Propagandhi As Political As Ever

08/19/08 4:04pm

by Jen Zoratti (CHARTattack)

"North America is a fun happy place, unless you live in Winnipeg at Chris Hannah's house."
NOFX's Fat Mike said that at a recent Edmonton gig. While it was obviously meant to be a joke, that quote neatly sums up a fact about Hannah's band, Propagandhi. It's been over 20 years since they first got together, and Winnipeg's most famous punks are still just as known for their politics as they are for their music.
We caught up with Hannah, the frontman and founder of the seminal band about the band's forthcoming record, the causes they're supporting and the myth about Propagandhi.

ChartAttack: There hasn't been a new Propagandhi album since 2005's Potemkin City Limits. Are you guys working on a new record?
Chris Hannah: We are. We're actually recording it in October and it'll be released in early 2009. It's been a long time, but to us it seems like a day. Everyone's in panic mode right now that it's in October. It's going to have to come together pretty quickly.

You're playing a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society fundraiser in Toronto in July, and you held a benefit gig at the Albert here in Winnipeg in April for the Tyendinaga Support Committee. What else is fueling the Propagandhi fire these days?
Well, I dunno. I don't know if current events take more of our energy than the ongoing normalized craziness of the world. But those two things in particular are contentious mainstream issues in Canada that are frequently misunderstood. We don't take the same kind of risks those people do, so to play a show to help them out, it's the least we can do. Literally.

In today's political, environmental and social climate, do you think it's possible to have hope?
I guess it depends what people mean by hope. I think it's good not to fall into despair, then let your despair turn into rage and your rage turn into self-destruction. It's good to keep a stiff upper lip and keep at 'er.

Propagandhi are known for being a hotly political band that champion a variety of causes. Does that ever get weighty?
It does. But I'm not sure it's so true that we're political 24/7. I think there's been a myth built around the band. It gets heavy. But I live a very privileged, comfortable life.

The band have been around for two decades and you're nearing 40. How have Propagandhi changed in that time, in terms of how you deliver your politics onstage?
The message is essentially the same if you distill it down. The presentation might look different, but our values haven't changed. People ask us if we regret anything we did or said when we were younger and I honestly can't think of anything that contradicts the values I have today.