Anti-Flag is an American punk rock band from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The band is known for its left-wing political activism. Their current members include Justin Sane (vocals, guitar), Chris Head (guitar), Pat Thetic (drums), and Chris Barker or Chris No. 2 (vocals, bass). The band was originally formed by Justin Sane and Pat Thetic in 1988. Notable past members include the bassists Jamie "Cock" Towns and Andy Flag. Anti-Flag is also known for its advocacy of progressive political movements such as

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, and the

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...

History

Early years (1988, 1992–1996)

Anti-Flag was originally formed in 1988 by Justin Sane and Pat Thetic. Various guitarists and bassists joined and left the band during the band's early years, including Justin's sister, Lucy Fester, who was formerly part of the Chicago band Toothpaste. The band failed to solidify and disbanded after performing in just one show. In 1992, Justin and Pat reformed the band with Andy Flag as their bassist. A 17-song demo album called ''17 Songs'' was released the same year.

First three albums (1996–1999)

In 1996, Anti-Flag released their first album, '' Die For the Government'', on

New Red Archives New Red Archives is an independent record label based in California's San Francisco Bay Area, mainly home to punk rock bands. Started in 1987, the label began by releasing punk and hardcore punk records on coloured vinyl. Starting in summer 1990 a ...

. Andy Flag left the band in mid-1996 because of personal disputes with Justin. After Andy's departure in 1996, Sean Whelan from the Pittsburgh band the Bad Genes briefly filled in as their bassist. During this time, Sean was also playing in another band (57 Defective) with Pittsburgh guitarist Chris Head, whom he introduced to Anti-Flag. In early 1997, Chris Head began filling in on bass. In late 1997, Jamie Cock took over as the new bassist, giving Chris Head his preferred role as the second guitar. The band's current lineup was finalized in 1999 when Chris Barker, also known as Chris No. 2, replaced Jamie Cock on bass. In 1998, Anti-Flag released their second full-length album, '' Their System Doesn't Work for You''. The album contained all nine Anti-Flag songs from the 1996 Anti-Flag/

d.b.s. d.b.s. were a punk rock band from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From their beginnings in 1992 to their eventual breakup in 2001, they gained popularity in the Canadian punk rock scene, and to a lesser extent, the U.S. punk rock s ...

split album ''North America Sucks'', as well as 10 new unreleased songs. The band decided to release the album independently, and ''Their System Doesn't Work for You'' became the debut release for the band's own

A-F Records A-F Records is an American independent record label founded by punk rock band Anti-Flag and based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was created to help expose more political punk bands to a larger audience. The label's offices were damaged when a ...

. In 1999, Anti-Flag released the album ''

A New Kind of Army ''A New Kind of Army'' is a punk rock studio album originally released by Anti-Flag on May 25, 1999. It was reissued by A-F Records on October 19, 2004, and is also the only album to feature only Justin Sane as lead vocalist. All other albums fe ...

'' on

Go-Kart Records Go-Kart Records is an independent record label specializing in punk rock located in New York City that was most active from 1995 to 2005. It also has a European division in Mannheim, Germany. History In its May 1999 issue, ''Guitar World'' m ...

. The album addressed topics such as abortion, political corruption, racism,

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, troubled youth, police brutality, and unity amongst American youths. The cover art page unfolded into a poster featuring the phrase, "Too smart to fight. Too smart to kill. Join now. A new kind of army." In addition, the band had a disclaimer at the bottom of its album cover, which said, "Anti-Flag does not mean Anti-American. Anti-Flag means anti-war. Anti-Flag means unity."

Fat Wreck Chords (2000–2004)

In 2000, Anti-Flag was invited to participate in

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. During this time, the members of Anti-Flag met

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...

, owner of the Fat Wreck Chords record label. This meeting built a friendship between them that would lead to Anti-Flag releasing two albums under Fat Wreck Chords. Justin Sane 01

In 2001, Anti-Flag teamed up with punk music producer Mass Giorgini to record the album '' Underground Network'' on Fat Wreck Chords. The album's release is arguably the moment Anti-Flag emerged from the hardcore underground into more of a mainstream spotlight. The album addressed the topics of

(specifically neo-Nazis infiltrating the "hardcore scene") and the

foreign policy of the United States The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

. The album was the first of theirs to contain the now-commonplace booklet filled with essays from historians and political commentators, most notably Professor Howard Zinn. In February 2002, Anti-Flag released the album ''

Mobilize Mobilize may refer to: * Mobilize (company), an American political technology platform * ''Mobilize'' (Anti-Flag album) (2002) * ''Mobilize'' (Grant-Lee Phillips album) (2001) * Mobilize.org, an American not-for-profit * Mobilize, a mobility c ...

'' on

. The album featured eight new studio tracks, as well as eight live tracks of songs from other albums. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Anti-Flag spoke out against the push for war with the album's title track, "911 for Peace". During this time, many music stores took Anti-Flag's records off their shelves, as their music was labeled as "anti-American." In 2003, Anti-Flag released the album '' The Terror State'' on Fat Wreck Chords, which primarily focused on criticizing the

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

Administration's actions regarding the War on Terrorism. As before, a booklet filled with essays by the band and other political commentators was included in the album. The album also contained a song called "Post-War Breakout," whose lyrics were originally written by

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

. The track's music was arranged by the members of Anti-Flag, as Guthrie had never committed the arrangements to paper. On October 8, 2004,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Jim McDermott gave a speech in the House of Representatives, commending Anti-Flag for their work in encouraging young people to register and vote.

RCA (2005–2009)

In 2005, Anti-Flag signed a two-album record contract with the

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

RCA. In an interview with British newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Justin Sane explained the band's move to a major label: The first of these two albums, ''

For Blood and Empire ''For Blood and Empire'' is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band Anti-Flag. It was released on March 21, 2006. It was the band's first release on RCA Records, which caused the band to receive criticism from many due to their in ...

'', was released on March 21, 2006. The album's main focus is criticism of the U.S. government's mishandling of the War on Terrorism. The album's lead single, "This Is The End (For You My Friend)," is featured in the video game

Madden NFL 07 ''Madden NFL 07'' is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the first in the video game series to debut for the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles as launch titles and the l ...

and

NHL 07 ''NHL 07'' is an ice hockey video game, which was released in 2006. The game improved the series' gameplay with more realistic features, such as stickhandling and a wider variety of controller schemes. As NHL 07 was released on the Xbox 360, this ...

. This single strays from the theme of war and instead focuses on troubled youth. They finished their "War Sucks, Let's Party" United States headlining tour in April and worked on some side projects such as the

African Well Fund African Well Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for the construction and maintenance of freshwater wells throughout impoverished sections of Africa. It was founded in October 2002 by a group of U2 fans who were inspired ...

and Start to Finish MS Now. Throughout Anti-Flag's career, numerous other bands have been added to the roster of the band's own label,

. These bands include The Code,

Pipedown Pipedown was an American hardcore punk band from Northern California, United States, with radical leftist lyrics. Starting in Grass Valley, California in 1997, their lyrics are often reminiscent of eco-anarchism, especially since they recomme ...

Much the Same Much The Same is a punk rock band from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Their style is based on the fast, melodic skate punk of the mid-to-late 1990s made popular by bands such as NOFX, Lagwagon, and No Use for a Name. The ba ...

, The Vacancy, The Unseen,

Modey Lemon Modey Lemon is an American garage rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The group formed in Pittsburgh's South Oakland neighborhood in 1999 as an informal side project of Dean Swagger, a rock trio that had spent the previous year mainly perf ...

, Thought Riot, Tabula Rasa, and many others. On November 25, Anti-Flag revealed that their latest album was called ''

The Bright Lights of America ''The Bright Lights of America'' is the seventh studio album released by Anti-Flag on April 1, 2008. Much of the album was released on the band's MySpace with twelve of the thirteen tracks on March 24, 2008. This album was different from the pre ...

''. The album was produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

and was released on April 1, 2008. The album's title single was released exclusively on iTunes on February 12, 2008. A video of the song was released some weeks later. In 2008, while on tour with Canadian band

Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...

in Europe, Justin Sane and Chris No. 2 joined

singer Ben Kowalewicz and guitarist Ian D'Sa, singing their new song "

Turn Your Back "Turn Your Back" is the first demo single by Billy Talent from their third studio album, ''Billy Talent III''. The song debuted live at The '' Norwegian Wood Festival'' in Oslo, Norway, on June 14, 2008 during their performance. Later perform ...

" from their upcoming unreleased album. The two also play on the single version of the song. In March 2009, Anti-Flag was forced to cancel a series of tours after Sane broke his collarbone at the UEA LCR in Norwich by jumping off the stage, trying to stop someone that was throwing objects at the band.

SideOneDummy (2009–2014)

On September 30, 2008, Chris No. 2 started posting on his blog that the band had begun to work on their seventh studio album. On December 2, Anti-Flag began recording the album, starting with "The Economy is Suffering... Let It Die". On March 31, 2009, Anti-Flag announced that their next CD, '' The People or the Gun'', would be released on

SideOneDummy SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib. The label began as a way for them to release music for their friends' bands. Thereafter SideOneDummy launched the care ...

on June 9, 2009. The band recorded the album in a home studio they built themselves. The first track of the album "Sodom, Gomorrah, and

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(Sheep in Shepherd's Clothing)" could be listened to on Anti-Flag's website. On May 1, 2009, the band performed a full set of

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

covers at Hoodwink in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In September 2009, Anti-Flag planned to play a show during a G-20 protest that was taking place in their hometown. However, the show was cancelled by the promoter due to severe parking restrictions and police presence near the venue. Even so, the band continued to personally take part in the protests. In November 2009, Anti-Flag showed their support to the protesting students in Vienna, Austria by giving a speech at the main building of the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. They also had one of the student representatives speak at their two shows in Vienna. In January 2010, Anti-Flag completed a full US tour supported by Aiden and Cancer Bats, with various bands filling another supporting slot and local bands opening as many of the shows as possible. The tour was sponsored by

peta2 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities hav ...

, and Innes Clothing. The band followed the US tour with an Australian tour, playing the Soundwave Festival dates in February 2010, with bands such as AFI,

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...

, Escape the Fate,

A Day to Remember A Day to Remember (often abbreviated ADTR, and previously known as End of an Era) is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida, founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of meta ...

, and HIM. They also played two headlining dates supported by

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike.Band is a scream", CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit (vo ...

and Comeback Kid. Throughout mid-2010, Anti-Flag played in various festivals such as

Ruisrock Ruisrock is a rock festival held annually on the island of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland. Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is the second oldest rock festival in Europe (after Pinkpop) and the oldest in Finland. The festival has attracted international ar ...

and

Woodstock en Beauce Woodstock en Beauce was a yearly weekend-long music festival held in St-Ephrem-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada. It was created in 1995 with the intention to re-create the atmosphere of the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, emphasizing on the atmospher ...

. They also played the last few dates of the

. In September 2010, the band headlined a Canadian tour with support from the Menzingers. This tour was followed by the European Vans Off the Wall Music Tour in October, with supporting acts by

The Swellers The Swellers were an American punk band from Flint, Michigan. Their music is influenced by melodic punk rock bands as well as alternative and indie rock from the 1990s. Band history On June 24, 2002, brothers Nick and Jonathan Diener brought the ...

and

Pulled Apart by Horses Pulled Apart by Horses are an English alternative rock band from Leeds. They formed in early 2008. The band were signed by Transgressive Records in 2009, and released their debut self-titled album ''Pulled Apart by Horses'' on 21 June 2010. In ...

. In March–April 2011, Anti-flag made a live comeback by headlining a South American tour with

This Is a Standoff This may refer to: * ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun Places * This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt * This, Ardennes, a commune in France People with the surname * Hervé This, French culinary chemist Arts, e ...

, and supporting

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

in the U.S. In May–June 2011, the band returned to Europe to play in the Slam Dunk Festival, and play supporting System of a Down in Milan, Italy. On June 21, 2011, Justin Sane announced that Anti-Flag was working on material for a new album, which was planned to be released later in the year. The album had the working title of ''Magnum''. Sane also announced plans to record a new solo album in the future, as he had also been working on some

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

-oriented solo material. On March 20, 2012, Anti-Flag released an album called '' The General Strike'', which was recorded and produced by the band at their home studio. The band also intended to go on The General Strike Record Release Tour with

The Flatliners The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows. History ...

and the

Have Nots The Have Nots are an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, consisting of Jon Cauztik (guitar, vocals), Matt Pruitt (guitar, vocals), Jameson Hollis (bass), and Steve Patton (drums). History The band was formed in 2006, combining m ...

. They released a lyric video for the song "1915" which talked about Joe Hill. In June 2014, Anti-Flag announced that they were going to release a new album called '' A Document of Dissent: 1993-2013''. The album was a compilation of their releases from 1993 to 2013, and was planned to be released on Fat Wreck Chords, which was the band's first release with the label since ''The Terror State'' in 2003. The album was released on July 21, 2014.

Spinefarm and Beyond Barricades documentary (2015–present)

On January 16, 2015, Anti-Flag announced they would release their ninth studio album called ''

American Spring American Spring (known as simply Spring before 1972) was an American pop music duo formed in Los Angeles, California. It consisted of sisters Marilyn Wilson and Diane Rovell, who had earlier been members of girl group the Honeys. As with the H ...

'' on the label Spinefarm Records. The album was released on May 26, 2015. Later in the year, Anti-Flag released a compilation album called '' Cease Fires'' which contains two previously unreleased songs from their ''American Spring'' recording sessions and twelve songs from their ''

20 Years of Hell ''20 Years of Hell'' is a series of EPs released by Anti-Flag. In honor of the band's 20th anniversary, they released the EPs via a subscription service. Each EP, which was released digitally and as a 7", is a split Split(s) or The Split may ref ...

'' EP series. It was released on December 18, 2015. In an interview in 2016, Chris No. 2 revealed that he doesn't read books. On August 14, 2017, in reaction to the events of the 2017

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

, the band released a song titled "Racists" to the Spinefarm Records YouTube channel. On August 18, 2017, the band announced that a new album titled ''American Fall'' would be released on Spinefarm Records on November 3, 2017, by premiering a song from the album titled "American Attraction" on Anti-Flag's YouTube channel. In early 2018, Anti-Flag toured with

Stray from the Path Stray from the Path is an American hardcore punk band formed in 2001 in Long Island, New York. They have released ten full-length albums. Their first three records were independently released – ''People Over Profit'' in 2002, ''Audio Prozac'' ...

, The White Noise and Sharptooth. From July until September 2018, Anti-Flag played with AFI and

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

in the ''Mourning in Amerika'' Tour. On October 4, 2019, Anti-Flag released their song "Christian Nationalist" alongside an announcement of a European tour the following year. On the band's website, the song's meaning was explained by a quote from Justin: The website also provided a list of Republican politicians, along with sources indicating that the politicians had accepted large amounts of donations from the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

and gun lobbyists for the politician's support for certain policies and actions, along with a list of mass shooting incidents. Later that same month, Anti-Flag announced their twelfth studio album, ''

20/20 Vision Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'', alongside the release of the song "Hate Conquers All" and the song's music video. Additional songs "Unbreakable" and "The Disease" were also released ahead of the album, which released on January 17, 2020. Many of the songs on the album directly discuss the band's opposition of former president,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, which in the past, the band has avoided directly naming presidents. Justin revealed that this was done because the band believed that “Donald Trump IS the problem, so we have to go directly at the problem. You could say he’s a symptom of a larger problem and I believe that’s true, but he IS the symptom." In support of the album, Anti-Flag embarked on a world tour with dates throughout 2020. However, many of these dates were delayed to 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Before the tour resumed, a digital-only deluxe version of the album was released under the new name, ''20/20 Devision''. That same year, a documentary released called ''Beyond Barricades: The Story of Anti-Flag''. The documentary chronicles the band over their years of touring, writing music, and activism, and features interviews from other musicians from bands such as Rage Against The Machine,

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

, and The Menzingers. With the pandemic putting the band's touring on hold for a long period of time, Anti-Flag was able to spend much more time than usual writing new music. Upon finishing touring for ''20/20 Vision'', Anti-Flag returned to the studio to record their next album. The band took a different approach than usual during recording by not only writing a concept album, but bringing in guest musicians for multiple tracks. The band officially announced ''LIES THEY TELL OUR CHILDREN'' on July 29, 2022 alongside the release of the single "LAUGH. CRY. SMILE. DIE." featuring Silverstein vocalist, Shane Told. A music video was also released for the song, which depicts an individual spray painting the walls of an abandoned school with various messages that the band has deemed as lies.

Name and criticism

Anti-Flag explained the band name on the artwork for their 1999 release ''

'', saying, "Anti-Flag does not mean Anti-American. Anti-Flag means anti-war. Anti-Flag means the common people of the world are better off living in unity and peace. Anti-Flag means to stand against corporate greed that hurts millions while benefiting a handful of extremely rich. Anti-Flag means to fight against mindless nationalism. Anti-Flag means unity." Anti-Flag's

anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as s ...

stance drew criticism towards them when they started working with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in 2005, with some saying that the band was

selling out "Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal gai ...

. Anti-Flag defended themselves against the criticism by saying that the purpose of signing to the record label was to bring their message to more people.

Studio projects

Chris No. 2 and Chris Head work together in another band called

White Wives White Wives is an American punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band, composed of members from other Pittsburgh bands including Anti-Flag, The Code, Dandelion Snow and American Armada, was created in the summer of 2010. The band re ...

. They released the ''Situationists'' EP on February 15, 2011, and the album ''Happeners'' on June 28, 2011. The band and its name was based on the Provo movement and The White Plans. Wharf Rats, a musical partnership between Chris No. 2, Wade MacNeil, and P.O.S, was created on

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

and recorded in the festival's traveling recording studio. They created two songs together, namely "Oh No!" and "Capital Gains". The two songs were pressed on a limited edition 7-inch single and released on May 31 on No Sleep Records.

ANTIfest

ANTIfest is Anti-Flag's own hosted festival. It originally took place on May 3, 2012, at The Forum at the University of Hertfordshire. ANTIfest was the first self-established festival hosted by the band, who wanted to make it an annual event. The band personally selected all of the bands that appeared, including other punk bands such as The Bouncing Souls, The Menzingers,

Red City Radio Red City Radio is an American punk rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2007. The band's lineup consists of Garrett Dale, Ryan Donovan, Derik Envy and Dallas Tidwell. History The band has released an EP, ''To the Sons and Daugh ...

The Computers The Computers are a British rock band from Exeter, England. Their sound initially fused hardcore punk and garage rock and progressed to a less heavy sound incorporating blues and soul. As of 2023, The Computers have released one mini-album ('' ...

, and

The Skints The Skints are an English reggae punk band from London, described by Clash Music as "the torchbearers for modern British reggae music." The Skints mix reggae, ska, dub, punk rock, dancehall, soul, and rap, touring extensively across the UK, Eu ...

. Volunteers from certain organizations also took part in the festival, including people from

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

, and

Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

.
ANTIFest also took place on July 14, 2013, at Backstage Werk in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

with support from ZSK, Strike Anywhere,

, and

Apologies, I Have None Apologies, I Have None are an English melancholic, punk-influenced quartet from London, England. History Apologies, I Have None started off as a two piece drums and guitar band, consisting of Dan Bond and Josh Mckenzie. In 2007 they released t ...

Activism

Anti-Flag has been involved with political activism throughout their musical career. They created many activism groups, which include The Underground Action Alliance, Military Free Zone (created to protest a clause in the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

, which gave military recruiters access to students' personal information), and The Bright Lights. All members of Anti-Flag are

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

, and are adamant supporters of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

. They have frequently been featured by

, and have also appeared on the Fat Wreck Chords compilation album Liberation: Songs to Benefit PETA. They have performed at multiple protests, including two in support of Rage Against the Machine. They performed outside the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 2008. Anti-Flag wasn't supposed to be the last band to perform at the event, but officials found out that Rage Against the Machine was going to perform after them, so they shut down the stage's power and Rage Against the Machine performed two songs using megaphones instead. Anti-Flag played an acoustic set at the

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...

protest in New York City on October 8, 2011. They regularly support organizations which include: * Democracy Now!, whose headlines they showcase on the band's homepage. *

, who was one of the sponsors of their 2010 'The Economy Sucks Let's Party' tour. *

, who was one of the sponsors of their 2010 'The Economy Sucks Let's Party' tour. Anti-Flag once donated money to them from the sales of ''The People and the Gun''. *

, who was one of the sponsors of their 'The Economy Sucks Let's Party' tour. Anti-Flag once collaborated with them to persuade world leaders to attend the climate conference in Copenhagen. * Useless, who they collaborated with by selling screen-printed limited-edition T-shirts to raise money for The Kandorwahun project, and by spreading awareness of the organization. Anti-Flag showed their disapproval of fracking in October 2013, supporting the Clean Water Mob. Anti-Flag's song "Die for Your Government" was sung by anti-war protesters who briefly barricaded a road to prevent U.S. troops from deploying to Iraq in August 2010. They have appeared in the 2010 music documentary '' Sounds Like A Revolution'', which talks about new protest music in the U.S.

Symbol

Anti-Flag's logo is the "Gun Star", which was designed by Chris Head. It was first used on the cover of the album ''

''. It was later used on merchandise. The logo is made up of five broken

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

s in the shape of a star. The band often used the O & X superposed symbols on '' Die for the Government'' LP.

Band members

Current members * Justin Sane – lead vocals, lead guitar (1988–1989, 1992–present) * Chris No. 2 (Chris Barker) – bass guitar, backing and lead vocals (1999–present) * Chris Head – bass guitar (1997), rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1997–present) * Pat Thetic – drums, percussion (1988–1989, 1992–present) Former members * Lucy Fester – bass guitar (1988–1989) * Andy Flag – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals (1993–1996) * Jamie "Cock" Towns – bass guitar (1997–1999) Touring musicians * Erik Pitluga – drums (2018–present), guitar (2020–present) * Josh Massie – guitar (2019) * Donny Donovan – guitar (2019) * Steve LaRussa – backing vocals, bass guitar (2013–2017) * Brian Curran (1997) * Sean Whealen (1998) Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Die for the Government'' (1996) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Underground Network'' (2001) * ''

'' (2002) * '' The Terror State'' (2003) * ''

'' (2006) * ''

'' (2008) * '' The People or the Gun'' (2009) * '' The General Strike'' (2012) * ''

'' (2015) * ''

American Fall ''American Fall'' is the eleventh studio album by American punk rock band Anti-Flag, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was released on November 3, 2017, via Spinefarm Records, making it their second record released through the label. In the US, ...

'' (2017) * ''

'' (2020) * ''Lies They Tell Our Children'' (2023)

References

External links

*
Anti-Flag's/Chris #2's Blog

Eastpak Antidote Tour Live review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Flag 1989 establishments in Pennsylvania A-F Records A-F Records artists Fat Wreck Chords artists Punk rock groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups from Pittsburgh RCA Records artists SideOneDummy Records artists American punk rock groups