Branson, MO — ISIS Fighters, a famous punk band from eastern Syria, will be playing at Harlow’s in Oklahoma City tonight, and then to Branson, MO this coming weekend at Silver Dollar City amusement park. The “Fighters” as their loyal fans affectionately call them are most famous for their notorious past as ISIS terrorists who have found “the true-life” and have each renounced violence forever. The five of them were available for comment, but for reasons we won’t explain here, we just went for a quick chat with the only one in the band who speaks English.
First things first, how did you start a punk band in the midst of fighting a war?
“Yes, we start playing small gigs when we take over new villages,” explains Shaddiq Hossan, guitarist and lead vocalist for ISIS Fighters, “then sometimes the power is still on for a day, maybe two. We play as much in that short time as we could.”
“The [ISIS] leaders, you know, they give us money by the thousands when we get it in raids and those things, but they watch you see what you do with it. When they don’t know we have money of our own, they can do nothing about it, you see. They are not watching us. We are not yet at that time rich, but we got away because we have money of our own now.” He laughed and added, “But, not much.”
What sort of punk do you play?
“We do very hardcore punk,” Shaddiq laughs, “sometimes people in the crowds, they move too fast and end up fighting each other, but they never die. It’s not so bad as the war back home.”
Tickets will be $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Body Armor recommended.
