AM: In your opinion, what are the major differences between The Bright Lights of America and the last record Of Blood And Empire?

JS: I could go on for hours. I think this new album is much more insightful and it stirs emotions much more than the past record. I think more than anything, we wanted to go outside of our comfort zone on this record. I think some people were expecting us to go in a certain direction and we ended up going in a direction that they wouldn’t expect us to. I think there is a lot more orchestral percussion on this record than in the past, things like cellos and brass instruments. We did this to give a new dynamic to the music. I think it kept the music from becoming stagnant and gave us a charge throughout the recording of the album.

AM: With the new record, do you think the distaste for the government has risen?

JS: I think its stayed about the same since the last record. I think we’ve become more introspective as a band. We’ve had some events in the past couple of years that we wanted to focus in versus that sort of stuff. We did an EP last year (“A Benefit For Victims of Violent Crime”) after our bassist’s sister and boyfriend was murdered. After that, lots of fans started coming to us and sharing their personal tragedies. Some of the stories were tough, because there were just some really bad stories. They felt the need to share those stories and views. That is how the song “The Bright Lights of America” came about. It was just fans across the country sharing their stories with us. As it did for us, these fans used music as a way to get through issues with drugs and suicide. The message of the song is to not give up and get through the problems.

AM: How important is it to you for the point to get across that the band is not always anti-American or leaning more negative in the tone of the music?

JS: I’m pretty optimistic that people hopefully feel that way now. We’ve always tried to make our negatives into a positive in our music and bring hope to what we talk about. And at shows, I feel it’s a place where everyone can have a good time, and not have to be intimidated by the big guy in the mosh pits.

AM: Were there any issues the band didn’t get across on the new record?

JS: If anything, maybe discussing health care a bit more. We’ve been to places such as Helsinki (Finland) and Denmark and these people seem to have the best views in the world. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they have better systems with dealing with issues like mental illness screenings and others. There isn’t the feeling of being desperate, it's just a different mindset. People in this country are just on edge and they are feeling desperate.

AM: The band is involved in several causes, including the Military Free Zone. What sort of activities has the band done to help the cause against overaggressive military recruiters?

JS: I think the organization has done a great job on college campuses against the techniques used by some of these recruiters to go to war. Some of our members have planned lawful protests on campuses. It’s my hope that it has helped to make people aware about this situation. We even took it to Congress and had members in Congress support legislation. It was a really good feeling to have their support.

AM: The song “The Ink” deals with government contractors such as Blackwater. Do you feel this song was written to bring awareness to companies like this?

JS: Absolutely, these private armies that are over in Iraq are really dangerous. My fear is that if there were ever to be civil unrest in this country, that the lack of U.S. soldiers here to help could create a disaster, kind of like what happened with Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans a few years back.

AM: What are the upcoming tour plans for the band?

JS: We just got back with playing with Rage Against The Machine at the Big Day Out Festival in Australia and also completed a European tour, where we did Russia for the first time. But we have dates in Europe after the U.S. Tour, where we’re going to play the Leeds and Reading Festival on the main stage. It’s gonna to be the most touring we’ve ever done in a year and excited to get the new songs out.

Anti-Flag’s “The Bright Lights of America” is out now. The band hits the Metro in Chicago tonight and the Majestic Theater in Detroit tomorrow. Additional dates can be found at www.anti-flag.com or myspace.com/antiflag.