Interview: Chris Hannah From Propagandhi

By aaroncynic in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 8, 2010 9:20PM

If I had to write a short list of bands that changed my life and worldview, Propagandhi would show up at the top of that list. For two decades, they have been pumping out incredible music with awesome lyrical content and meaning. The Canadian four piece evolved from a youthfully idealistic skate punk act to a hybrid of thrash metal and hardcore while keeping their punk roots. Equally as important, Propagandhi champions numerous activist causes and challenges their listeners with outspoken lyrics about human rights, sexism, racism, religion and more.

Propagandhi challenged my views on the world and politics at a very early age. They not only made me seek out alternative points of view on mainstream ideas, but lead me to believe art and music can be a force for positive social change. Needless to say, I was more than thrilled to sit down with Chris Hannah, guitarist and vocalist for the band at the Metro as part of Riot Fest this weekend.

Why just play Riot Fest and two other dates beforehand and not a full tour?

Chris Hannah: Toby who runs Red Oktoberfest is getting married and this is sort of a celebration of that, him and his partner. He asked us to come play it and we looked at the line up of bands playing Riot Fest and went “fuck man, we gotta go see Corrosion of Conformity, the Cro-Mags and Drop Dead.” We don't really have much time to be on a full tour right now so we thought we'd play a few shows down for gas money and then head home.

Supporting Caste is the thrashiest most technically proficient album to date. You've grown and evolved in such a way to blend the best elements of thrash and punk. What inspires that kind of growth and change stylistically and lyrically?

CH: I think part of it is just getting more adept and better at playing our instruments. When we first started in 1986 the goal was to sound like a cross between Voivod, Creator, Sacrifice, Dead Kennedy's and COC but we sucked at our instruments. I was able to sing more punk rock stuff a bit better and as the years went on and we got better at our instruments it was like whoa, we can actually achieve the original vision and got better as the years go by. We're all just generally fans of heavy music - whether it's metal or punk. We're neither a metal band or a punk band I think. We just like heavy loud rock and keep pushing ourselves to try to get a bit better. We want to be fans of our own records, which is a tough thing to do when you're in a band.

Do you actually listen to your own stuff?

CH: Sometimes when we're getting ready for a tour. I go back and try to listen and make sure we have the right vibe and the right tempo. You've heard it so many times in the process of making the record that it might lose some of the bite. You prefer the songs live after awhile.

I've always loved the philosophy and way you've described your label, G7 Welcoming Committe works, as far as a more collectivist type of workplace and valuing the ideals of the process, rather than just a chance to be rock stars or a paycheck. How long did it take for that process to evolve and why do you think it might be difficult for other bands to do something similar?

CH: A lot of it when you're first starting a project comes by default. If you're a bunch of friends who want to get something done, everybody has to share the workload unless someone's an egomaniac who wants to set up a pyramid structure off the bat. We wanted to make it consciously democratic and we managed to do it - not always smoothly, but we ran the label like we run the band which is often very haphazard. That's part of learning to do something instead of doing it tried and true ways. A lot of us feel like we've gained a lot by doing things by the seat of your pants.



I read about the time that one of you had to hand construct 5,000 CD's.

CH: We're still in that process.

I think there's a lot of charm to that. There's a lot to be said for somebody who has that much love for what they do. It's like kids making zines. "We're going to fold and staple every piece of paper and hand out every single copy ourselves." Does that kind of thought process/mindset effect songwriting and performing?

CH: I've never really thought of a relationship between the two. There must be something. I don't know, you've stumped me (laughs). I think when we're on stage we think of ourselves as a unit, a collective of people trying to achieve a goal. It's not one of us with a backup band. I'm sure lots of bands are like that, but that would be obvious. We avoid as much as we can, unnecessary pecking orders or illegitimate orders.

Something like Riot Fest is going to draw just as many younger kids getting into punk as it will old farts who might be a bit jaded and just wanting to take a trip down memory lane. I think a lot of people first getting into punk are very hopeful and idealistic and somewhere along the way that idealism tends to fade. You've always held onto that idealism. Why can it be difficult for people to turn that into something more tangible?

CH: Life comes in and takes a lot of time and energy. People just maybe grow away from music. As they get older they feel like “this new stuff isn't doing anything for me” and they don't make as much of an effort to try to seek out the good stuff amongst the younger crowd.

I guess I'm also talking about that kind of mindset. You weave a message that's very important and thread it together with awesome music. For some people that really has an effect on them and it drives them to make a difference in the world. How did you hold onto that mentality?

CH: It's probably some level of sheer tenacity. We're subject to the same pressures that blow away dreams and hopes that everyone else is. We're living on a pretty dark planet. I can see why people throw up their hands and are just like “fuck it, I'm just going to get what I can before I go.” I understand why people do that, I just don't think I could live with myself and neither could the other guys in the band.

Where did that sense come from in your life?

CH: Maybe having some sense of what it's like to be marginalized. As a young kid growing up or listening to certain kinds of music, cultural things or peer groups where you get used to the idea of there being a hierarchy or injustice amongst the schoolyard and never forget it. You feel like “I gotta do something, I gotta help.”

Is it just as effective today, taking art and music and using it for social change, as it was ten years ago or twenty years ago?

CH: It's a case by case basis I think you have to evaluate that on. I doubt anything will ever hit me as hard as the first MDC record did, in terms of totally destroying my fucked up worldview and leading me down a path of thinking of about things sanely. That doesn't mean that young people today can't have that same kind of transformative experience. They challenged an idea of gender, of homophobia, of patriotism, jingoism and militarism which were things I was into as a young person. I grew up in the military and we lived on air force bases and had a very narrow view of the world.

Riot Fest continues through Sunday at many different venues in Chicago.