Tony Cappocchi, vocalist of punk rock band Dragged Under, believes we can learn a lot from freedom of speech, regardless of how it’s used.
“Freedom of speech is obviously so important because it’s the first and most fundamental right we have as Americans,” Cappocchi tells SPIN backstage at Louder Than Life. “It’s a beautiful thing to have. A lot of people don’t have the liberty of being able to say what they want, when they want. It’s important that people are able to say what they want—one, because you get new ideas from it. But also, it’s helpful to hear what people think because sometimes they’ll say dumb shit, and you can go, ‘Oh, that guy’s an idiot, and I want to stay away from him.’ So it’s good on both ends.”
Cappocchi also points out that lyrical themes in popular rock aren’t always relatable to everyone.
“We’re in an unfortunate moment where the big rock bands, top 10 radio bands, are all saying the same shit,” Cappocchi says. “And they’re all talking about stuff that normal Americans, or normal people around the world even, can’t identify with, don’t understand. They’re talking about these things like going through wars and walking through flames and being gods and all this other stuff. It’s just a little bit trite. I live in rural America, and I have a farm. My family farms wheat, and we’re not warriors. Sometimes you just want to hear these big bands relate to people.”
