Feature Interviews
Against Me! Speaks About Current Tour
If you’re a fan of Against Me!, you may know that the end of 2010 wasn’t exactly kind to the veteran punk rock act out of Gainesville, Florida. Against Me! was formed in 1997 by lead singer and guitarist Tom Gabel. 2002’s Reinventing Axl Rose garnered the band fans within the punk rock community, while the release of “New Wave” in 2007 (followed by “White Crosses” in June 2010) brought more mainstream success. The fall of 2010, however, delivered a series of setbacks: the departure of drummer George Rebelo (due to commitments with primary band Hot Water Music), a slew of cancelled tour dates, and, most notably, the band’s split with label Sire Records.
So have the events of last fall slowed Against Me! down? Not at all it seems—they’re just coming off a month-long tour with Cheap Girls and Fences, and on February 23rd they join headliner Dropkick Murphys for the 2011 St. Patrick’s Day Tour. New drummer, Jay Weinberg, is already meshing well with the band; says bassist Andrew Seward, “it’s been probably one of the easiest transitions of any relationship I’ve ever dealt with….He came down knowing songs we haven’t played in eight years!” Then by this summer the band will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand to make up some of 2010’s cancelled tour dates.
Also coming up in 2011: Tom announced (via his blog, http://www.ifeelsicktomystomach.blogspot.com/) the release of “Total Clarity”, a collection of demos and unreleased songs. Fat Wreck Chords will release the collection on May 24th (Against Me! and Fat Wreck Chords are frequent collaborators; as Tom explains it, “it’s not so much an ongoing deal, like there’s a contract, we’re just still working on a couple projects with them. It wasn’t like when we signed with Sire we were like ‘we’ll never work with you again Fat.’ We still love the label”). New songs are on the way as well.
Prior to the St. Patrick’s Day Tour, Andrew says, Against Me! is heading “to Madison, Wisconsin. We’re going to do a little recording up there at—Butch Vig [Vig produced New Wave and White Crosses] has a studio up there called Smart, that he’s had for years and years. So we’re going to go kind of mess around in the studio for a week and record a couple songs.” No word yet on when and those songs will be released.
Of the many shows you’ve played in Austin, do any stand out as
You join Dropkick Murphys on tour in February and March before
Will there be a follow-up to 2008’s Heart Burns?
What’s different about writing for Against Me! vs. writing solo
Any plans to make up the U.K. and European cancelled tour dates?
Do you still have an ongoing deal with Fat Wreck Chords being that
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How was the show in Austin:
What was your most memorable show in austin?
What’s the difference in playing big venues and small venues?
What bands are you currently listening to?
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by: Jess T.
