“The more you play music the more you realise what really pushes you and excites you,” says bassist Todd Kowalski. “For me, just as a listener, I find as I get older I like more and more crazy chaotic music. Dark, heavy, crazy music – it’s just exciting to me.”
Hailing from Winnipeg in south central Canada, Propagandhi’s been making politically-driven and remarkably catchy punk rock since the early ‘90s. While the delivery’s gotten more ireful with age, the foursome face no dilemma mustering such furious energy.
“We like to feel the amps blazing and feel the impact,” Kowalski says. “We just go for what we want to hear and try to achieve it. There’s always a fear that we won’t be able to think of any songs. But I don’t think there’s ever a fear of the songs getting accidentally really lame.”
Despite this clarity of purpose, Propagandhi has never rushed to release new music. “It takes us a while to make interesting riffs and collect them,” Kowalski explains. “It just takes us a lot of time and effort to get where we’re headed. By the time we do, we just look at the calendar and a couple of years have gone by.”
A key ingredient that’s distinguished Propagandhi since day one is vocalist Chris Hannah’s explicit lyrical address of everything from corporate greed, civil inequality and religious hypocrisy to animal and environmental abuse. The band has never disguised its adamant beliefs, but Kowalski says they don’t expect listeners to agree with all that’s expressed.
“It’s our own thoughts and our own outlook. It’s not really to push anything on anyone. If someone writes a love song – if it’s a true love song – they either write it when they’re completely head over heels or they write it when they got dumped, when they’re sad. Our songs come about when we’re really moved by something in the world and almost have to express it. That’s where good music comes from, just a need to express yourself to the world.”
This essential urgency has earned Propagandhi a significant place in punk rock history. Indeed, the way fans snapped up tickets for the first of two Corner Hotel shows this weekend is a testament to the band’s enduring impact. Honouring this legacy is another reason to pace themselves during the creative process.
“If you know not as many people are listening,” Kowalski muses, “you can throw in maybe riffs and stuff you’re not so sure about. I play in a grind band sometimes and I find it easier to go and make a riff and put it in the band easily – just because there’s not all this pressure and worry about making sure it rips.”
As it stands, each Propagandhi record is a blazing statement of intent and it’s hard to imagine what modern punk and hardcore would look like without the Canadian outfit’s D.I.Y. imprint. 2013 marked 20-years since the band’s debut record How To Clean Everything came out. Although Kowalski didn’t join Propagandhi until 1997, he was already well acquainted with the band.
“I was living with Chris right after How To Clean Everything came out. I toured with them a couple of times [while fronting hardcore band I Spy] before I was in the band. I was a fan from the first demos. When I think back to just hearing the tapes, for me as a fan that was the most exciting time. When I first heard them I was like, ‘Oh this band’s so killer’.’”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
