Interview: Jason Christopher Casts His Vote for Black President

At this year's Warped Tour stop in LA, punk fans had the opportunity to witness a new band made up of punk rock veterans and old school attitude. Black President is a band comprised of members of various punk rock/hard rock acts including, Goldfigner, Soul Fly and The Dee Dee Ramone Band. They don't have cute hair. They don't sing sweet harmonies and they had very little use for the emo crowd that filled the Warped audience. During their set Black President exuded punk rock attitude times ten. They told the crowd they didn't endorse either candidate running for president. They cajoled their audience to seek the truth and to not just buy what the news media was selling them. They made fun of most of the bands on the bill and then name checked the bands who they felt represented the true spirit of the genre. Their lead singer dove head first into the crowd and ended up tasting concrete. The band played with conviction, broke guitar strings and brought a rawness that may have been missing from the big stages on the tour. In fact, one might surmise that four tattooed white gentlemen calling themselves Black President might be the most punk rock thing to happen at this year's Warped Tour! After a raucous performance, I had the pleasure to talk to bassist Jason Christopher and he shed some light on the ideals and ideas of Black President.

Associated Content: How and why did this band come together?

Jason Christopher: We were actually a punk rock cover band called Sh*thead! We had a lot of different folks in the band come and join us on stage and do old punk covers along with some AC/DC, Motorhead...Charlie Paulson (the guitarist) really put the whole thing together. We had members from Unwritten Law, The Circle Jerks, Bad Religion...once we started writing songs we started to solidify the lineup.

AC: Talk to me about the name of the band. What is the significance?

JC: I want to make one thing clear. This band came about way before Barack Obama announced he was running. When we put this band together, we wanted a name that would be indicative of REAL change. We agreed that nothing could represent change more in a racist, soul-less society than a Black President. When we say Black President however, we are not talking about someone who is a career politician! We are talking about someone with balls and brains! We are talking about someone like Huey P. Newton or Bobby Seale or Chuck D! No more puppets running the show!

AC: Do you have any opinions on the up coming election besides feeling that neither candidate should be supported?

JC: You should probably talk to one of the other band members about politics. I am a real simple dude at the end of the day. I have no time for politics. CNN is not about change. This political system is not about change...as long as you are not hurting me or anyone else I say, do your thing.

AC: Ok let's go back to the name of the band. Was it tough to sign on with a record label? Did folks want you to change the name?

JC: We did go to a few labels and they were scared of the name. These were actually punk rock labels!! These labels wanted us to change the name. We signed on with Cobra Music and they have been very supportive of us. They understand where we are coming from and what we are about.

AC: You had some harsh things to say about some of the bands on this tour. What is your feeling on the state of affairs in punk rock?

JC: Punk rock has always been a lifestyle for me. It has always been about being different and standing out. I didn't listen to the band KISS for twenty years because everybody on my block and in my neighborhood listed to them! I am not into this cookie cutter stuff that gets played on the radio! Everybody looks the same. Everybody sounds the same! You can't tell these bands apart at all!

AC: What do you think is missing from the genre?

JC: There is no sense of individuality! There is no sense of style...no sense of self. Back in the day The Dead Boys, The Damned, The NY Dolls...these bands all had a sense of self. They all had their own style. That's what this band is about and that is what we are trying to cerate, a true sense of self. This new breed of punk rock is so assembly line!

AC: When does the disc drop and what does the future hold for Black President?

JC: The disc comes out September 16th. We will be on tour through the fall...we are just gonna keep doing what we do...we are gonna tour, keep doing live shows and bring our music and message to the people who want to hear it.

On September 16th be prepared to get in the pit and cast your ballot for Black President.