Anti-Flag turn tragedy into strength on The Bright Lights of America

Since 1988, some version of Anti-Flag—always featuring frontman Justin Sane and drummer Pat etic—has been entertaining punk audiences with a visceral, ’s-charged soundtrack while proselytizing a potent message of political awareness and social change. at message reflected a tragically personal tone when longtime bassist Chris Barker (Chris # since signing on in , joining guitarist Chris Head) received the horrific news last February that his sister had been murdered. In a heartbeat, the notoriously outwardlyfocused Anti-Flag began to look within themselves for their latest album, e Bright Lights of America.

“We were doing a Canadian tour and a lot of music was being written in soundchecks, but there wasn’t a plan to record at that point,” says Barker.

“It was the most surreal experience of my life. We were doing a coat drive across Canada, so every day we would go to the mall and meet 100-200 kids before the show. I’m in the mall and get a call and they say, ‘Your sister’s been killed.’”

After a period of contemplation, the Pittsburgh quartet finally reconvened to work in earnest on Bright Lights. Barker’s loss clearly weighed heavily on everyone.

“Through the years, we’ve created an atmosphere where if one thing affects one of us, it affects all of us,” says Barker. “Whether [it’s] our views of global politics or humanity, going down to the struggles we face in our own lives, we really try to be as democratic as possible with our feelings and issues. is is just an extension of that.”

With another tour looming just a month after his sister’s death, Barker was unsure of his ability to emotionally commit to the road. e overwhelming support and love displayed by Anti-Flag fans in the wake of his tragedy convinced him to return to the stage.

“I’m so glad we did that tour,” says Barker. “I did not know at all the amount of support that we had as a band and the amount of friends we have in this community. It was inspiring. I’ve grown such an appreciation for these people and my bandmates because of this tragedy. ere are often many silver linings to these things.”

As the songs for Bright Lights coalesced, the band noticed some tangible differences in the material.

“The songs initially felt like they had drama, and that’s something that’s always been lacking in our band,” says Barker. “We felt like there was a lot of room in these songs to extrapolate the highs and lows and turn it into the emotional experience that it was for us.”

From the opening Clash-like blast of “Good and Ready” to the grand piano punk rumble of “Vices” to the anthemic “We Are the Lost,” Bright Lights is the biggest sounding album in Anti-Flag’s catalog. at sound is largely due to the invaluable input of iconic producer Tony Visconti, whose work with David Bowie, T. Rex and in Lizzy cemented his legend three decades ago.

“Very rarely today do you have serendipitous rock and roll moments; it’s not like it was when you were in your in your garage,” acknowledges Barker. “Working with Tony was very garage-like. We found his number, we called him on speakerphone, the four of us, and we said, ‘We’re this sh*tty little band from Pittsburgh. We really like the Morrissey record you made. You wanna record our band?’ And he said, ‘Okay. I’ll be there in a week.’ He was looking for us and we were looking for him.”