At the end of the day, Bernie Sanders and crust punks have a lot in common. They feel the same way about capitalist and corporate greed, they want equality for underrepresented minorities, and they boldly stand by moral opinions even when it makes them unpopular. Bernie’s presidential campaign has been put together entirely from the small donations of supporters, which is more DIY than any major politician has gone in a very long time. 

For many of the hardworking musicians here in Boston, Bernie Sanders is a bit of a political hero. He represents a radical move away from big business involvement in the political process, and many of his social stances resonate with liberal hearts. His wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, is also a bit of a hero for the musical underground, having once started a DIY venue in Vermont. All around, this makes Bernie Sanders campaign seem a worthy cause for the art-loving, music-making, equality enthusiasts in these Boston bands.  In that spirit, we talked to a few local artists who support Bernie about their support and how his platform resonates with them. 

When you are done flipping through what bands have to say about Bern, go ahead and register to vote! Do it soon - in Massachusetts, you must register a month before the election, and the presidential primary is in March. Registration can be filled out online. If you’re a student or away from home, maybe consider filling out an absentee ballot. Don't forget that if you want to vote for Mr. Sanders,  you must be registered as a Democrat.  

If you are feeling very inspired by the music and the politics, consider going to a Bernie Benefit show. They happen all the time - there is one this Friday at Deep Thoughts in JP featuring W00DY, Soft Eyes, Animal Hospital, Epicureans, and more!

(Please note that all political opinions are those of the individuals interviewed, not necessarily of their respective projects as a whole or of the Allston Pudding Team. AKA politics are divisive, but everyone can get along and engage in music and democracy!)

Spencer Sabo of Mind The Journey 

Allston Pudding: When did you first find out about Bernie and how?

Spencer Sabo: Well, my brother went to school in Vermont and lives there now, so he told me about the Bernmeister pretty early into his campaign. It was interesting actually, I knew about him but didn't follow. I was still a bit skeptical, really about politicians in general. But Bernie was hard to ignore, and as I saw my generation start to rally alongside him in a way I'd never seen with politics before I knew there was something special.

AP: What is it about Bernie’s campaign that resonates with you?

SS: Bernie Sanders is running on a beautiful idea. Instead of being backed by big businesses (and in turn favoring them when elected), he gets funds through individual donations. So basically, he can go against the corruption and not perpetuate it. Thing is, this is how every public office campaign should be run.

I like all of Bernie’s running points and the fact he's never changed them for anyone. Free public college and health care is obviously fantastic and much needed. But even more, his ideas on restructuring the prison systems, his stance on social justice and racism, women's rights, the environment, and cleaning up some of the corruption. Of course, these are huge promises that, with the way things in Washington are now, seem unlikely for all to come to fruition... but a man can dream. Besides, even accomplishing some is progress. I would sleep better having a socialist stallion like Bernie in office, knowing he's fighting for the people and not whoever is paying him off.

Speaking of socialism, I find it interesting how so many people get offended when the word is brought up with Bernie. You can really see how the media, basically using pro 'Merica propaganda, makes people believe pure capitalism is the best way, when in actuality it's screwing a lot of us over. Most of us, actually.

AP: As an artist and voting person, how do you stay involved in the political process?

SS: I registered to vote last month, just for you Bernie!

You don't see too many artists going against the political norm; it’s an easy way to lose a chunk of potential listeners. But I think it's important, and powerful. Hell, it can be enough to spark change. Music that's got political purpose elevates the art form to a whole new level- just look at Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. Because of this, I've been putting more political statements into my music.

We released a new album this month called Color In The Gray Machine, and it follows a character as they discover certain things about the the world, the strict and narrow pathed system we live in. It's ultimately about losing that naive, yet magical, view of what you thought life was. So that’s our political statement.

I mean, none of that really pertains to Bernie's campaign though. Maybe I'll release a Bernie Sanders-themed support album. I'll call it "Bernie’s Got Balls". Haha, I don't know, whatever.

But young people! Get out and vote!

Hadden Stemp of The New Highway Hymnal 

Allston Pudding: When did you first find out about Bernie and how?

Hadden Stemp: When I heard about him, I heard what he was talking about and it really resonated with me. When it went from “I really like this guy and I’d like him to be president” to “how can I help this person get elected” was when I went and saw him speak up in Exeter. He spoke in this little town hall; it was packed and really hot. He has the most logical solutions to the problems that we have.

AP: What parts of his campaign resonate with you?

HS: Addressing the enormous income inequality in this country – how it’s almost hard to comprehend how much some people have when others people have nothing or little. He wants to overturn Citizen’s United, which I am very much for. I don’t think we should have big money in politics, or money at all in politics, because that’s not what it should be about. It should be about helping people’s lives, not money.

I could go on and on – he wants to shut down the private prison system which essentially legalizes slavery. He wants to end the war on drugs, which has been a huge failure, a huge waste of time and money. He wants to shift our reliance away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, which will be great for our economy and great for the environment. As a country, I don’t think we are at the point where if you buy a hybrid and turn your lights off it’s gonna make enough of a difference. We need someone from a higher level who is gonna say we need to tighten up carbon emissions, we need to find new sources of energy.  

One other thing that I like about him is that he says he’s not going to get everything done unless we elect more people who will work with him. That seems very truthful to me – in my life politicians have always run with "I will get it done, I will negotiate". He’s saying we need a political evolution, a big change. That’s very honest.

AP: As an artist and a person, how can you stay involved in the political process?

HS: I would just say – for anyone – just tell someone else who doesn’t know what he’s about. Just getting the message out there is the most important thing at this point so that we can get him elected. You can give money, but I think that it’s much more valuable to give him your time. He’s not getting support from corporate media, but I think he’s kind of hip to the idea that social media is gonna be way more powerful than television, radio, or newspaper. It’s already becoming a much more powerful tool. As a band specifically, you can just find a way to use your music to attract people to his message. Play a benefit show for him, put together a compilation, just help spread awareness. Because once people hear it, they will think this makes sense.

Catherine Woodcock of W00DY 

Allston Pudding: When did you first find out about Bernie and how?

Catherine Woodcock: I think I found out through friends, and just found out that he had a much different approach to politics than most other public figures and democrats. He just totally has a different approach to everything and it just makes sense for the new generation.

AP: What parts of his campaign resonate with you?

CW: He is really pushing to help young adults who are in debt, which I think is really important. I have a lot of friends who are going to be in debt for years from going to school, and he’s trying to make college education more accessible to people who don’t have a lot of money. That’s really important. And the wealth inequality is a huge issue.
AP: As an artist and a person, how can you stay involved in the political process?
CW: I think just doing your best to stay current, there is so much bias all over the internet and that can be really hard. But there is a really great news channel called Democracy Now, it’s a really great source. It’s very leftist but I think that it’s a very accurate source of information.

I think just talking about it with your friends and going to benefits. Just stay current and present and pay attention.

Socrates Cruz of Moniker

Allston Pudding: When did you find out about Bernie and how?

Socrates Cruz: I studied history and government in college, so I’ve known about Bernie Sanders for a while. When he announced about a year ago, that’s when I started paying more attention. It’s interesting because we’re all pretty progressive and liberal, but my other band mates were probably more skeptical at first as far as the chance of him actually winning. We’re all pro-Bernie.

I’ve followed him for many years now, and he’s a true progressive. He’s running a pretty honest campaign. It’s not looking at poll numbers and taking whatever policy is convenient. He’s always believed what he believes.

Allston Pudding: What parts of his campaign resonate with you personally?

SC: He’s just always been on the right side of history; he’s just always believed the same thing. I think that these things just reverberate a bit more with the middle class now, since it affects everyone. 8 years ago a lot of older people were skeptical of younger people being unemployed, and now they are realizing that kids graduate with massive debt and they don’t really have any job prospects the way that previous generations did. Now I think it’s reverberating on a deeper level. It’s not just millennials; everyone is seeing the effect of wealth inequality. It’s a perfect time for what Bernie Sanders has been saying his whole career, now that it’s becoming very, very obvious to the point where you can’t ignore it anymore.

AP: How can artists stay involved in the political process?

SC: A lot of people might not realize it because it’s part of everyday life now, but social media is extremely powerful. Now most people get their news from Facebook, not just millennials but older people too. People don’t watch the news anymore. So when people talk about Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush winning because they have all this money to spend, that’s an antiquated mode. You don’t need millions of dollars to get the word out on social media, and I think that’s where Bernie Sanders has a huge advantage. People who agree with him love him and post about him. This matters – it’s person to person, it’s a chain reaction, and even if you get one extra person to vote that’s a lot.

James Fraser of The Symptoms

Allston Pudding: When did you first find out about Bernie Sanders and how?

James Fraser: I heard about Bernie a long time ago when he was a senator. Just knowing that he was one of the longest standing independent senators in the United States,  when he started running for president I was intrigued. I started following him on Facebook. So that’s kind of when I started getting really into Bernie.

AP: What parts of his campaign resonate with you personally?

JF: His fight against income inequality and racial injustice are really important. A lot of the issues that he is for are important, but those two are probably my favorite that he’s raised.

He’s a really great speaker- a lot of energy a lot of passion. When I saw him, he talked about all the issues on his website in more depth. He talked for about an hour. There was a fairly diverse crowd there.

I think he definitely has the potential to win. I don’t think the media has been covering him as much as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump because he’s kind of the outsider candidate. I think this is because there isn’t a lot of middle ground. He stays so true to his ideals and doesn’t flip flop on issues just to appease voters and lobbyists.

AP: How can artists stay involved in the political process?

JF: The Symptoms don’t like to represent political ideals or political candidates because we’re more about aesthetics and music, but as an individual I believe that Bernie Sanders is a great candidate and I believe that us as individuals should all be involved in the political process.  

So even though the band isn’t for the political process, I think it’s really important to vote. I think staying involved at some point in the political process gives you a chance to have your opinion heard, and that way it isn’t just a political oligarchy. I think that will help get big money out of politics, and bring it back to the democratic ideals that this country was founded on.

Brandon Hagen of Vundabar

Allston Pudding: When did you first find out about Bernie Sanders and how?

Brandon Hagen:  I guess I just had been hearing his name around, playing music in the Northeast most of the people tend to lean to the left. I think that just running in that in that circle you hear about him a lot. I watched some of his speeches, that’s how I became I acquainted. And because of the benefits, yada-yada. He’s a dude though, he’s a hunk

What parts of his campaign resonate with you personally?

BH: His stance on student loans and free education, and using European countries for a model for what should be provided, really resonated with me. The time we spent over in Europe touring there, people over there want to talk about national identity a lot. There’s this whole stigma about what it means to be an American. Countries like France and Belgium get so much provided by the government, just like free healthcare. The right industries are subsidized, the music and art industry has huge government backing, which would just never happen in the U.S. I remember being like wow it would be nice if the government did more for it’s people. That, and the student loan thing, just because it screwed up a lot of my friends’ lives. Our generation, that’s like our thing. It kind of locks you down, and if you’re an artist you kind of need the freedom to have inconsistent income and do your thing, which student loans kind of fucks up.

AP: How can artists stay involved in the political process?

BH: I think it’s definitely important for artists to be vocal, isn’t that the point? You literally are putting yourself up on the stage to do something. We’ve donated some money a couple times and will post about him. We’re gonna play a Feel the Bern benefit show in Baltimore, and I’d like to do one in Boston too. A friend of ours is organizing one of those meetings to watch the debates at his place, so we’re trying to stay involved.

 

Don't forget to register to vote & to look out for local Bernie Sanders benefit shows like the one at Deep Thoughts in Jamaica Plain, Friday 1/8! 

 

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