BAND BIOGRAPHY

 

Lagwagon is a five-piece melodic punk band, formed in Santa Barbara, Ca. They've been belting 'em out since 1990.  Their catchy brand of punk is an infectious blend of pop and hardcore, lyrically tackling an array of personal politics. This punky quintet has secured a massive worldwide following with their solid, tonal attack and hectic touring schedule.        

The members of Lagwagon are Joey on vocals, Chris on guitar, the other Chris on rhythm guitar, Jesse on bass and Dave pounds the drums. In 1990, Joey broke up with his girlfriend and needed something to do, he was doing a little singing with a few guys in a band but nothing serious, but his friend Chris was in a band called section 8 and was in need of a singer. So Joey joined the band, recorded a demo and sent it to fat mike who owns Fat Wreck Chords, 2 weeks later they got a call and were signed to the label. One problem, Fat Mike wanted a new name so they all got together and came up with the name lagwagon, to this day; no one has any clue how they come up with it.

The first of their albums, Duh (Fat Wreck Chords, 1992), shows not only a good range of musicianship (yes, this punk band can play), but also some surprisingly serious lyrics that actually make you think, particularly on tracks 1 ("Tragic Vision"), 4 ("Angry Days"), and 12 ("Of Mind and Matter"). The disc as a whole is solid; nary a weak song to be found on the entire disc. It is obvious that it was only the second album recorded by the then-fledgling Fat Mike-headed Fat Wreck Chords due to a slight lack of sound quality. The band seems a tad distant and turned more towards the treble than it really should be. But I find that if you turn it up loud enough (which you will also find yourself doing each time you pop it in the CD player) you barely notice the imperfections. Don't get me wrong, this disc is still a must have, especially if you are a fan of melodi-core punk.
Among the tracks is a cover of Credence Clearwater Revival's " Bad Moon Rising," and the theme to " Inspector Gadget ".

Having toured Europe and North America with NOFX in '92 & '93, the Lagsters amassed their own massive core of fans during subsequent tours of Japan, Europe. Australia, and the States.

The sophomore offering from the boys is titled Trashed (1994, Fat), and it is definitely not showing the signs of a slump. It actually expands on Duh, with better songwriting, and it just sounds more professional overall. Most Lagwagon fans agree that this is the crème de la crème of the three early releases. This can be supported greatly by perhaps the band's best song, "Know It All". Again, Trashed is listen able from beginning to end, with no noticeably weak songs.

Lagwagon's third full-length release on Fat Wreck Chords, Hoss, marked a distinct progression for the band. "There has been a lot of growth musically and personally since the last album," according to Joey. "Whereas our earlier stuff was more straight forward hardcore, the new material has more dynamics, textures, and a lot more melody. We had matured quite a bit since writing the last album."

Hoss is another solid album from cover to cover. It is, in my opinion at least, their best disc. It's one of those CDs you pop in the player, and 34 minutes later, you feel great about life. If you can only have one Lagwagon disc, get this one. It shows the most range of the five and is more likely to appeal to a larger audience than the previous two. You can tell from the first 30 seconds that it is a good deal, as the quiet strumming suddenly explodes into Joey's voice half screaming "And now you're searching for that new messiah..." That brings to mind the lyrical depth (one of Lagwagon's strongest assets) of Hoss. It's not all, "I'm young, I'm unhappy," like many punk bands these days. Take a look at the lyric sheet and songs like the aforementioned "Kids Don't Like To Share" and maybe my favorite, "Bombs Away".  It's weird what can happen when you actually look into a song, isn't it? Another track that really makes me think is "Shaving Your Head," which will surprise you if you bother to listen to the words. Some of this stuff can actually have genuine meaning.

Lagwagon's 4th slab o' punk-pop meat definitely does not disappoint. Double Plaidinum is probably the most ambitious of the five releases, and this may turn some people off. The Laggers make some small changes here and there: on the whole, shorter songs, more tempo changes (which is a good thing, if you were wondering), and a more raw sound. The disc opens with " Alien8 " which begins slowly, and then quickly picks up the pace, until it finally just ends up blowing you away. This album is great to listen to straight through, also, because one song blends right into the next through much of the recording. This makes it seem as if the music never ends, and it is just a really kewl yet simple effect. I may not be the foremost Lagwagon expert, but this is one hell of a disc, and I highly recommend it whether you are a fan of either Lagwagon or the genre. It gets my seal of approval, as it still hasn't left my CD player since I got it.

Finally "Let's Talk About Feelings" is out in the stores!  If you liked "Double Plaidinum" you won't be disappointed with this record, perhaps not as raw as earlier records such as "Duh" or "Trashed", Lagwagon continue in the vein of their fourth full release "Double Plaidinum".  You know your in for a safe ride when the album kicks off with "After You My Friend", still heavy with Lagwagon's trademark personal politics about a sad individual, one of my favorite songs, "Everything Turns Grey", I think would sound more in place on an earlier album such as "Trashed".  Other highlights for me are songs such as "Train" and "May 16".  Note that number 9, "Messengers" is not the same version to be found on the My Records sampler "Happy Meals Vol. 2".  I don't think the album version is anywhere near as good as the compilation version and cannot understand why they recorded a new version for the album.  If the compilation version was on the album, it would easily be one of the best tracks on it.  Still, I would definitely recommend all Lagwagon fans to go out there and get this album if you haven't already