For the real story on Anti-Flag you have to go way back to 1988. At that time, Pat could hardly play drums and I was even worse at guitar. But the fact remained that we were the only punk rockers in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania (the town where we grew up) and when faced with either hanging out at the mall, getting fucked out of our minds on drugs, or attempting to play punk rock, we went straight for the punk rock! By 1989 we were playing just well enough to have a band, which we named Anti-Flag. However that band didn't look anything like the Anti-Flag of today. At that time my sister, Lucy Fester, held down the lead vocals, and a number of stray guitarists and bass players sifted in and out of the mix. After playing only one show at a church hall we rented the band fell apart and as far as we were concerned was laid to rest forever! Jump ahead to 1993. After playing in a number of forgettable bands Pat and I drove across the country to fuck around on the west coast for a while. Pat went back to Pittsburgh a week or two after our arrival in San Francisco and I hung out there for about eight months to check out the scenery. Once back in Pittsburgh we were more determined than ever to start a serious band. All we needed was a good bass player. That's where Andy Flag entered the picture. I had met him a year or two earlier at church. Both of us had been forced to attend church by our moms and Andy was the only other punky kid in the youth group, so naturally, we automatically attracted to each other. As it turned out Andy played bass and he, Pat, and I, got together and played a number of times. But then Pat and I left for the west coast, which gave us no chance to really get anything going. So when I got back from San Francisco we called him up and asked him to join the new band we were forming. He accepted.