Not Your Parents' Protest Music

By Naeem Mohaiemen, AlterNet. Posted March 13, 2006.

"One hundred thousand civilians died in Iraq, what the f@*#! is up with that?" -- Sonny Suchdev of Outernational, introducing the song "Blood on the Streets."

I've been following the band Outernational -- with their fearless melange of punk, rap, ska, bhangra and afrobeat -- since 2003. While still not a household name, the group began to make waves at 2004's Republican National Convention protests in New York. That's where they played (at the "Axis of Justice" concert organized by Tom Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine) to a large crowd of pissed-off activists, many of them Critical Mass bike riders who had just watched the NYPD target and arrest scores of their own (the Bloomberg administration claimed that "anarchists" had infiltrated the group bike ride). The repercussions of that day's mass arrests and police mistreatment continue to reverberate in Outernational's NYC home base.

Even before Outernational's breakout performance at the RNC protests, they had fans -- like me -- regularly attending their shows for a political floor-stomping fix. In 2000, as the New York Times pondered the possible death of "protest music", older anti-establishment voices like Consolidated, Public Enemy, Fugazi, and Negativland were dimming, and fans needed something new. Into the gap stepped Outernational, which came together in late 2003 with a heady mix of radical politics and furious beats.

Since its inception, the young (most members are in their early 20s) band has been growing steadily, supporting numerous political events such as last year's Atlantic City concert at a picket line of striking hotel workers (with Wyclef Jean) and World Can't Wait events to demand Bush's resignation. The group has also been playing sold-out shows at national clubs and college campuses, with the likes of Michelle Shocked, Dub Is A Weapon, Prince Paul, and Gogol Bordello (led by Eugene Hutz, who produced the band's EP "Outernational"). As it is for many other still-unsigned bands, the networking website MySpace.com is a crucial tool for Outernational, helping build a dedicated internet fan base that follows them from city to city.

I recently caught Outernational at New York's Knitting Factory and was pleasantly surprised to find that their audience had changed. Alongside the hardcore anti-war activists and South Asian radicals I used to see at their shows, there was now a huge following of high school students and Latino working-class youth. When a spontaneous mosh pit evolved, with enthusiastic kids crowd-surfing and hanging from ceiling pipes, I worried that the band's shows might devolve into "forget politics, just dance" parties. But, thankfully, Outernational's repertory remains political, with crowd favorites like "From the Future" imploring listeners to "send these fools to the trash and move these ghouls to the past/ take a stab at this cornered crabby crass capitalist class."

After their Knitting Factory show, AlterNet met with band members Miles Solay and Sonny Suchdev for a free-wheeling discussion about politics, music, fans and inspiration; other band members weighed in later via email.

[Outernational are Miles Solay (vocals, lyrics), Sonny Suchdev (trumpet, vocals, percussion), minimum tek (guitar), Jesse Williams (bass) and Turbo Garcia (drums).]

Naeem Mohaiemen: What were your inspirations to start the group? I remember a general malaise from the idea that revolution rock was dying (metaphorically with Rage Against The Machine's implosion, and literally with the passing of Joe Strummer and two Ramones). Were you inspired to fill a gap?

Miles Solay: The origins of Outernational partly came from a felt need among our generation. The passing of Joe Strummer (The Clash) was incredibly influential for me. It was tragic because he was not some washed-up relic. He had a new band and was really trying to be relevant and connect with a new audience.

We started Outernational after the U.S. invaded Iraq for the second time. We come out of a certain tradition, which we embrace and contribute towards. What we're doing, though, is trying to develop a new synthesis -- a new sound -- based on the legacy we came out of.

Naeem Mohaiemen is a filmmaker and media activist. Projects include Shobak & Disappeared In America.

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