Greenville's free alternative weekly

By Sean Rayford

“I had a drum tech in there with me and he would be like, ‘which one of these 20 snares do you think you should use on this song?’ Well big red over there that was used on “November Rain,” maybe that would be a good one to try. Let’s tune that up and put it on here,” says Against Me! drummer Warren Oakes from a backstage hallway at Columbia’s Headliners Music Hall in February.

Like a petri dish filled with growing fungus, Gainesville’s Against Me! is currently under the microscope of both the music industry and the band’s fans. Are people going to start throwing the fateful term of ‘sell-out’ around? Will the recent release of their major label debut, New Wave be the eulogy of a 10 year run?

Or is something else brewing in the Gatorade town other than a recent string of national championships?

Vocalist Tom Gabel and Oakes met in the leftist anarchist community in their home state and the story arc of the fabled beginnings of the band bends toward shows around bon fires and trailer parks. Their ealry years were marked by house shows and DIY releases. It was a far cry from this year’s appearance at the Lallapalooza and Leeds festivals.

“This is what we want to do with our lives,” Oaks says. “This is how we want to make a living and we’re trying to figure out the smartest way to do that and also be respectful. It’s kind of a delicate balance.” The band is facing the daunting task of making that step to the majors after solidifying themselves as one of the most important punk rock acts of its generation with a grassroots fanbase unlike any other.

“There’s lots of little sacrifices and compromises that most people have to make in the course of your life,” says Oakes. “Say you’re working at some shitty sandwich shop not because you love sandwiches or because it was your dream. It’s a means to an end.”

Oakes jokes about living the cliche and how the band invaded Hollywood after picking up the big name producer, Butch Vig (most notable for Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish and Siamese Dream), to record their major debut.

“There are definitely people that used to be interested in what we were doing and are no longer. Maybe they’re still interested but they use to be supportive and now they are not supportive anymore.” says Oakes. “For the most part people have been really understanding. There are some people who feel personally betrayed by our life decisions. Which is really bizarre and way too much pressure for me or really anybody.”

Not to be misled, these Floridians aren’t complaining about the opportunities they’ve had. The band’s intensity is unquestioned and it’s obvious when you watch as Oakes laughs and jokes on stage from behind his drum set.

“When it’s firing it’s totally the most fun that I have in my life. I’ve got the best job in the world.” New Wave, described by Oakes as a “total rock record,” takes Against Me! into uncharted and turbulent waters. This isn’t the galloping cowboy punk rock that it once was, but at the same time, it’s still the same band.

Most evident on songs like “Thrash Unreal” and “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart” Against Me! pushes the envelope of their storied past. Who could have predicted a duet with Tegan Quin (of Tegan and Sara) over a year ago? “White People for Peace” captures the band’s traditional sound with a new refined approach with it’s fist in the air “Protest songs in response to military aggression” chorus. “It’s got my favorite songs that we’ve ever written. A couple pretty epic songs that just build and build,” says Oakes.

“Eternal Cowboy is full of minute and a half long songs without a chorus that are played just too fast. A and B that against these songs. These songs are very intentionally paced.” The band penned the songs for New Wave while on the road because they knew Sire Records would want them to record once they were done with touring.

“We would write a song at soundcheck and play it that night. So you could instantly see how the people responded,” says Oakes. “We had the realization that we had to live with the songs that we write every night 300 nights a year.”

“There’s gonna’ be people who it’s not their favorite record. It’s the next chapter,” says Oakes.