Justin Sane

Sane was born the youngest child in a working class Irish-American family, and cites his parents as inspirations. His parents were vegetarians and they opened the first vegetarian restaurant in Pittsburgh, inspiring Sane to become a vegetarian and animal rights advocate. As a boy he saw his parents participate in rallies, and as he got older he participated.

Sane's sister Lucy gave him his first guitar which got him into punk rock and hardcore. The first song Sane wrote was about a young person overdosing, and his second was about televangelists.

Sane in 2008

In 1988, Sane formed Anti-Flag with friend Pat Thetic.[2] In 1996, they released their first album, Die for the Government. Later that year, Andy Flag left the band as a result of personal disputes. Various band members came and went during 1997 and 1998, after which they finally settled on a permanent line-up consisting of Sane as lead guitarist/vocalist, Thetic as drummer, Chris Head as guitarist/backing vocalist, and Chris "#2" Barker as bassist/second vocalist.[3] In 1998, the band released their second album, Their System Doesn't Work For You.

In 1999 Anti-Flag released their third album, A New Kind of Army, and founded their own label, A-F Records. In 2001, they signed to Fat Wreck Chords after discussions with the label's owner, "Fat Mike" Burkett.[4] Following their switch to Fat Wreck Chords, the band released Underground Network.

Mobilize, recorded shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, was released early 2002.[5] Anti-Flag released a split CD with Bouncing Souls seven months later. 2003 saw the release of The Terror State, produced by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Anti-Flag's first DVD, Death of a Nation, was released in 2004. The DVD includes live footage, three music videos, an interview with the band, behind-the-scenes tour footage, and three montages compiled by the band.[6]

In 2006, Anti-Flag released For Blood and Empire on RCA Records. The Bright Lights of America was released in 2008.

In May 2008, Sane moved to East End, London, but he subsequently returned to Pittsburgh.

On March 4, 2009, Sane jumped into the crowd at a concert at the LCR in Norwich to stop a scuffle which broke out and landed awkwardly, breaking his collar bone. This caused Anti-Flag to cancel the remainder of their tour with Rise Against and their upcoming headlining tour of Europe.[7] The same year, a 2-track split album with Rise Against was released, originally given away with any merchandise purchase on the 2009 Rise Against/Anti-Flag/Flobots UK tour.

On July 19, 2023, Anti-Flag disbanded without warning and initially without an explanation, in the middle of a European tour; the band's social media profiles, alongside Sane's personal social media profiles, were taken offline.[8] Stereogum, an indie music news site, and Us Weekly, an entertainment magazine, linked Anti-Flag's breakup to a podcast episode released on July 19, the same day as the band's dissolution, that leveled accusations of sexual assault against "a singer in a political punk band" believed to be Sane.[8][9] Shortly after the band's breakup, Punk Rock Saves Lives, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting better mental and physical health in the punk rock scene, severed ties with Sane, releasing a statement acknowledging that although "the entire story [had] not unfolded yet," they made their decision "in the interest of our community and keeping in faith with [their] core values."[10]

On July 26, Sane released a statement through his reactivated personal Instagram account denying the accusations and calling them "categorically false"; in his statement, Sane also explained the length of time before he made a statement, stating that he needed time to "absorb the initial shock." His Anti-Flag bandmates released a separate statement explaining their decision to disband.[11]

On September 5, 2023, Rolling Stone published an exposé revealing twelve more women who accused Sane of predatory behavior, sexual assault, and statutory rape in alleged incidents dating from the 1990s to 2020.[12] Following the release of the article, Sane's former bandmates, Thetic, Head, and Barker, released a statement directly condemning Sane, stating they believed he was "in need of serious professional help" and that "it appears you used our beliefs as a cover for egregious activities that you clearly knew we would never condone."[13]

Sane primarily uses ESP and LTD Eclipses, now almost exclusively after becoming an endorser of ESP. In the past, Sane used Gibson Les Pauls as well. Sane usually uses high gain Marshall amp heads like JCM800s, 900s, & 2000s and Marshall 1960 cabs. Sane and Head have used Orange and Hiwatt amplifiers and cabinets on recent tours.

Sane graduated from The Oakland School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in communications and minoring in political science.

Sane has released several solo recordings, such as 2001's six-track EP These are the Days and 2003's Life, Love and the Pursuit of Justice. These recordings generally focus on love, family, and more everyday concepts rather than the politically charged stance of Anti-Flag.