:05:39,661 --> 01:05:41,005
of different bands.
1399
01:05:41,005 --> 01:05:43,591
I've been able to record my friends' bands
1400
01:05:43,591 --> 01:05:45,402
or people that I know through passing
1401
01:05:45,402 --> 01:05:47,760
or people that I really
admire and respect.
1402
01:05:47,760 --> 01:05:52,760
So out of the major label,
there's been a long reach
1403
01:05:52,800 --> 01:05:56,550
and a long-standing
victory with many spoils.
1404
01:05:59,543 --> 01:06:02,332
- I felt as though, as a band,
1405
01:06:02,332 --> 01:06:05,785
we had to release one
record, at least one record
1406
01:06:05,785 --> 01:06:08,496
after the major label,
because I felt as though
1407
01:06:08,496 --> 01:06:11,657
if we just would have gone,
we'd been this independent
1408
01:06:11,657 --> 01:06:14,911
punk rock band, went to a
major label, and then broke up.
1409
01:06:14,911 --> 01:06:18,273
I felt like that would
be admitting defeat.
1410
01:06:18,273 --> 01:06:21,042
- Is it more powerful
to have like sort of,
1411
01:06:21,042 --> 01:06:23,872
for a band to leave a
beautiful corpse, you know,
1412
01:06:23,872 --> 01:06:26,143
and to have the myth carry on?
1413
01:06:26,143 --> 01:06:29,594
- I look to bands that
have made long careers
1414
01:06:29,594 --> 01:06:31,577
out of their endeavor.
1415
01:06:31,577 --> 01:06:35,102
People need bands that
are here now and present
1416
01:06:35,102 --> 01:06:38,580
and able to filter what's
happening in the world today.
1417
01:06:38,580 --> 01:06:40,340
- You look back on like The Clash
1418
01:06:40,340 --> 01:06:42,611
and they have this big giant
catalog and everything,
1419
01:06:42,611 --> 01:06:45,456
you know, you see Minor Threat
and they have like little,
1420
01:06:45,456 --> 01:06:46,818
you know, it's not, it's not as much.
1421
01:06:46,818 --> 01:06:49,020
Not saying that one is more
important than the other,
1422
01:06:49,020 --> 01:06:52,259
but yeah, I think it's
important for bands to like,
1423
01:06:52,259 --> 01:06:53,649
fuck, I don't even know
where I'm going with this.
1424
01:06:53,649 --> 01:06:56,132
Damn it. Can I start over again? (laughs)
1425
01:06:56,132 --> 01:06:58,288
- My ambitions for Rage
Against the Machine
1426
01:06:58,288 --> 01:07:00,058
were frankly unmet.
1427
01:07:00,058 --> 01:07:04,086
Like I thought that I wanted
to really see if there was
1428
01:07:04,086 --> 01:07:07,488
any ceiling, any ceiling
to what a band could do
1429
01:07:07,488 --> 01:07:10,134
in the world of political
activism and, you know,
1430
01:07:10,134 --> 01:07:13,671
sort of the day to day,
mundane, spinal tap differences
1431
01:07:13,671 --> 01:07:16,003
that occur in every band
for every garage band
1432
01:07:16,003 --> 01:07:18,695
to every stadium band, in
some ways derailed that,
1433
01:07:18,695 --> 01:07:20,030
you know, some of those possibilities.
1434
01:07:20,030 --> 01:07:21,110
it's not easy being a band.
1435
01:07:21,110 --> 01:07:23,174
You know that when bands are great,
1436
01:07:23,174 --> 01:07:26,618
they are volatile components,
and Rage was certainly that.
1437
01:07:26,618 --> 01:07:29,196
And so I feel blessed in a
way that we were able to do
1438
01:07:29,196 --> 01:07:30,477
as much as we were able to do.
1439
01:07:30,477 --> 01:07:32,421
- I love bands with a huge catalog
1440
01:07:32,421 --> 01:07:34,340
in the sense where it's like, you know,
1441
01:07:34,340 --> 01:07:36,579
they've given their entire
life to what they love.
1442
01:07:36,579 --> 01:07:38,577
- Things that are over very quickly
1443
01:07:38,577 --> 01:07:40,239
are really easy to romanticize.
1444
01:07:40,239 --> 01:07:42,158
- The bands that really
stand the test of time
1445
01:07:42,158 --> 01:07:44,939
are like the ones that don't ever give up.
1446
01:07:44,939 --> 01:07:47,261
- We weren't just a band who
wanted it to be on a major.
1447
01:07:47,261 --> 01:07:49,106
We were something more than that.
1448
01:07:49,106 --> 01:07:51,905
Yeah, we came back after the major label
1449
01:07:51,905 --> 01:07:55,886
and recorded a record, just
the four of us in a room
1450
01:07:55,886 --> 01:07:58,640
without management, without
anybody else involved.
1451
01:07:58,640 --> 01:08:00,786
And that made me very happy,
1452
01:08:00,786 --> 01:08:04,536
and it felt much better
to be that way again.
1453
01:08:06,299 --> 01:08:09,303
Rock and roll is a difficult thing
1454
01:08:09,303 --> 01:08:11,029
to have relationships with,
1455
01:08:11,029 --> 01:08:14,744
because we're away for
long periods of time.
1456
01:08:14,744 --> 01:08:17,411
People grow and I stay the same.
1457
01:08:19,208 --> 01:08:22,577
- It's weird 'cause you
live this Groundhog Day life
1458
01:08:22,577 --> 01:08:25,060
where like you don't realize
really what you've been doing
1459
01:08:25,060 --> 01:08:26,720
for like weeks maybe on end.
1460
01:08:26,720 --> 01:08:30,122
Longevity, it's not
overrated, but it's rare.
1461
01:08:30,122 --> 01:08:32,891
- The hardest part about
maintaining, like staying in a band
1462
01:08:32,891 --> 01:08:34,698
is like, obviously the relationships.
1463
01:08:34,698 --> 01:08:39,620
It's like, it's not a normal
thing to throw four people
1464
01:08:39,620 --> 01:08:44,620
in and have them live in a car,
you know, for 10, 20 years,
1465
01:08:45,095 --> 01:08:47,417
like be away from their
friends and family.
1466
01:08:47,417 --> 01:08:50,210
It's like, it's, you
know, it sounds great,
1467
01:08:50,210 --> 01:08:52,262
but it's really, really challenging.
1468
01:08:52,262 --> 01:08:53,762
And I think a lot of bands,
1469
01:08:53,762 --> 01:08:56,511
they've like they just
start to hate each other.
1470
01:08:56,511 --> 01:09:00,009
- It'd be nice to be home
for, you know, like birthdays
1471
01:09:00,009 --> 01:09:02,157
and special occasions and stuff.
1472
01:09:02,157 --> 01:09:04,407
- Pat's relationship ended.
1473
01:09:05,525 --> 01:09:07,947
That was a really difficult time for him.
1474
01:09:07,947 --> 01:09:10,525
- That was when my life
was in the shittiest
1475
01:09:10,525 --> 01:09:12,103
and I was not functioning.
1476
01:09:12,103 --> 01:09:14,263
- I had a relationship that ended.
1477
01:09:14,263 --> 01:09:16,276
I never thought that that would happen.
1478
01:09:16,276 --> 01:09:18,859
That that was the most shocking
1479
01:09:20,571 --> 01:09:25,321
and difficult experience that
I've dealt with in my life.
1480
01:09:26,209 --> 01:09:28,492
- Most dudes in bands have relationships
1481
01:09:28,492 --> 01:09:30,746
that last a year or two years or whatever.
1482
01:09:30,746 --> 01:09:33,475
I was with my partner for 12 years.
1483
01:09:33,475 --> 01:09:37,736
Two and Amanda were
together for 10 years or so.
1484
01:09:37,736 --> 01:09:40,781
I'm not sure exactly how long, but yeah.
1485
01:09:40,781 --> 01:09:44,918
And the stress of going on tour every year
1486
01:09:44,918 --> 01:09:47,484
for six months of the year
or seven months of the year
1487
01:09:47,484 --> 01:09:51,119
becomes more than most
relationships can handle.
1488
01:09:51,119 --> 01:09:54,277
You go away on tour and it
feels like one day and they,
1489
01:09:54,277 --> 01:09:56,358
the people who are you're
in a relationship with
1490
01:09:56,358 --> 01:09:59,544
have a whole life that goes
on while you're not there.
1491
01:09:59,544 --> 01:10:00,678
And then you come home and you're like,
1492
01:10:00,678 --> 01:10:02,583
"Oh, it's like the next day,"
1493
01:10:02,583 --> 01:10:04,429
and they're like, "no, a
lot of shit has happened
1494
01:10:04,429 --> 01:10:05,833
and you haven't been here for it."
1495
01:10:05,833 --> 01:10:08,440
- I don't know how it'll
change my creative process
1496
01:10:08,440 --> 01:10:11,100
from here on out, but
I know that the songs
1497
01:10:11,100 --> 01:10:15,139
that I've written in this
timeframe are different.
1498
01:10:15,139 --> 01:10:17,379
I know that they get played differently
1499
01:10:17,379 --> 01:10:21,709
and I'm sad on stage, and
that's a new thing for me.
1500
01:10:21,709 --> 01:10:24,762
That's never been in my world,
1501
01:10:24,762 --> 01:10:28,630
even for "The Bright
Lights of America" record,
1502
01:10:28,630 --> 01:10:32,913
which had songs specifically
about my sister,
1503
01:10:32,913 --> 01:10:34,330
those were never,
1504
01:10:37,060 --> 01:10:38,817
they were still the same way.
1505
01:10:38,817 --> 01:10:42,892
They were like, here's a thing
and I'm commenting on it,
1506
01:10:42,892 --> 01:10:45,282
not, this is what I'm living through
1507
01:10:45,282 --> 01:10:47,334
and this is the way I
really feel about it.
1508
01:10:47,334 --> 01:10:49,818
Somebody says we need
to make another record,
1509
01:10:49,818 --> 01:10:52,467
and everybody starts talking about that,
1510
01:10:52,467 --> 01:10:54,610
and I didn't want to do it.
1511
01:10:54,610 --> 01:10:59,146
You know, I didn't, I felt
like the normalcy that I had
1512
01:10:59,146 --> 01:11:00,996
was destroyed by the band.
1513
01:11:00,996 --> 01:11:03,927
Why would I start that process all again?
1514
01:11:03,927 --> 01:11:08,594
So I was reminded of every
tragedy I've faced in my life
1515
01:11:10,174 --> 01:11:13,341
because of this, and I sat on my couch
1516
01:11:16,779 --> 01:11:20,476
and I watched the Mike Brown verdict,
1517
01:11:20,476 --> 01:11:24,761
and I immediately was in the
courtroom with my own mother.
1518
01:11:24,761 --> 01:11:26,261
And I saw her face
1519
01:11:29,360 --> 01:11:32,860
and I saw images from Mike Brown's family.
1520
01:11:35,402 --> 01:11:39,552
And I felt like this
is what we talk about.
1521
01:11:39,552 --> 01:11:41,484
This, this is what the songs are about.
1522
01:11:41,484 --> 01:11:46,484
It's about putting a face and
a reality to these situations.
1523
01:11:54,693 --> 01:11:59,693
- Well, today we're doing,
I guess the first official
1524
01:11:59,768 --> 01:12:02,998
video shoot for the
song "Brandenburg Gate,"
1525
01:12:02,998 --> 01:12:05,561
which will be the lead
single for the new record,
1526
01:12:05,561 --> 01:12:07,267
"The American Spring."
1527
01:12:07,267 --> 01:12:09,517
(drumming)
1528
01:12:33,599 --> 01:12:36,054
- I thought it was like
a really important song
1529
01:12:36,054 --> 01:12:37,814
for the record because
it was the first time
1530
01:12:37,814 --> 01:12:41,040
we had ever changed the shape
of what we were writing.
1531
01:12:41,040 --> 01:12:44,002
You know, normally it comes
in and it's like, well,
1532
01:12:44,002 --> 01:12:47,952
I've got these four ideas,
and then someone's like,
1533
01:12:47,952 --> 01:12:51,987
"well, there's a police
shooting in Ferguson, Missouri."
1534
01:12:51,987 --> 01:12:53,852
Then you know where to direct that anger.
1535
01:12:53,852 --> 01:12:58,019
So this was like, hey guys,
I don't know who I am.
1536
01:12:59,545 --> 01:13:01,687
And like, where do you direct that?
1537
01:13:01,687 --> 01:13:03,396
You know? So yeah.
1538
01:13:03,396 --> 01:13:06,580
So it's really cool, and
shooting music videos is weird
1539
01:13:06,580 --> 01:13:07,743
and you guys know this.
1540
01:13:07,743 --> 01:13:09,888
It feels weird to have your
friends just stare at you
1541
01:13:09,888 --> 01:13:12,323
while you pantomime a song.
1542
01:13:12,323 --> 01:13:15,323
(upbeat punk music)
1543
01:13:31,503 --> 01:13:36,503
♪ I lost my baby to foreign war ♪
1544
01:13:37,914 --> 01:13:42,914
♪ She was cut down in the
gunfire of the western world ♪
1545
01:13:43,965 --> 01:13:47,914
♪ She was living in sin,
I was living in a lie ♪
1546
01:13:47,914 --> 01:13:51,578
♪ She was caught up in the
glimmer of a rich man's eye ♪
1547
01:13:51,578 --> 01:13:54,494
♪ I couldn't see her from the other side ♪
1548
01:13:54,494 --> 01:13:58,470
♪ They said "son, there's
no glory in your pride" ♪
1549
01:13:58,470 --> 01:14:02,339
- The last couple of records
we recorded in Pittsburgh
1550
01:14:02,339 --> 01:14:04,474
in our little studio and
it kind of feels like
1551
01:14:04,474 --> 01:14:07,683
you're just shelled up
in a cave the whole time.
1552
01:14:07,683 --> 01:14:10,839
It's not the most exciting place
to be and write and record.
1553
01:14:10,839 --> 01:14:14,231
Where this is, we branched
out, we got to go out to LA
1554
01:14:14,231 --> 01:14:16,809
and spent about a month,
month and a half out in LA.
1555
01:14:16,809 --> 01:14:18,886
And we're actually in the
sun and got to do things
1556
01:14:18,886 --> 01:14:21,359
outside of the studio and
kind of take a breather.
1557
01:14:21,359 --> 01:14:23,740
So I think it kind of reflects in it.
1558
01:14:23,740 --> 01:14:26,740
(upbeat punk music)
1559
01:14:41,657 --> 01:14:44,687
- We pushed ourselves harder
than ever, because to me,
1560
01:14:44,687 --> 01:14:47,344
the conversation of do we
make another one of these
1561
01:14:47,344 --> 01:14:49,720
was like very real, especially, you know,
1562
01:14:49,720 --> 01:14:51,329
like some of the shit
I was saying earlier,
1563
01:14:51,329 --> 01:14:55,001
like questioning if this
band took everything from me
1564
01:14:55,001 --> 01:14:57,429
and if I should give it the due diligence
1565
01:14:57,429 --> 01:14:59,440
to work on something else, you know?
1566
01:14:59,440 --> 01:15:01,265
If we're not going to bet on ourselves,
1567
01:15:01,265 --> 01:15:04,695
if we're not going to work
very hard, there's no sense.
1568
01:15:04,695 --> 01:15:07,592
- When you have that many
records under your belt,
1569
01:15:07,592 --> 01:15:09,390
it doesn't matter what you do.
1570
01:15:09,390 --> 01:15:13,921
It's we have the freedom to
explore different things.
1571
01:15:13,921 --> 01:15:16,921
(upbeat punk music)
1572
01:15:25,281 --> 01:15:27,781
- That really helps my timing.
1573
01:15:47,659 --> 01:15:50,538
We knew we had a limited
window to work with them,
1574
01:15:50,538 --> 01:15:52,551
and once that window
was gone, it was gone.
1575
01:15:52,551 --> 01:15:55,827
And I think it adds a
certain degree of tension
1576
01:15:55,827 --> 01:15:59,408
to the record, you never
know what conversation it is
1577
01:15:59,408 --> 01:16:01,773
that's going to spark another conversation
1578
01:16:01,773 --> 01:16:05,687
that could be something that
could lead to a lot of debate
1579
01:16:05,687 --> 01:16:08,265
and hopefully, hopefully some change.
1580
01:16:08,265 --> 01:16:13,265
In that respect, I've got a
lot of optimism right now.
1581
01:16:13,365 --> 01:16:15,364
- It's just a way better
recording process.
1582
01:16:15,364 --> 01:16:18,117
Everyone, I think was a
lot happier in the end.
1583
01:16:18,117 --> 01:16:21,250
- [Two] They say that it's
like, moments like this
1584
01:16:21,250 --> 01:16:26,000
are really important for
creativity and they ain't lying.
1585
01:16:26,895 --> 01:16:29,483
- The concept of the band
Anti-Flag is something that
1586
01:16:29,483 --> 01:16:33,201
I've been obsessed with since
I was 16 years old, okay?
1587
01:16:33,201 --> 01:16:35,765
I finally got this band off the ground.
1588
01:16:35,765 --> 01:16:36,924
I love punk rock.
1589
01:16:36,924 --> 01:16:40,085
This is where I want to be.
This is what I want to do.
1590
01:16:40,085 --> 01:16:42,972
I can't imagine that
the day will come for me
1591
01:16:42,972 --> 01:16:45,386
where I'm like, "I have nothing to say.
1592
01:16:45,386 --> 01:16:47,361
I have no new way to say it,
1593
01:16:47,361 --> 01:16:50,206
and I don't want to make
another Anti-Flag record."
1594
01:16:50,206 --> 01:16:52,828
- I definitely see no stopping that.
1595
01:16:52,828 --> 01:16:56,337
You know, there's always some
new fuck head around the world
1596
01:16:56,337 --> 01:16:58,647
or, you know, that you have to weigh into.
1597
01:16:58,647 --> 01:17:01,185
- It's right now a historic moment.
1598
01:17:01,185 --> 01:17:03,924
We can now project the winner
of the presidential race,
1599
01:17:03,924 --> 01:17:07,312
CNN projects Donald Trump
wins the presidency.
1600
01:17:07,312 --> 01:17:09,759
The business tycoon and TV personality
1601
01:17:09,759 --> 01:17:13,036
capping his improbable political journey
1602
01:17:13,036 --> 01:17:15,464
with an astounding upset victory.
1603
01:17:15,464 --> 01:17:17,420
Donald J. Trump will become
1604
01:17:17,420 --> 01:17:20,961
the 45th president of the United States.
1605
01:17:20,961 --> 01:17:23,630
(somber music)
1606
01:17:23,630 --> 01:17:24,966
- Alright, so here we are.
1607
01:17:24,966 --> 01:17:27,493
It's the morning of the apocalypse.
1608
01:17:27,493 --> 01:17:31,243
We're in Washington DC,
it's cold, I'm tired.
1609
01:17:32,213 --> 01:17:35,971
So far, the apocalypse totally sucks.
1610
01:17:35,971 --> 01:17:39,034
- [Man] I, Donald John
Trump, do solemnly swear.
1611
01:17:39,034 --> 01:17:43,218
- I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear.
1612
01:17:43,218 --> 01:17:45,715
- [Man] That I will faithfully execute.
1613
01:17:45,715 --> 01:17:48,323
- [Donald] That I will faithfully execute.
1614
01:17:48,323 --> 01:17:50,938
- [Man] The office of
President of the United States.
1615
01:17:50,938 --> 01:17:54,504
- [Donald] The office of
President of the United States.
1616
01:17:54,504 --> 01:17:56,693
- [Man] And will to
the best of my ability.
1617
01:17:56,693 --> 01:17:59,645
- [Donald] And will to
the best of my ability.
1618
01:17:59,645 --> 01:18:02,200
- [Man] Preserve, protect, and defend.
1619
01:18:02,200 --> 01:18:04,400
- [Donald] Preserve, protect, and defend.
1620
01:18:04,400 --> 01:18:06,395
- [Man] The Constitution
of the United States.
1621
01:18:06,395 --> 01:18:09,001
- [Donald] The Constitution
of the United States.
1622
01:18:09,001 --> 01:18:09,977
- [Man] So help you god.
1623
01:18:09,977 --> 01:18:10,810
- So help me god.
1624
01:18:10,810 --> 01:18:13,265
- No KKK, no fascist USA!
1625
01:18:13,265 --> 01:18:16,015
No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!
1626
01:18:17,057 --> 01:18:19,988
- We're in Houston at the No Ban, No Wall,
1627
01:18:19,988 --> 01:18:21,750
protest is happening.
1628
01:18:21,750 --> 01:18:26,083
It was like at three, be
here and this is happening.
1629
01:18:27,993 --> 01:18:32,039
- [Crowd] No Trump, no
KKK, no fascist USA!
1630
01:18:32,039 --> 01:18:34,789
No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.
1631
01:18:36,653 --> 01:18:38,974
- The seniors we're delivering to today
1632
01:18:38,974 --> 01:18:42,807
are folks on one hand
who grew up in this city
1633
01:18:43,971 --> 01:18:47,143
when it was a segregated city,
1634
01:18:47,143 --> 01:18:49,128
they were African-American growing up
1635
01:18:49,128 --> 01:18:51,459
in the capital of the free world
1636
01:18:51,459 --> 01:18:54,906
under the shadow of legal oppression.
1637
01:18:54,906 --> 01:18:57,699
A lucky number of them are still here
1638
01:18:57,699 --> 01:19:00,949
in this neighborhood now for a new era.
1639
01:19:02,898 --> 01:19:05,556
It is an era when this
neighborhood has become
1640
01:19:05,556 --> 01:19:08,759
one of the most hip, hot,
and happening communities
1641
01:19:08,759 --> 01:19:13,225
anywhere in the country, and
it's also become so expensive
1642
01:19:13,225 --> 01:19:16,481
that they can barely afford to live here.
1643
01:19:16,481 --> 01:19:19,100
So as we're delivering today,
1644
01:19:19,100 --> 01:19:22,568
know that that is the
history of our seniors.
1645
01:19:22,568 --> 01:19:24,768
They know that you
could be somewhere else,
1646
01:19:24,768 --> 01:19:27,497
you could be anywhere else.
1647
01:19:27,497 --> 01:19:30,236
Even with this little drizzle,
it's kind of a beautiful day.
1648
01:19:30,236 --> 01:19:33,221
It's a Saturday here
in the end of February.
1649
01:19:33,221 --> 01:19:35,317
You don't have to be here.
1650
01:19:35,317 --> 01:19:39,323
You've chosen to be here, and
that means so much to them
1651
01:19:39,323 --> 01:19:42,426
because they realize that
you're sending a message
1652
01:19:42,426 --> 01:19:45,248
that society has often not sent.
1653
01:19:45,248 --> 01:19:49,605
- Music is kind of like the
part that I keep coming back to,
1654
01:19:49,605 --> 01:19:51,753
that kind of revitalizes me
1655
01:19:51,753 --> 01:19:54,698
and kind of gave me some
direction when I was young.
1656
01:19:54,698 --> 01:19:57,690
- When I first heard real
political punk, it was like,
1657
01:19:57,690 --> 01:20:00,840
that was, I was like, okay,
that's the music I like.
1658
01:20:00,840 --> 01:20:02,539
- My first intro to politics really
1659
01:20:02,539 --> 01:20:05,012
was listening to Anti-Flag
when I was like 13 years old.
1660
01:20:05,012 --> 01:20:06,441
From there, like being an activist
1661
01:20:06,441 --> 01:20:07,774
has kind of been in my blood.
1662
01:20:07,774 --> 01:20:11,154
I decided in college to
work on a number of issues,
1663
01:20:11,154 --> 01:20:12,965
you know, as an organizer,
as a fundraiser,
1664
01:20:12,965 --> 01:20:15,471
things like that, and every
issue I worked on, I realized,
1665
01:20:15,471 --> 01:20:17,079
you know, we were coming
up against same things.
1666
01:20:17,079 --> 01:20:18,944
Either like the legislature
would pass a new law
1667
01:20:18,944 --> 01:20:20,240
that would mess up what we were doing,
1668
01:20:20,240 --> 01:20:22,332
or the courts would hand
down a new decision.
1669
01:20:22,332 --> 01:20:24,924
And so I decided to go to law
school to basically figure out
1670
01:20:24,924 --> 01:20:26,274
how to work within those systems
1671
01:20:26,274 --> 01:20:27,923
and then come in from the outside.
1672
01:20:27,923 --> 01:20:29,594
- Do what you can wherever you are
1673
01:20:29,594 --> 01:20:31,847
with whatever you got right now.
1674
01:20:31,847 --> 01:20:34,097
So you start where you are.
1675
01:20:35,206 --> 01:20:37,560
What around you upsets you?
1676
01:20:37,560 --> 01:20:41,109
What around you do you
think should change?
1677
01:20:41,109 --> 01:20:44,146
- The idea of going out and
protesting was exciting.
1678
01:20:44,146 --> 01:20:47,147
That didn't always result
in tangible changes,
1679
01:20:47,147 --> 01:20:49,670
but it was something I felt
like, okay, I'm out here,
1680
01:20:49,670 --> 01:20:52,275
I'm doing something, I'm being
visible, I'm being vocal.
1681
01:20:52,275 --> 01:20:54,692
- Often it means you need
other people to help you
1682
01:20:54,692 --> 01:20:57,353
because it is do it yourself,
but it's also do it together.
1683
01:20:57,353 --> 01:21:01,482
Isolation is the biggest
barrier to change.
1684
01:21:01,482 --> 01:21:04,358
- And then just point on
whatever levers of power you can.
1685
01:21:04,358 --> 01:21:05,931
You know, I think social
media is important.
1686
01:21:05,931 --> 01:21:07,976
I know we kind of downplay
like, oh, you tweeted something,
1687
01:21:07,976 --> 01:21:09,341
it doesn't make a difference.
1688
01:21:09,341 --> 01:21:11,717
I think it actually does. I
think it drives cultural change.
1689
01:21:11,717 --> 01:21:14,833
- Other people might not be
interested in demonstrating,
1690
01:21:14,833 --> 01:21:16,037
going out, carrying a sign,
1691
01:21:16,037 --> 01:21:18,627
but they might be more
interested and writing a letter
1692
01:21:18,627 --> 01:21:21,948
to a Congressman or a city
council person or a mayor.
1693
01:21:21,948 --> 01:21:24,849
- Sign a petition, have a
meeting with your Congressperson,
1694
01:21:24,849 --> 01:21:27,454
call them like do everything you can.
1695
01:21:27,454 --> 01:21:31,142
- Just open your eyes, open
your heart to what's around you.
1696
01:21:31,142 --> 01:21:34,731
You have a role to play and you have power
1697
01:21:34,731 --> 01:21:39,731
to make that difference, so
just go try to make it happen.
1698
01:21:39,833 --> 01:21:43,908
- It's still Justin and
me playing music together
1699
01:21:43,908 --> 01:21:46,856
the same way it was Justin
and me playing music together
1700
01:21:46,856 --> 01:21:47,882
30 years ago.
1701
01:21:47,882 --> 01:21:51,039
At this point, if you don't
like it, fuck off, I don't care.
1702
01:21:51,039 --> 01:21:52,202
It doesn't matter to me.
1703
01:21:52,202 --> 01:21:54,780
I want to write songs and talk to people
1704
01:21:54,780 --> 01:21:57,048
who are interested in
activism and politics,
1705
01:21:57,048 --> 01:21:58,445
and think that the world can be
1706
01:21:58,445 --> 01:21:59,928
different than it is right now.
1707
01:21:59,928 --> 01:22:03,336
If that's not your thing,
go away, get the fuck out.
1708
01:22:03,336 --> 01:22:07,179
- It started as being this
band that didn't give a shit
1709
01:22:07,179 --> 01:22:09,446
about anyone but ourselves in Pittsburgh.
1710
01:22:09,446 --> 01:22:14,446
And then it turned into, oh
fuck, we have reach and power.
1711
01:22:14,548 --> 01:22:17,305
We should care about more,
we should be grandiose.
1712
01:22:17,305 --> 01:22:19,249
We have a message, listen to it.
1713
01:22:19,249 --> 01:22:22,443
And now it's kind of reverted back into
1714
01:22:22,443 --> 01:22:25,067
I'm not quite sure that any of this
1715
01:22:25,067 --> 01:22:28,623
has the power to dilute or to change
1716
01:22:28,623 --> 01:22:31,340
or to create a paradigm shift,
1717
01:22:31,340 --> 01:22:34,285
but when the chickens come home to roost,
1718
01:22:34,285 --> 01:22:37,053
we're gonna be on the
right side of it all.
1719
01:22:37,053 --> 01:22:40,455
- To expect Rise Against
to play a show here tonight
1720
01:22:40,455 --> 01:22:42,572
and like however many
kids come here tonight
1721
01:22:42,572 --> 01:22:44,559
to go out and change the world tomorrow,
1722
01:22:44,559 --> 01:22:46,503
those expectations are
a little unrealistic.
1723
01:22:46,503 --> 01:22:50,815
- The chief problem, as
always, confronting those
1724
01:22:50,815 --> 01:22:53,735
of progressive mind in the
United States is apathy.
1725
01:22:53,735 --> 01:22:55,046
And in privilege.
1726
01:22:55,046 --> 01:22:57,179
- You won't be surprised to hear that
1727
01:22:57,179 --> 01:22:59,855
writing a blog can't
really change the world.
1728
01:22:59,855 --> 01:23:03,878
Doesn't often happen,
but it allows you to feel
1729
01:23:03,878 --> 01:23:08,131
as the potion who is speaking
that you are not powerless.
1730
01:23:08,131 --> 01:23:10,987
And it allows those who
hear you or read your blog
1731
01:23:10,987 --> 01:23:13,887
or see your film or read
your post to feel that like,
1732
01:23:13,887 --> 01:23:16,254
or hear your song, to feel
that they're not alone.
1733
01:23:16,254 --> 01:23:17,604
And that's really crucial.
1734
01:23:17,604 --> 01:23:21,315
- If one person came up
to me in the last 15 years
1735
01:23:21,315 --> 01:23:22,906
and said, "you've changed my life,"
1736
01:23:22,906 --> 01:23:24,555
if one person did that, I
think it'd all be worth it.
1737
01:23:24,555 --> 01:23:26,200
And the fact is that there
are thousands of people
1738
01:23:26,200 --> 01:23:27,054
who have done that.
1739
01:23:27,054 --> 01:23:30,967
- There's always going to
be a group of intelligent,
1740
01:23:30,967 --> 01:23:35,912
driven, angry, and aware
kids that will always exist.
1741
01:23:35,912 --> 01:23:38,538
And punk rock is the
greatest outlet for that.
1742
01:23:38,538 --> 01:23:42,898
- Kind of like thousands of
little cracks in a window.
1743
01:23:42,898 --> 01:23:44,737
And you might not see the window breaking,
1744
01:23:44,737 --> 01:23:46,896
but like every day it's
cracking a little bit.
1745
01:23:46,896 --> 01:23:48,243
And not only can it affect change,
1746
01:23:48,243 --> 01:23:52,157
but I think musicians
consistently underestimate
1747
01:23:52,157 --> 01:23:54,901
how powerful it is, and so does the world.
1748
01:23:54,901 --> 01:23:57,618
- Things don't change from
above, things change from below,
1749
01:23:57,618 --> 01:24:00,451
and it takes people to have the commitment
1750
01:24:00,451 --> 01:24:04,015
and the willingness to
risk to change the world.
1751
01:24:04,015 --> 01:24:07,011
- If there's anything I believe
after playing in this band
1752
01:24:07,011 --> 01:24:10,038
over all these years, it's
that music changes people
1753
01:24:10,038 --> 01:24:12,780
and people go out and change the world.
1754
01:24:12,780 --> 01:24:15,363
(crowd cheers)
1755
01:24:23,006 --> 01:24:25,521
Good afternoon, motherfuckers.
1756
01:24:25,521 --> 01:24:27,303
(audience applauds)
1757
01:24:27,303 --> 01:24:30,504
Take care of one another,
respect one another,
1758
01:24:30,504 --> 01:24:32,587
and let's fuckin' go off!
1759
01:24:36,105 --> 01:24:38,213
(upbeat punk music)
1760
01:24:38,213 --> 01:24:39,397
♪ The memo says we gotta work ♪
1761
01:24:39,397 --> 01:24:41,557
♪ To make the facts
fit the false charges ♪
1762
01:24:41,557 --> 01:24:43,946
♪ Pull the wool over the
eyes of the filthy masses ♪
1763
01:24:43,946 --> 01:24:46,525
♪ Stab the people in the back
for the corporate choice ♪
1764
01:24:46,525 --> 01:24:49,618
♪ Roll the propaganda out
using The People's Voice ♪
1765
01:24:49,618 --> 01:24:54,618
♪ We don't want to talk about it ♪
1766
01:24:54,637 --> 01:24:56,893
♪ The press scribble scribble
every half-truth spoke ♪
1767
01:24:56,893 --> 01:24:59,352
♪ Then shoot it round the country
like an April Fool's joke ♪
1768
01:24:59,352 --> 01:25:02,092
♪ Hype the nation for a
Desert Storm love affair ♪
1769
01:25:02,092 --> 01:25:04,644
♪ Wave the stars and stripes
like you just don't care ♪
1770
01:25:04,644 --> 01:25:07,083
♪ They talk it up all day,
they talk it up all night ♪
1771
01:25:07,083 --> 01:25:09,799
♪ They talk until their face
turns blue, red white and blue ♪
1772
01:25:09,799 --> 01:25:11,041
♪ But when the truth escapes the night ♪
1773
01:25:11,041 --> 01:25:12,244
♪ And crawls into the day ♪
1774
01:25:12,244 --> 01:25:15,484
♪ We find the picture still askew ♪
1775
01:25:15,484 --> 01:25:18,965
♪ They don't want to talk
talk talk talk talk about it ♪
1776
01:25:18,965 --> 01:25:21,532
♪ They wanna tiptoe, walk around it ♪
1777
01:25:21,532 --> 01:25:24,473
♪ Wave the flag and mindlessly salute ♪
1778
01:25:24,473 --> 01:25:26,619
♪ Whoa, whoa ♪
1779
01:25:26,619 --> 01:25:29,117
♪ They don't want to talk about it ♪
1780
01:25:29,117 --> 01:25:31,993
- I'm a licensed social worker
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
1781
01:25:31,993 --> 01:25:34,434
- I'm the director of
alternative juvenile justice
1782
01:25:34,434 --> 01:25:36,259
for the national organization leading
1783
01:25:36,259 --> 01:25:38,891
the restorative justice
movement here in San Diego.
1784
01:25:38,891 --> 01:25:41,332
- I am a social science researcher.
1785
01:25:41,332 --> 01:25:43,524
- I work on an ambulance as an EMT.
1786
01:25:43,524 --> 01:25:45,899
- I'm an emerging museum professional
1787
01:25:45,899 --> 01:25:48,989
and aspiring museum curator from Leeds.
1788
01:25:48,989 --> 01:25:51,689
- I teach undergraduate
classes in sociology,
1789
01:25:51,689 --> 01:25:55,648
and I also do research on
immigration policies and race.
1790
01:25:55,648 --> 01:25:58,360
- I'm Amanda and I am a law professor.
1791
01:25:58,360 --> 01:26:00,815
I am in my third year of
teaching legal writing
1792
01:26:00,815 --> 01:26:04,433
and communication to
first year law students.
1793
01:26:04,433 --> 01:26:07,162
- I'm finishing a master's
degree in gender studies
1794
01:26:07,162 --> 01:26:08,926
at the University of Geneva.
1795
01:26:08,926 --> 01:26:11,683
- Hi, I'm Rose Mauricio, I'm 15 years old.
1796
01:26:11,683 --> 01:26:14,736
I come from Peru, and punk
rock has become my life.
1797
01:26:14,736 --> 01:26:17,566
- Anti-Flag definitely
influenced me being involved
1798
01:26:17,566 --> 01:26:21,108
with activism as well as
trying to get involved
1799
01:26:21,108 --> 01:26:23,398
with community politics to
try and better the lives
1800
01:26:23,398 --> 01:26:25,198
of people less fortunate than myself.
1801
01:26:25,198 --> 01:26:28,182
- So much out there that is
so messed up, it's so wrong.
1802
01:26:28,182 --> 01:26:30,232
and I love to hear other
people speak about it.
1803
01:26:30,232 --> 01:26:33,823
- It's reassuring to know that
there is someone out there
1804
01:26:33,823 --> 01:26:36,832
who looks at injustice in the world
1805
01:26:36,832 --> 01:26:39,082
and feels as angry as I do.
1806
01:26:40,397 --> 01:26:42,017
- I'm a punk rocker at heart.
1807
01:26:42,017 --> 01:26:44,436
I've always told everybody that
1808
01:26:44,436 --> 01:26:46,096
if it weren't for that subculture,
1809
01:26:46,096 --> 01:26:48,108
I wouldn't be in the place I'm in today.
1810
01:26:48,108 --> 01:26:52,628
- It really fueled my fire to
create a change in this world
1811
01:26:52,628 --> 01:26:54,898
and to help other people.
1812
01:26:54,898 --> 01:26:57,839
- Anti-Flag was the people that teach me
1813
01:26:57,839 --> 01:27:01,174
how I have to treat my community,
1814
01:27:01,174 --> 01:27:04,078
with kindness and thoughtfully,
1815
01:27:04,078 --> 01:27:06,911
and I'm very grateful to Anti-Flag
1816
01:27:08,068 --> 01:27:10,151
to be the kind of persons
1817
01:27:13,187 --> 01:27:16,520
that I want to have around all the time.
149512
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