How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
Fans of Florida punk band Against Me! take "loyalty" to the extreme. One fan, feeling as though the band betrayed the scene that spawned them, slashed the tires on the band's van.
The natural evolution of a band involves the refinement and expansion of its look, sound and fan base. But an unwritten code of etiquette holds a band to core ideals and condemns a departure from its roots. Especially prevalent in the punk community, no one knows this double-edged sword like the anarcho dreamers-cum-punk superstars in Against Me!
Having recently signed to a major label, Against Me!'s change was met with disdain by the do-it-yourself and anarchist niches, groups that helped make the band what it is today.
Every ascending step throughout the band's career has been questioned, culminating in the slanderous epithet of "sellout." This outcry does not go unnoticed by the band. Drummer Warren Oakes said that it's flattering that fans hold the band so near and dear to their hearts, but they still need to move forward. "If you love the idea of a DIY music scene, and you think that a band should not have a booking agent or should never play commercial venues, and you no longer like us because we're no longer doing those things, the best solution is to find bands that are and support them as wholeheartedly as you can," Oakes said.
The pet project of then-17-year-old singer-songwriter Tom Gabel, Against Me! represented the most organic form of DIY, youth-based musical resistance, the band's original drummer fashioning his drum kit out of a collection of buckets and pickle jars.
Influenced by the protest anthems of Billy Bragg and the DIY lifestyle of bands like Young Pioneers and Hot Water Music, Against Me! gradually transformed from Gabel's solo vehicle to a full-band dynamic of high-energy punk based around an acoustic guitar. Rounded out by guitarist James Bowman and bassist Andrew Seward, AM! found success and harmony in a group setting. After a handful of demo tapes and EPs on anarchist labels, the band's first full-length, "Reinventing Axl Rose," was released by Gainesville, Fla. label No Idea Records.
The band went on to find a home on Fat Wreck Chords, releasing two albums (2003's "As the Eternal Cowboy" and 2005's "Searching For a Former Clarity"). Both garnered their fair share of critical acclaim and commercial success. The band's whirlwind ascent, which included opening stints on Green Day's stadium tour and a debut on the Billboard charts at 114, culminated in a major label deal with Sire Records and the release the band's fourth LP, "New Wave."
A rise to fame, however, is not all beer and Skittles for a group of young activists growing up in the affluent coastal towns of Florida. Brought together by a mutual frustration with their surroundings and ambition for change, the members of Against Me! maintain a love-hate relationship with their home state. With song titles like "Sink, Florida, Sink" and lyrics that include, "If Florida takes us, we're taking everyone down with us," the band has never been shy about their roots.
"There was just such resistance to resistance," Oakes said. Florida fueled the band's fire, building a following by organizing and playing benefit shows and writing fiery, political anthems with youthful rebellion to spare. "It was a battle at every turn, and it really made us dig in our heels and just know that our opinions were worth having and worth fighting for."
Against Me! has always carried with them a message of progress, attempting to balance the personal and political through themes of honesty, solidarity and grass-roots musical revolution. AM! put forth raw emotion on the strength of Gabel's rebel yell and demanded only "a scene where the music is free," promising to play for "nothing but a plate of food and a place to rest," on one-time signature track, the flippantly titled, "Reinventing Axl Rose."
The directness of the band's message left them removed from the mainstream. Major labels and stadium shows "weren't even on the radar," Oakes said. Before the recording of "Reinventing Axl Rose," an attempt to lay out what they thought were impossible goals left the band speechless. "We couldn't even think of anything to say because it all seemed so ridiculous," recalled Oakes. But raucous sing-alongs in bookstores and basements got the band noticed and opportunity was never far from the band's mind.
"Each step along the way, at the end of each record, we had to take stock of where we were and where we wanted to be," Oakes said. A second wave of major label offers became enticing with the promise of reaching a broader audience. "To paraphrase [punk band] the Lawrence Arms: 'I've never tried that, but I know I don't like it.' I think that mentality really is taking over a lot of punk purists, and there are a lot of things we want to experience."
The one-time home of bands like The Smiths and The Replacements, Oakes points to Sire's track record as a major reason for the band's agreement to sign. "You list the artists who have been on Sire Records, and to be on a list with those other bands - Madonna, for crying out loud," Oakes said with a chuckle.
AM! also received creative control in every aspect, something that caught even the band off guard. Oakes called their accepted list of contract demands "very demanding," but necessary in comparison to the major-label horror stories that persist in the punk community.
"New Wave," produced by famed Nirvana producer Butch Vig, is slated for a late spring release. Currently on tour, Oakes points to the band's self-sufficiency as its greatest strength during its ascent.
"We've kind of become a little more internal. We're like a family," Oakes said affectionately. With more time spent on tour than at home in Florida, this family unit is no stranger to the road. "Once the record comes out, we'll be everywhere. It's the best job in the world, and we're really lucky," Oakes said. "Plus, we all have lost our touch for domesticity. We're not that good at staying still."
Against Me! will be at the Starland Ballroom on March 2.
