Propagandhi

As one of Fat Wreck Chord's very first bands, Propagandhi have long been going against the grain of not just society, but even their own record label. Initiated by Chris Hannah and Jordy Samolesky, the band of radicals from Winnipeg, Canada, got together in 1989 and eventually played a show with NOFX. After talking with Fat Mike and realizing they shared the same D.I.Y. attitude, the band agreed to join his fledgling label. Ideally, the band would have loved to skirt the entire capitalist process of selling and marketing music, but made compromises in order to get its pro-gay, pro-feminist, pro-civil liberties, anti-fascism message out. Screeching over fast, catchy punk music, the group moved easily from humorous to profound to blunt with song titles like "I Was a Pre-Teen McCarthyist," "Hate, Myth, Muscle, Etiquette," and "Stick That F*****g Flag Up Your Goddamn Ass, You Skinhead Creep."

That style took a dramatic turn in 1997 when singer, songwriter, and bassist John K. Samson left to write, start a publishing company, and eventually form the Weakerthans. The remaining members of Propagandhi started their own label, G7 Welcoming Committee, which released the band's third album, Where Quantity Is Job #1 [1998], along with Weakerthans' records and Propagandhi's 2001 effort, Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes, in Canada. Both Where Quantity Is Job #1 — a compilation of live tracks, demos, and previously unreleased material — and Potemkin City Limits were released in 2005. The latter CD featured Glen Lambert as a replacement for Chris Hannah, although it soon became apparent that Hannah had not left the band, and had instead been using the "Glen Lambert" moniker as a pseudonym.