“He was punished in order to put the fear into other players to not get any funny ideas about freedom of speech. “Having your livelihood and career destroyed is blatant scapegoating and can be devastating – ‘How dare he not do his job and keep his head down, how dare he not stay in his lane!’, says Honeychild. The case was settled, but Kaepernick is still without a team, despite openly seeking a comeback. Unsigned at the end of the 2017 season, he took action against the NFL, accusing its owners of colluding to keep him out of the game. The San Francisco 49ers star began ‘taking the knee’ during the playing of the national anthem at games in a peaceful demonstration against racial injustice. The case of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback, who drew the ire of President Trump and the masters of the NFL for protesting about violence against black people, goes some way to explaining what The 1865 are talking about. In many cases figures of authority still do not see us as human, let alone equal,” Honeychild explains. Grown police officers tackling and murdering children. The band argue that slavery is still prevalent in modern day America – it just goes by other names. But we, as a nation and as artists, have the good fortune of exposing more people via our works, art, and social media,” she says. “The rise in comfort level of those who choose to commit blatant acts of racism is utterly appalling. Honeychild says America has much to learn from its history and how little has really changed in the years since emancipation. He was willing to put his life on the line and eventually he lost his life on behalf of his Nubian brothers and sisters. “The kids today would simply describe him as an ally. “John Brown was a white man who believed that African Americans should not be enslaved he was willing to bust his gun (aka his “Gat”) to contribute to the emancipation/liberation effort,’ Sacha explains. John Brown’s Gat opens with the band singing an acapella version of John Brown’s Body – the Civil War anthem that bears his name.
“But if you’re not really plugged into what the lyrics are about or what the scene is all about, at the end of the day the music still rocks.”Ī case in point is band’s blistering new single John Brown’s Gat – which references 19th century abolitionist John Brown.īrown sought to spark an armed insurrection against slavery and was hanged for treason after leading a raid on an armoury in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in 1859. All of these songs can be looked at as stories,” Sacha adds. ““I think Carolyn did a really great job of telling a really broad range of perspectives. “We set out to express some of the experiences and emotions in America during that time, Predominantly through the lens of African Americans yet not exclusively,” Honeychild explains. The line-up also features Afro-Brazilian Flora Lucini ( MAAFA) on bass and Jason ‘Biz’ Lucas ( Dragonz of Zynth) on drums.Įvery song on the album features an aspect of life in post-emancipation America, Coleman’s lyrics drawing connections between past and present. Sacha played with The White Mandingos and The Wilding Incident, while vocalist/guitarist Honeychild featured in Apollo Heights, The Veldt and Badawi.įamed session multi-instrumentalist and skateboard pro Chuck Treece, whose credits include Bad Brains, Urge Overkill and McRad, played bass and drums on the album. From Left: Jason ‘Biz’ Lucas, Carolyn Honeychild Coleman, Flora Lucini and Sacha Jenkins – Picture by Ed Marshallįormed by guitarist and filmmaker Jenkins in 2017, The 1865 have some serious antecedents.
Vocalist/lyricist Carolyn ‘Honeychild’ Coleman and founder and lead guitarist Sacha Jenkins caught up with EP’s Matt Catchpole to discuss the state of the nation and their ambitions for the band. Named after the year slavery was officially outlawed in the US, The 1865 describe themselves as “ Bad Brains meets Foo Fighters in a black woman’s hair salon for a cup of tea”.
New York city’s The 1865 are part of a new wave of punk bands bringing the politics of protest back to the frontline of American music.Ĭombining elements of hardcore, heavy rock and blues, with articulate, intelligent, lyrics, they’re taking the fight to Donald Trump in his own backyard.ĭebut album Don’t Tread On We! uses history to shed light on the violence, division and casual racism, the band say, are part of the everyday experience of black people in America. If there’s any succour for those feeling demoralised and disenfranchised by the current state of world politics, it’s the revival of a fierce musical and artistic resistance.
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