Anti-Flag’s ‘Bright Lights’ dips into personal politics

By John Benson

A tragedy in the life of one of the band members led to a shift in content.

The timing of talking to Anti-Flag front man Justin Sane on April 1 couldn’t have been better.

Not only was that the release date of the group’s eighth studio album, “The Bright Lights of America,” but it was April Fool’s Day to boot.

“It’s quite exciting,” said Sane, calling from his Pittsburgh home. “With April 1, there is a message of sorts. We actually put out a faux USA Today nationally. We printed up thousands of them and have different Anti-Flag street teams stuffing boxes and putting them out at hotels and different creative locations.”

Titled “USA TBLOA,” which is an acronym “The Bright Lights of America,” the joke newspaper features humorous The Onion-like headlines (“Richest Americans Join Forces to Pay Off U.S. National Debt,” “Halliburton To Pay Back Taxpayers $1 Billion in Iraq Overcharges” and “Polar Bear Commits Suicide To Protest Global Warming”) for stories that Sane feels are anything but lighthearted.

“We’re certainly trying to have a good time with it,” Sane said. “I think if you’re serious all of the time and beat people over the head all of the time, people tend to turn off, but I do think the issues we’re talking about are very important. We’re questioning just the whole social fabric of our society and what’s important and what isn’t important.

“And that’s what we do on the record. The song ‘Bright Lights of America’ to me is a song asking who are we as human beings and the direction we’re headed, is that the direction we want to be headed?”

The latest 13-track effort marks a departure for the decidedly underground politically charged Anti-Flag, which returns to Cleveland for an April 20 show at the Agora. While previous album titles – 2003’s “The Terror State” and 2006’s “For Blood and Empire” – offered thinly veiled messages targeting the current administration, the new CD finds the punk band delving into personal politics.

The shift in content stems from the fact the sister of bassist Christopher Lee Barker was murdered last year.

“As a result of that, a lot of people came to the shows to express their condolences and tell us their personal stories and tragedies,” Sane said. “That was something we could have never foreseen. It had just this profound effect on us, that there was a need in our community where people could know that everyone goes through hard times and that they’re not alone.”

Sane said the album’s title track was written about two fans: a girl who was a cutter and a boy who dealt with his bad home life by turning to drugs.

“I think in the past we’d been afraid to go there because a lot of people who listen to the band tend to be very serious about their politics, and we weren’t sure about mixing personal issues over the politics,” Sane said.

“But this record we set out to be not so black and white, to be more ambiguous.”

Naturally in an election year, ambiguity runs rampant among candidates seeking office. Therefore, it would be erroneous to not ask Sane who he likes in November.

“Ugh, it’s tough,” Sane said. “I’m begrudgingly supporting Barack Obama because I think he’s the only decent candidate left, but I think George Bush proved it does matter who is president.

“And for people who don’t agree with that, there are over a million Iraqis and 4,000 U.S. troops I could introduce you to, but I’d have to take you to a graveyard. So in that respect, it does matter who is president. Dennis [Kucinich] was really my man and he never really had a chance, so Barack is the next best thing.”