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Against Me! stopped by to play some tunes at Jannus Landing with Ted Leo and The Future of the Left last week. But, this wasn't their first time in the area. Formed in 1997, this punk rock band is actually from Naples. We tracked them down after their show to ask them the questions their fans have been dying to know.
For the folks at home, can you give us a quick synopsis of what life has been like now that you have a major behind you and the success of you new CD, New Wave?
Well we pretty much do exactly what we've always done. Write songs, record songs, go on tour, play songs, repeat.
You guys are planning to head back into the studio next year. Can we expect to hear any of the new songs on the tour?
Other than mixing some of the songs off "Heart Burns" into the set we aren't really playing any new songs. After this tour ends we plan on taking some real time to write, it's been a while since we've had the chance to do that. In fact we just got a new practice space in Gainesville.
Much was made about veteran producer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins) working on New Wave. What was it like getting input from him? Will he be working on your next effort?
Working with Butch was an incredible experience. Not only do I trust his sonic opinion explicitely he's also just a great person to hang out with. He is the polar opposite of stress inducing. We will definitely be recording our next album with him.
Thanks to file sharing a lot of your early stuff is now in circulation. Will fans be treated to any of your early stuff on this tour? What's up with holding out "Shit Stroll" on the fans?
I'm glad that people have access to older songs if they want to hear them, but we don't really plan on playing it. I don't believe in looking back. We do still play Shit Stoll, but only in the city of Baltimore.
You guys have got together in Florida. And I just want to apologize on behalf of your current fans for not being there for you guys as you worked the club scene. Where is your home base now?
James and Andrew own houses in Gainesville. Warren rents a house. I have a storage space in Gainesville and I frequent hotels world-wide. So I guess for all intesive purposes Gainesville is our home base. I've actually been giving a lot of thought to moving to St. Pete lately though.
Ben Lee covered "New Wave" last year. Which band or musicians you would pay the same tribute to? And which album would you cover?
There's countless artists out there that I would love to cover someday. It's a little bit intimidating though to actually record the covers. I always worry that the originator will here it and think it's shit. We've covered 2 Replacements songs thus far though, "Bastards Of Young" and "Here Comes a Regular".
Tom, you have a solo release, "Heart Burns," coming up in October. What made you want to head out on your own with a solo effort and tour? And how will this be different from what we hear from you with Against Me!?
I originally went into the studio with the intention of releasing this recording under the name Against Me!. I had some songs written that I wanted to record sooner than later. I had been working on them in between tours, in the back of the bus on tour, late at night in hotel rooms. I had been working on them alone though and not with the rest of the band. Originally I thought I would just record stripped down acoustic versions of the songs and later on we could record them as a full band. It didn't end up that way.
I'm proud of the results though and I want to go out and play the songs live. I don't think it would have been confusing to people if I had released the record under the name Against Me! but I was the only person on the record, cause that's how the band started. However I can't play shows under the name Against Me! by myself anymore without it being really confusing to people. So if it doesn't work both ways it seems only right that I release it under my own name.
You're going back on the road to promote "Heart Burns," but we don't see a local stop. Is there any chance of that changing?
Hopefully, it might not be until the new after the new year though.
You guys are on the road, but have you been keeping up with baseball lately? How bout them Rays?! You know, Kevin Costner and a bunch of other folks wrote songs for the postseason. Have you penned any pennant-inspired sports anthems lately?
I don't really follow sports. I used to when I was younger, but once Nolan Ryan stopped playing I stopped caring. The rest of the band follow. In answer to your question, No, we haven't written any pennant inspired songs.
You guys must know the area pretty well. What are some of your favorite places to visit when you hit Tampa Bay? (Bars, clubs, restaurants) What are your favorite venues to play in when are in town?
Me and James grew up going to shows in the area. It's always a surreal experience to play Jannus or the State Theatre. I saw some of my first shows at these venues. In fact the best show I have ever seen in my entire life was when the Damned played at the State Theatre in 1996 (or was it 97?).
