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On this day, 22 August 2002, American punk band Strike Anywhere played Cardiff’s Barfly.
Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is characterized by fast tempos, catchy melodies, and emotionally charged vocals delivered via shouting and singing.
The band received an increased amount of attention after their music appeared in three Tony Hawk video games: Tony Hawk's Underground in 2003 ("Refusal"), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland in 2005 ("Question the Answer"), and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam in 2006 ("The Promise"). They were also featured in the documentary, Wake Up Screaming, about the 2005 Vans Warped Tour.
Strike Anywhere lyrics touch on such issues as police brutality, anti-capitalism, women's rights, animal rights, and globalization. They have also contributed tracks to political benefit albums, such as a live version of "Sunset on 32nd" for 1157 Wheeler Avenue: A Memorial for Amadou Diallo and "To the World" for the Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 album. According to the liner notes for their album Change is a Sound, they support "the vegetarian lifestyle, the living wage movement and the fight against corporate globalization". With its 2006 release Dead FM, the band expanded their political slogans to address "more sociological ideas about why these (events) happen".
Their logo is similar to the Three Arrows symbol and the Antifascist Circle, and includes the logo of the former social democracy/antifascist German Iron Front, a paramilitary organization which existed in the last years of the Weimar Republic.
Strike Anywhere generally allows audience members to record their live performances for personal, non-commercial use, and has gone so far as to authorize the Internet Archive to create a section where fans can upload and share their recordings.
