Hi. My name is Raz, i'm a musician and part of the Anarchist Federation in Brighton, UK. My city has a long history of anarchism and punk, as some of you may know. I play music usually alone, rather than in a band, and on acoustic guitar, but i would still say i have a punk attitude towards it, which to me means being DIY and trying to have honest and important lyrics, as well as usually being quite angry about something when writting a song! i organise open mic nights and in an anarchist social centre called the Cowley club, as well as fundraising gigs for local direct action and international solidarity campaigns. I think open mic nights are an important form of DIY music and can help lots of people to realise that they can make their own music, not having to rely on commerical outlets for it or feel aleinated by "professional" musicians. Politically i would say i'm an Anarcho-Communist and believe in the need for Anarchist revolutionary organisation, which is why i joined the Anarchist Federation, (http://afed.org.uk/ if people want to know more about it). We are part of an international organisation called IAF-IFA, the International of Anarchist Federations (http://www.iaf-ifa.org/), which aims to bring together anarchist groups from all over the world in a federal, anti-authoritarian structure to try and coordinate our efforts to destroy capitalism and create a global anarchist society. Right now i'm in Latin America looking for anarchist groups to put them in contact with IAF-IFA. I'm in Medellin, Colombia right now, and will be going north to Panama and then through every other country in central america until Mexico. If you live in any of these countries please send me an email and we'll meet up! In solidarity, Raz
