Political punk-rockers Anti-Flag jumped on the 2010 Warped Tour for the last ten dates. Chris #2, vocalist and bass-guitarist of the band, joined me to talk about the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal hockey match, Sidney Crosby, the Anaheim Ducks and the Warped Tour.
Sidenote: this interview, as well as others and a Warped Tour review can be found by clicking here.)
Matt Baldwin: I'm here with Chris #2. My first question is what do you think of the Kovalchuk deal being voided by the NHL?
Chris #2: I think it’s about time. I think that the Red Wings have been getting away with that the last three seasons. It’s obviously a loophole where you sign a player to…
M: …a 17 year deal…
C: Yeah or a twelve year deal. A player that is older and is not going to play that long, it’s a way to pay him more money a year and getting out of the cap. I’m hoping that they go after the Zetterberg deal and open up the can of worms. The Hossa deal in Chicago is the same thing.
M: Definitely.
C: Look, I live in Pittsburgh. I got Malkin and Sid (Crosby) at five years, seven years, eight years at $8 million a year. Reasonable deals.
M: I don’t think you can put Kovalchuk on the same level. Obviously Crosby is the Lebron James of the NHL. If they were going to give anyone a contract like that in the NHL, I think Crosby would be warranted.
C: But that just shows the difference of a player of a Sid Crosby versus a Kovalchuk where he realizes that he serves a greater purpose and he’s going to make a lot more money if he keeps people happy. He’s not going to be looked at as a person who is bucking the system. He took a real reasonable deal. He was born August 7th. He wears 87. He took $8.7 (million) for eight years. He’s great, you know what I mean? And I think Malkin was the same way. I think their agent could have said “hey, do what Alex (Ovechkin)is doing and take a ten-year $100 million deal.” It’s so see-through that this is just a quick cash grab for a guy. And that’s what wrong with sports. None of these guys started playing so they could do that. They started playing because they loved the game. It’s kind of like being in a rock band. You look sight of things. You start chasing the wrong s***.
M: I know you’re a Pittsburgh guy, so I’m pretty sure of your answer here, but is it Crosby or Ovechkin? Who is the alpha male?
C: Probably surprising you, but I like Ovechkin. I think Crosby is an all-around better player, but Ovechkin is the only player in the NHL that every time the puck is on his stick you hold his breath. It could go in the net from no matter where he is.
M: But isn’t that argument of Mario Lemieux vs. Wayne Gretzky, who would you rather have? Ovechkin is similar to Lemieux where he can score any way possible, but Crosby, like Gretzky, can do everything.
C: That’s the thing. If you’re asking me who I’d rather have on my team it would be Sid. If you’re asking me who would I would rather be, it would be Alex. (laughs)
M: I know you have lukewarm feelings about the US.
C: Yes.
M: But, if you’re like me, your blood pumps during the Olympics…
C: I was rooting for Team Canada. (laughs)
M: You were rooting for Team Canada!? I was going to ask you what were your feelings when Sid put it in.
C: Well, this is what I was thinking. A.) it was in Vancouver. That’s their game. I believe that they deserved to win. Vancouver would have exploded had that game gone to overtime and the US had won. Now, when the US scored that goal with seconds left, I was pumped. It was like “U-S-A” all the way. But no other player would I have rather seen score that goal. It was good for Pittsburgh, it was good for the NHL, it was good for hockey. That’s what supposed to happen. That guy, that game.
M: As a Ducks fan I can understand your predicament watching Getzlaf play for Canada and be like “I can’t root for you, man.”
C: I mean, any game I could root for the US, I did. I was hoping to see Canada/Russia. But when that happened, it was not even in the contest.
M: What do you think about the Anaheim Ducks?
C: I love them. I think they’re a great team. I think Getzlaf, poor guy he’s so handsome but he’s lost all his hair already. He’s stressing about something (laughs). But yeah, Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan are the future of the hockey in Anaheim. I’m glad to see Teemu (Selanne) sign on for another year. But I think they need to solidify the blue line.
M: So how’s Warped Tour been this year for you?
It’s actually been great. We came in for ten days, and this is day five of ten and it’s been one of the best reactions and responses we’ve ever had on this tour. A lot of people have told me before that the audiences have been a bit weird and a bit strange and we came out and people have come just direct. Either they just heard of us and they’re just looking at the stage or we happen to be playing when nothing else important is happening, I don’t know? We have been really fortunate to have time slots where people are out in droves and they’re responding well to the ideas we have and the music that we’re giving them.
M: Who have you been excited to see on the Warped Tour?
C: Fake Problems. I’ve watched the Trio every day. AM Taxi is a great band. I haven’t watched too much. (laughs)
M: I don’t blame you. What do you think the diversity of the Warped Tour brings to the overall Warped Tour experience?
C: It’s panning out to be a good thing for us in a sense that when kids are looking for punk rock there’s like two or three bands for them and we’re one of those. But we’ve on both sides of the coin. We did it in 2004 when it was a punk rock bill, and then in 2006 it was all over the place and then in last year was Bad Religion and NOFX and here it is again. I think they do like to alternate it, but certainly feel like we do well in both scenarios. I think it’s because the ideology of the band is something that isn’t said by a lot of people around here. I find that people perk up when they go from one stage where a band just called them “p******” and tell each other to punch each other in the face and then they get to us and we say “if someone falls down pick them up. These are your brothers, these are your friends.” I think that’s why we do this tour. It does us well in this sense.
M: Anything else you want to add?
C: Go Pens!
Anti-Flag continues to support "The People Or The Gun"
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