Reinventing Axl Rose
Encyclopedia
Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose is the debut album by the Gainesville, Florida
punk rock
band Against Me!
, released in March 2002 by No Idea Records
. It was the group's first release as a full band with electric guitar
s, bass guitar
, and drums
. The album was produced by Rob McGregor, who would also produce the band's second album Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy (2003). The album's title references Guns N' Roses
singer Axl Rose
, illustrated on the cover.
.
Five of the album's songs had previously been released on the band's EP
s but were re-recorded for the album: "Walking Is Still Honest" had appeared on Against Me! (2000) and "I Still Love You Julie" had appeared on Crime as Forgiven By Against Me! (2001), both recorded when the band consisted of only singer/guitarist Tom Gabel
and drummer Kevin Mahon
. "Jordan's First Choice", "Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious...", and "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" had appeared on Against Me! as acoustic versions recorded by Gabel and bassist Dustin Fridkin. By the time of the album's recording Against Me! consisted of Gabel, Fridkin, drummer Warren Oakes
, and guitarist James Bowman, and the band re-recorded these five songs with full electric instrumentation.
Several guest singers provided backing vocals for "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)" including Sam Jones, Todd "Bitchin, Ryan and Patrick Quinney, Adam Volk, Rose O'Hara, and Jordan Kleeman. Sam Jones also sang backing vocals on "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" and "Jordan's 1st Choice". "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!" dates back to one of Gabel's previous bands:
Remarking on the album's themes in 2008, Gabel said: "you get to an age where you get discouraged with dreams like [playing in a band] and you're told you're never going to be able to do anything like that, and you start to feel like there's a closed door, and when I started to feel that way, I went ahead and started doing my own thing. We made our own way and that was kind of just what the title of the album and a lot of the album was about, really, was just doing it yourself and not taking 'no' for an answer, and reclaiming your dreams."
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Against Me!
Against Me!
Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida and relocated to Gainesville, Florida in 1999. Their first full-length album, released on No Idea Records in 2002, was Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose. They have released music on Misanthrope Records, Crasshole Records,...
, released in March 2002 by No Idea Records
No Idea Records
For other uses, see No Idea .No Idea Records is an independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which produces both vinyl records and compact discs...
. It was the group's first release as a full band with electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. The album was produced by Rob McGregor, who would also produce the band's second album Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy (2003). The album's title references Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
singer Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
, illustrated on the cover.
Background and recording
Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose was recorded in four sessions. Ten of the album's eleven songs were recorded on December 21 and 28, 2001 and January 12, 2002 at Goldentone Studios in Gainesville by Rob McGregor. "8 Full Hours of Sleep" came from an earlier recording session on July 23, 2001 on which Jordan Kleeman played the Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
.
Five of the album's songs had previously been released on the band's EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s but were re-recorded for the album: "Walking Is Still Honest" had appeared on Against Me! (2000) and "I Still Love You Julie" had appeared on Crime as Forgiven By Against Me! (2001), both recorded when the band consisted of only singer/guitarist Tom Gabel
Tom Gabel
Thomas James "Tom" Gabel is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and a guitarist for Gainesville, Florida punk rock band Against Me!, as well as a solo artist. He was born on Fort Benning, Georgia a US Army post, where his father was stationed. At age 17, he dropped out of high school and formed Against...
and drummer Kevin Mahon
Kevin Mahon (musician)
Kevin Mahon is an American drummer. He was the first drummer for Against Me!, appearing on their Vivida Vis! demo, Against Me! EP, and Crime as Forgiven By EP. He lives in Brooklyn, NY and plays drums in forgetters.-Equipment:...
. "Jordan's First Choice", "Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious...", and "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" had appeared on Against Me! as acoustic versions recorded by Gabel and bassist Dustin Fridkin. By the time of the album's recording Against Me! consisted of Gabel, Fridkin, drummer Warren Oakes
Warren Oakes
Warren Oakes is an American drummer best known for his eight years spent as the drummer for the punk rock band Against Me!.On June 8, 2009 he announced that he was leaving the band to pursue a career as a restauranteur...
, and guitarist James Bowman, and the band re-recorded these five songs with full electric instrumentation.
Several guest singers provided backing vocals for "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)" including Sam Jones, Todd "Bitchin, Ryan and Patrick Quinney, Adam Volk, Rose O'Hara, and Jordan Kleeman. Sam Jones also sang backing vocals on "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" and "Jordan's 1st Choice". "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!" dates back to one of Gabel's previous bands:
"Baby, I'm an Anarchist!" was written by Tom Gabel, Cassidy Rist, and Rob Augman for a band that never happened, but was a really good idea. Although we played it live 2 or 3 times, it was never recorded. Cassidy was kind enough to come in and sing on this song; she was drunk. It was 11am.
Remarking on the album's themes in 2008, Gabel said: "you get to an age where you get discouraged with dreams like [playing in a band] and you're told you're never going to be able to do anything like that, and you start to feel like there's a closed door, and when I started to feel that way, I went ahead and started doing my own thing. We made our own way and that was kind of just what the title of the album and a lot of the album was about, really, was just doing it yourself and not taking 'no' for an answer, and reclaiming your dreams."
Critical reception
Critic Corey Apar of Allmusic gave Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose four and a half out of five stars, calling it "an impressive debut that manages to combine fist-in-the-air singalong choruses, lagered-up rhythms, and urgent drumbeats with the underground, raw intensity these punks are known for live" and "a true classic that brings listeners right into the dirty basements and dive bars that birthed the band — and serves as the foundation to where they would head next."Track listing
Band
- Tom GabelTom GabelThomas James "Tom" Gabel is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and a guitarist for Gainesville, Florida punk rock band Against Me!, as well as a solo artist. He was born on Fort Benning, Georgia a US Army post, where his father was stationed. At age 17, he dropped out of high school and formed Against...
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - James Bowman – guitar, backing vocals
- Dustin Fridkin – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Warren OakesWarren OakesWarren Oakes is an American drummer best known for his eight years spent as the drummer for the punk rock band Against Me!.On June 8, 2009 he announced that he was leaving the band to pursue a career as a restauranteur...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional musicians
- Sam Jones – backing vocals on "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong", "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)", and "Jordan's 1st Choice"
- Todd "Bitchin'", Ryan and Patrick Quinney, Adam Volk, and Rose O'Hara – backing vocals on "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)"
- Cassidy Rist – female vocals on "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!"
- Jordan Kleeman – backing vocals on "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)", Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
on "8 Full Hours of Sleep"
Production
- Rob McGregor – audio engineer
- Tom Gabel, Jordan Kleeman, and Var Thelin – artwork concepts and layout
External links
- Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose at Against Me!'s official website – includes links to song lyrics
- Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose at No Idea RecordsNo Idea RecordsFor other uses, see No Idea .No Idea Records is an independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which produces both vinyl records and compact discs...
– includes free MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
download of "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong"