Propagandhi

Propagandhi

This article is about the Canadian punk band. For the British musician also known as Propa-Gandhi, see Aki Nawaz.

Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

While their earlier work draws from the punk rock and skate punk tradition, recent Propagandhi records have moved towards a heavier, heavy metal-influenced sound.

The band members are known for championing various anarchist causes and have taken an active stance against human rights violations, racism, homophobia, imperialism, fascism, capitalism and religion. The band supports vegan lifestyles and animal rights and are frequently involved and active in various forms of activism.

History

Early years

In 1986, Samolesky and Hannah recruited original bassist Scott Hopper via a "Progressive thrash band looking for bass player" flyer they posted in a local record shop. Hopper was replaced around the turn of the decade by Mike Braumeister. This was the first lineup to perform live. After several demos and larger shows (including one with Fugazi) made a name for the band, Braumeister moved to Vancouver and a young musician with an inclination towards poetry, John K. Samson, became the band's third bassist.

In 1992, Propagandhi played a show with California punk rock band NOFX. They played a cover version of Cheap Trick's "Surrender". Impressed by their performance, Fat Mike signed them to his independent record label Fat Wreck Chords. The band later accompanied him to L.A., where they recorded their debut album How to Clean Everything, released in 1993. The band spent the next three years touring and enjoying the popularity provided by the explosion of punk rock in the mid-1990s.

In 1996, they recorded and released their second album, Less Talk, More Rock, also on Fat Wreck Chords. The album title was ironic, as Propagandhi were well known for lengthy political speeches or rants during live performances. The album was, if anything, more out-spoken than its predecessor, with song titles including: "Apparently I'm a P.C. Fascist (Because I Care About Both Human and Non-Human Animals)", "Nailing Descartes to the Wall / (Liquid) Meat Is Still Murder", and "... And We Thought That Nation States Were a Bad Idea". Ramsey Kanaan, founder of the anarchist publisher AK Press, appears on "A Public Dis-Service Announcement from Shell" as the voice of the petroleum multinational. Partial proceeds of the album were donated to AK and other activist groups.

Intermediary period

After Less Talk, More Rock was released, bassist John K. Samson left the band, later forming The Weakerthans. Chris and Jord founded the record label G7 Welcoming Committee Records (which released The Weakerthans' first album). The label name is a reference to the band members' dislike for the G7. The label's economic structure is based upon the one proposed in Robin Hahnel and Michael Albert's Parecon; it was started thanks to a $50,000 loan from Fat Mike.

During this time, Propagandhi released a collection of demos, alternate takes, covers and live songs called Where Quantity Is Job #1. New bassist Todd Kowalski, Hannah's roommate {fact} and member of the bands I Spy and Swallowing Shit, replaced Samson.

After four years, Propagandhi released their third album, Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes. The album was a major departure from their previous works. The song titles and lyrics of Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes furthered the sphere of their political views, bolstered by the addition of Todd's aggressive song-writing and an increased density of guitar lines. The album includes enhanced content, with political videos and essays concerning such topics as COINTELPRO and the Black Panther Party.

Current period

Chris Hannah performing at Galpon Victor Jara in Santiago-Chile, 2007

Propagandhi released the album Potemkin City Limits on October 18, 2005. Like Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes, the album has multimedia content, with a number of Adobe PDF files on topics such as Parecon and veganism, and a site featuring links to websites of organizations Propagandhi supports. However, it does not include any videos, as their previous album had. The album's opening track, "A Speculative Fiction", won the 2006 ECHO songwriting award (by online vote). Propagandhi pledged to use the $5000 prize to make donations to the Haiti Action Network and The Welcome Place (an organization in Winnipeg which they'd previously done volunteer work for), which helps refugees start new lives in Manitoba.

Chris Hannah adopted the pseudonym "Glen Lambert" for use during the release of Potemkin City Limits, causing confusion among some fans, reviewers, and commentators. In September 2005, G7 Welcoming Committee Records jokingly announced that Chris had left the band in 2003, and that the remaining members had found a replacement in Glen Lambert, formerly of the Portage Terriers. This claim was quickly revealed to be untrue through a multitude of sources.

Without admitting to the joke, Propagandhi announced on August 14, 2006 that "Glen Lambert" had been dismissed and would be replaced by "former" member Chris Hannah. They also added guitarist David Guillas, making the band a four-piece for the first time. Guillas, nicknamed "The Beaver", is a former member of two Winnipeg-based rock outfits, Giant Sons and Rough Music. Chris had previously expressed an interest in and influence from Giant Sons.

In 2007, the band released a DVD entitled Live from Occupied Territory, which features a recording of their set at The Zoo in Winnipeg on July 19, 2003. Proceeds of the DVD benefit the Grassy Narrows blockade and the Middle East Children's Alliance. Included on the DVD are two full-length documentaries: Peace Propaganda and the Promised Land, and As Long as the Rivers Flow.

A new record is now in the making, although no release date has been set. Todd Kowalski stated on the Propagandhi website that the band will start recording in October. During recent tours, the band have performed a number of new songs, including "The Supporting Cast" , "There's No Third Possibility", "This Is Your Life", a cover of Giant Sons' "Repairing The Damaged Beard" with vocals by Chris , and as-yet untitled songs by Chris and Todd respectively.

On 5 September 2008, Chris Hannah stated on the band's website that "to [his] ears the new record seems like it will resemble a nuclear-powered space-age composite of Potemkin City Limits, Less Talk More Rock, Giant Son’s “Anthology” and a carefully measured dose of Today’s Empires Tomorrow’s Ashes".

Discography

Demo tapes

• We Don't Get Paid, We Don't Get Laid, and Boy Are We Lazy (Independent, 1990)
• Fuck the Scene (Independent, 1991)
• Martial Law with a Cherry on Top (Independent, 1992)

Albums

• How to Clean Everything (Fat Wreck Chords, 1993)
• Less Talk, More Rock (Fat Wreck Chords, 1996)
• Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes (Fat Wreck Chords, G7 Welcoming Committee Records, 2001)
• Potemkin City Limits (Fat Wreck Chords, G7 Welcoming Committee Records, 2005)

EPs

• How to Clean a Couple o' Things 7" (Fat Wreck Chords, 1993)
• Where Quality Is Job #1 double 7" (Recess Records, 1994)

Splits

• I'd Rather Be Flag-Burning 10" with I Spy (Recess Records, 1995)
• Propagandhi/F.Y.P. (a.k.a. "Letter of Resignation") 7" with F.Y.P. (Recess Records, 1995)
• Systematic Destruction 7" with I Spy, Malefaction, Silence Equals (Bad Food For Thought Records)

Live

• Yep. cassette (Applecore Records, 1995)
• Live from Occupied Territory DVD (G7 Welcoming Committee Records, 2007)

Compilations

• Where Quantity Is Job #1 (G7 Welcoming Committee Records, 1998), a collection of demos, live tracks, alternate takes, and songs donated to other compilations.
• "Portage La Prairie" from Play at Your Own Risk, Volume 2 (Recess Records, 1994), possibly either a joke song or one of the band's earliest recordings, it features John K. Samson singing over a synthesized beat
• "Nation States" from Survival of the Fattest (Fat Wreck Chords, 1996), a different version of the track found on Less Talk, More Rock
• "The Only Good Fascist is a Dead Fascist (Dallas Hansen Dance Mix)" from Better Read Than Dead (AK Press/Epitaph Records, 1994), the same track from Less Talk, More Rock but with an answering machine message critical of the band played before and after the song
• "Hard Times", a Cro-Mags cover from Return of the Read Menace (AK Press, G7 Welcoming Committee Records, 1998), possibly the first studio-recorded track to feature bassist Todd Kowalski
• "War is Peace, Slavery is Freedom, May All Your Interventions Be Humanitarian" from Live Fat, Die Young (Fat Wreck Chords, 2001)
• "Come to the Sabbat", a hidden track and Black Widow cover from Somebody Needs a Timeout (Campfire Records, 2002)
• "Name And Address Withheld", an earlier mix of the track from Potemkin City Limits.

External links

• Propagandhi official website
• G7 Welcoming Committee official website