Anti-Flag spread peace message

Anti-Flag drummer Pat Thetic hopes his band’s recent run in Russia and forthcoming trip to the Ukraine can help calm hostilities and remind everyone that the people are the power.

The punk veterans appeared on the Apollo Stage at Sonisphere today and Thetic says he loves playing to metalheads.

And while he had fun at Knebworth, he hopes their Russia and Ukraine gigs serve a more important purpose.

He tells TeamRock Radio: “It is a very metal festival and I have seen a lot of very metal people here today. When we play metal festivals we play hard and fast and whoever finishes the set first is the winner. That’s rule number one.

“We are just back from Russia and we are going to the Ukraine in two weeks so we are going to play in all the hot-spots where people are trying to kill each other and wag their dicks. The power though is the people and we hope this translates in Russia.”

The band are well-known for their charity endeavours and Thetic says they recently donated proceeds of a tour to build a well in Africa. He adds: “Something people take for granted is clean water, so that was something which really spoke to me. It was awesome.”

The American band are far from home in Independence Day, but the Knebworth crowd helped stave off any homesickness.

Thetic adds: “We are celebrating Independence Day by having British people yell at us. We are playing two shows, here of course at Sonisphere and later in London tonight. So it is like a little American revolution with the people staring at us and us yelling and screaming.”

Anti-Flag’s Pat Thetic speaks to Sonisphere Radio, powered by TeamRock