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Anti-Flag Interview
Interview with Pat Thetic, the drummer of Anti-Flag, at Glasgow Garage gig 11th May 2006 - Brian Banks
Anti-Flag were in Glasgow,
(Scotland) on a surprisingly sunny May evening when I joined
drummer Pat Thetic for an interview.
At first it didn't
look like I was going to get the chance to speak with Pat because
one of the house security guys seemed to be trying his hardest to
stop me from doing it by confiscating my camera and calling me a
liar when I told him I had an interview pre-arranged. Thankfully
I got a hold of Jesse Jones, part of Anti-Flag's crew, who managed to sort everything
out. Jesse got my camera returned to me as well as getting me a photo
pass for the rest of the night - (cheers Jesse!) So after getting
my camera back I headed outside the venue with Pat to do an interview.
We sat down on some steps in the car-park and chewed the fat as
Big Brother watched over us...
[N.B... This interview was captured using the 'video' option on my cheap camera, but later in the night it was accidently deleted when I hit the 'format' button... Below is a concise version of my conversation with Pat.]
So Pat, how are you tonight? Sorry
about the hassle there with the security guys on the door, they
aren't usually as over-the-top as that.
Pat - "Hi
Brian. Yeah well security are dickheads, there is no need for
it to be like this."
Yeah...
security at gigs now is getting a bit ridiculous, people go to rock
shows to have a good time and meet the same type of security
that you get at international airports. It's sad to see but hey
everything is getting like that these days, it's the whole "1984"
/ "Big Brother" thing come true...
Pat - "Tell
me about it, there's probably a security camera watching us right
now - they're everywhere..."
Well
we walked outside and right past some fans in Anti-Flag T-shirts
and they didn't recognise you, so it seems stupid to have such a
high level of security.
Pat - "Hahaha....
yeah I can walk around the streets and nobody knows who I am!"
Who
are you anyway? Pat Thetic... is that your real name? And Justin
Sane and the others, surely those ain’t your real names?
Pat - "Haha,
no. Well when we started Anti-Flag all those years ago we all made
a decision to drop our real names and choose band names. So ever
since then we've just gone by the names we made ourselves.
What are your real names then?
Pat - "I
can't tell you that, it's a band secret."
So,
about an hour or so until you'll be on stage, how do you find the
British crowds?
Pat - "Well
we've been to the UK a few times and yeah the crowds are always
good. Its usually the same wherever we go, people just want to have
a good time."
Yeah
man, and of course you're here playing songs from your new album
just out last month. And 'For Blood And Thunder' this is Anti-Flag's
first album on a major label, how's that been so far?
Pat - "Yeah,
well we signed with RCA and so far they've been really good and
there's been no problems. I guess RCA is Columbia records for you
guys in the UK. Being with a big label just helps get our music
heard, especially outside of the U.S."
The whole message
of your new album; speaking out against all the continued bullshit of
the Bush era with war, lack of democracy, propaganda and so on...
To me you guys are one of the few bands who have the balls to make
a stand against this, along with Green Day and NOFX who are up there
more in the mainstream...
Pat - "Well
I don't think we're big, not compared to Green Day and NOFX.
It's good that Green Day and NOFX get more exposure to these issues,
it helps get the message across to more people. Green Day's America
Idiot album was huge and that made a lot of people listen."
Ah
yeah, Green Day. It's good to hear you giving them respect because
here in the UK they get slagged off a lot by a lot of people who
are ignorant enough just to criticise a band for getting popular.
I've been a Green Day fan since Dookie, all Green Day albums are
awesome and a bit different, but American Idiot is the one that
makes such a huge statement to the mainstream.
Pat - "American
Idiot was a good album and Green Day have brought huge exposure
to things like Iraq and Bush. They are good guys, we've supported
them on tour. I've been in the same room as Billie Joe Armstrong. He seems like a good guy
from what I've seen from the time I've spent around him."
In
the summer Anti-Flag will be playing the Warped Tour, looking forward
to it?
Pat - "Yeah
man, well we finish our European tour this month then in from June
to August we'll be with warped. So we'll be busy touring non-stop
pretty much, which is what its all about."
Good stuff, how about we wrap
this interview up with a bit of word association?
Pat - "Sure.."
Scotland.
Pat - "RAIN!"
Haha, it's dry today man, this
is like summer for us. Next word - milkshakes.
Pat - "Soy.
I don't like milk!"
Bush
Pat - "hmm...[pauses
for thought]... LOVER!"
Blair
Pat - "Lover!"
Ha,
I think I see a bit of a theme here. Let's see if there any other
lovers you can think of. Security?
Pat - "Lover."
Well
lover can be the new codeword for scumbags...
Pat - "Yeah
well we need to cure those fuckers anyway, that's for sure!"
How very true, and with that I wished Pat good luck for their set, and I headed inside to see The Unseen while Pat went off to get something to eat and get ready for their show.
© Brian Banks
To find out more about Anti-Flag visit; www.anti-flag.com.
