Interviews: Roger Miret (Agnostic Front)

When I call Roger Miret (vocalist of Agnostic Front, leader of the Disasters, hardcore legend), he’s about to get on a school bus to go on a field trip with his kid’s class. That’s right, Mr. Victim in Pain, Mr. CBGB, Mr. Neck Tattoo is now a chaperone.

But, that’s not to say Miret has lightened up. Just by speaking to him, I can tell that were I to piss him off, he could probably tear off my ass and then hand it back to me. He’s a tough dude. But, as he crosses five decades, it seems that in addition to being one of the most important guys in one of the world’s most important hardcore bands, he’s also become a bit of a philosopher.

You see, on Agnostic Front’s upcoming album, The American Dream Died (out April 4 on Nuclear Blast), Miret contemplates how civil rights have eroded, how the police abuse their privileges and how being a Cuban immigrant has affected his place in this world. With that in mind, I called up Miret to talk about coming to America, his punk rock history and the new LP.

You can click read more to read John Gentile’s interview with Miret.

Hello Roger!

This is so crazy. I’m about to go on a school field trip. I’d have you call back later, but I’m not on the school bus yet. Let’s see how far we get.

OK! Now, Roger, you were born in Cuba. At what age did you leave Cuba?

I left Cuba when I was five years old.

What are your childhood memories of Cuba?

I remember being at the beach with my father. That was one of my biggest, happiest memories. I remember my house and my dog. That’s as far as I remember about Cuba. I remember getting on the plane. I remember leaving Cuba and coming to the United States. I remember getting cleared to enter. What’s funny, when I think about Cuba, the memories are in black and white. My memories aren’t in color until I was coming to America.

Why did your family leave Cuba?

My father’s side is the side that left. They were not supporters of Castro. They wanted to leave the regime. My mother’s side is still in Cuba. Little by little, my uncle claimed everybody on my father side. I was just five. They were not supporters of that regime.

Where did you first land?

We landed in Florida. We came in on a freedom flight. We then went to Queens.

What was it like when you first saw New York?

It was amazing. I remember getting picked up at the airport by my uncle. I remember driving toward New York and Queens. I had never seen any really tall buildings like that. It was just amazing.

And then, how did you first get into punk rock?

My cousin was listening to it. He turned me onto it. I remember experiences when I was younger. I lived behind a palace. It was a theater and I saw a lot of bands from punk and reggae come through. That was my first experience.

And actually, I believe that at first, you were into the English stuff.

I got more into the English and British stuff. I was also into the Ramones and Blondie and all the Brit stuff -- Sex Pistols, The Clash, Sham 69. Just all your staple bands, really. I kind started going to see the Minor Threats and the Brad Brains… even Agnostic Front. They were a band before I joined.

And, just as an interesting side note, you saw The Police during their early years at CBGBs.

Yes, I did! It was pretty amazing. There were barely any people there. I purchase their first single from them. I lost track of it. I remember there being no one there. What was strange is that everyone was lined up against the wall during the show. But, it was a cool show.

Now, the new album is sort of built from your early experiences, especially coming from Cuba. It’s called The American Dream Died. Does that title reflect what has happened, or what might happen?

I would go with the second. I think it is slowly, slowly dying. When I say the “American Dream,” I don’t mean hot dogs, apple pies and Chevrolets. I’m not talking about materialistic shit. I’m talking about core values as seen from my direct experiences as an immigrant from Cuba. My family came to this country for liberty, justice and freedom, and those are the three big values that I’m talking about. Slowly we are losing liberty. Slowly we are losing the justice system. Slowly we are losing freedom.

Can we repair the country from these wounds or is it all doom and gloom from here on out?

I think, I don’t know if we will ever return. I think the state we are in is difficult to get out of. We are losing rights little by little. Constitutional rights are being eroded. The powers that be are doing whatever they can do to bypass constitutional rights, to make their agendas -- the government, higher up authorities -- they don’t care about the lower, middle class people.

What would you advise younger people to do?

That’s what this record is about. A lot of it is my statement. People might not agree with them, but they are my beliefs. For young people, I advise people to look into stuff. Go read. The Internet is right there. Stop going to these Hollywood movies. Stop worrying about Kim Kardashian’s ass or shit like that. Seek truth for yourself. While everyone is watching these things, stuff is slipping by us. These laws and rules are eroding. We might not be able to change the entire world, but we can make a difference. Know your rights.

The new album has a song called “Police Violence.” New York was infamous for its tough cops in the late '70s and early '80s. But, now, we have all these national tragedies like Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Is it worse now?

I don’t think it’s worse. The difference now is that back then, we didn’t have cameras everywhere. People have cameras on their phones. This corruption has been going on for years, but now, you can record them easily and you can actually see it. Not just New York or America, the world sees it. The world sees these police abusing us with our tax dollars. If they’re supposed to protect us, who will protect us from them? For example, just the other day, the police drew a gun on a homeless guy who was in a tent and was not a threat at all. When someone tried to get the gun away from the cop, he shot and killed him.

But, it’s also little things that they get away with that we didn’t used to see. They should be tried as regular people. There shouldn’t be special committees to protect them. If you do the crime, then you do the time. It should be as simple as that.

What prompted the commentary of the album now, as opposed to, say ten years ago?

Little by little, especially in the last five years, I’ve been frustrated by watching things blow apart. The banks, the police violence and the abuse of civilians. It’s out there and some people want to turn a cheek. I’d rather face it. No one has to agree with me. I’m up for a conversation on it. I may not be right. I learn from talking to people and maybe they’ll learn something from me. That’s where it starts.