If I was still working at Reprise in 2011 I would have tried to sign The Interrupters. The 3 Bivona brothers were in a band, Telecasters, opening for Sugar Ray when they met singer Aimee Allen (now Aimee Interruptor). My friend David Kahne, head of A&R at Reprise, had produced Sugar Ray's big album, so it probably wouldn't have been hard to do. "Take Back the Power," that song up top reminds me of Green Day, Rancid, The Specials, The Clash and Joan Jett. But Epitaph signed them through Hellcat and released their first album exactly 4 years ago and "Take Back the Power" was the first single. You might have heard it on a T-Mobile ad or on that Showtime comedy Shameless. No? How about Michael Moore's film, Where To Invade Next?The Interrupters' live dates before the election are at in Denver (Sept 22), Austin (Sept 23), Auburn--between Seattle and Tacoma (Sept 29), Boise (Sept 3-) and then San Diego (Oct 20) before heading off the the U.K.So what about the band's politics? Aimee was a Ron Paul supporter and recorded a campaign song for him-- anti-war, anti-Patriot Act, anti-police state... the better end of libertarianism. She performed at some of his campaign events. If "Liberty" is any indication, the band definitely is in the libertarian camp. She's been interviewed by Alex Jones at least 4 or 5 times but all of the InfoWars stuff has been removed from YouTube. These are the lyrics to "Take Back The Power":
What's your plan for tomorrowAre you a leader or will you followAre you a fighter or will you cowerIt's our time to take back the power Whatcha gonna doWhen they show up in black suitsOn your street in army bootsAnd they're there to silence youWhatcha gonna sayWhen they strip your rights awayAnd the taxman makes you payFor every bead of sweat you bled today We don't need to run and hideWe won't be pushed off to the side What's your plan for tomorrowAre you a leader or will you followAre you a fighter or will you cowerIt's our time to take back the power Who you gonna trustWhen the judge is so unjustAnd the jury must discussSaid you don't look like one of usWhere you gonna turnNow the court has been adjournedAnd the lessons that you learnedAre not as many as the bridges burned We don't need to run and hideWe won't be pushed off to the side What's your plan for tomorrowAre you a leader or will you followAre you a fighter or will you cowerIt's our time to take back the power
Guitarist Kevin Bivona, is very much aware of how much the band has been accused of harboring right-wing sentiments. In 2014 he wrote that they "DON’T identify ourselves as libertarians or Tea Party. In fact, we don’t identify ourselves as anything, as we believe putting people in boxes is divisive... Aimee is one of the most politically open-minded and evolving people I’ve ever met and she NEVER judges or puts people down based on their political beliefs. She is on a constant quest for knowledge and if you ask her about her politics today, they will most definitely be different than yesterday (let alone 2008)...As a band, the 4 of us think different politically and like to debate issues... We are most definitely NOT a ‘right wing’ band… but if we were, I would hope we would get the same shot as everyone else. That’s the great thing about America right? Freedom of choice and diversity, whether it be politics, religion, music.. pretty much anything."The new album, their third, Fight The Good Fight, came out 3 months ago with "She's Kerosene" as the lead single. Enjoy: