Agnostic Front lead singer discusses his band MIRET cont. from page 9 Photo by John Fox Roger Miret, of Agnostic Front the evolution of Hardcore. “It’s very different” said Miret. “It used to be a lot more of a personal scene because it used to be a lot more of a smaller scene. It’s got its good and its bad points. I love the more revolutionary values that were around in the beginning. Whengnostic originated, we were focused on making our scene stronger and bet ter. We were always out of step with society. It was all about anti-war, anti-religion, and anti society. Those were our values because we came form the New York City punk scene, which eventually became hardcore punk, which eventually became hardcore. Things have m;tfosw\ tv.yxm': cn »■ 3 JD V) w X ** m <** in e changed. Hardcore and punk have evolved into something huge. We believe in our scene. This is our lifestyle. This is what we believe in and I think hardcore is great at the moment” he said. Many hardcore bands today rightfully site Agnostic Front as a major influence. Miret talked about AgnsticFfront’s influ ence on today's hard- core scene. “I think we get credit where credit is due” said Miret. “People know how much we have done and have given credit to our scene. I believe we have been one of the most honest bands to our lifestyle and music that has existed since the beginning. We’ve outlived a lot of our fel low bands that we start ed out with- Black Flag, Minor Threat, etc. etc. I think the test is in the time and we've done so much and continue to do so much. People that know that will give respect. It’s great to have influenced so bands” he said, all these props going out to Miret and Agnostic Front, does he ever put any thought to many With within the hardcore being regarded as a legend of hardcore music? “No, not at all” Miret said. “To us, we’re just a bunch of normal guys. Just because we are out on a stage doesn’t mean we are better than anyone else. In fact, the stage is wel come for anybody else to use, to jump off, to have fun, and do what we’re doing. We're just people enjoying what we do. That’s what’s kept us together. There are really no egos or nothing in the way” Miret said. Hardcore truly has pro gressed from its early punk DIY roots. Although its core values still remain, many bands have enjoyed marked success in radio and MTV. I ask Miret if he would crossover if hardcore becomes com pletely mainstream. “I don’t believe that would happen” said Miret. “But, then again, if you would have told me twenty years ago that hardcore would be what it is today I’d say you must be kidding me. You never know. It’s every bands dream to reach out to thou sands of people and spread their message. You can’t knock them if they get success on MTV or something as long as they remain true to their core and what they believe in and remain that way. Like, you can’t knock Rancid for being on MTV and having suc cess because they’re the same as they were before that ever occurred and there are a lot of bands like that All in all, if you remain honest and true to , >B3 ysjuyftft nwnmammUßunHd *VWP*W *«»**»« f. i! Ilf ill beliefs then it’s all good.” he said. Miret segued into the relevance of pop culture to him and the hardcore scene. ilt [pop culture] doesnit matter to us,i said Miret. il donit even lis ten to the radio. I try to catch college stations or just listen to CDis. live never been a fan of MTV. I donit watch it. Our videos have popped up on Headbangers Ball and hopefully weill see our new video on Headbangers Ball {' ' #"#■ fc S p 9 r. *£► jft Ft Sf** .t T -■ Photo Courtesy of .Angelfire.com Agnostic Front preforms for thousands of hardcore rock fans. The band recently completed a new album entitled “Another Voice.” Agnostic Front has been credited with adding the evolution of hardcore rock. o 2> 3 JO m £ w X +* +* (0 rock scene because thatis a pretty cool program on MTV. “It’s made more for kids in our scene who are looking for the new hard bands and stuff like that. Besides that, pop culture is just a differ ent world to us. It’s something we’ve never focused on. I don’t even watch a lot of movies, other than documen taries. I read a lot” he said. Miret told me he is cur rently reading “The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq” by Christopher Scheer, Lakshmi Chaudhry, and Robert Scheer. This prompted me to ask him about his thoughts on the upcoming election. “I think Bush is a mani ac” said Miret. “I donit know if Kerry could handle the job of run ning the country but I’m not a politician so I Idn’t know. I defi ly would not like to Bush back because nk he’s jeopardized of many peo- see I th the pie out there. If Kerry does win, hopefully he can carry the country” said Miret. Agnostic Front has just settled a 4-year legal battle to the rights of their website. Their cur rent home on the web is www.afnyhc.com. Now that they have settled for the rights to their old website, you can find them at www.agnosticfront.com starting the week of September 13, accord ing to Miret. Miret is very excited about touring with the new material and mixing it up with the old stuff. Agnostic Front also has plans of putting out a DVD in 2005. When asked about the future of Agnostic Front, Miret said, ’’The new album, new video, new tours, and new friends.” Look for more arti cles like this from John Fox in the Capital Times in the future WQIHiPMm nr>*m *«w*Ss ! ii
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