Lagwagon Railer

Lagwagon, Railer, November 6, 2019, John Fisher

Fat Wreck Chords had the best bands from the critical 90’s era where new school punk dominated. NOFX, Lagwagon, Strung Out, Good Riddance, Propagandhi, No Use for a Name, Face to Face. All on one punk label. They were at peak form when I listened to entirely punk rock from about 8th grade until 10th grade. There were a few other influential punk labels, including of course Epitaph with Ten Foot Pole/Pulley & Pennywise, Nitro Records, with Guttermouth and AFI among others, and even the Christian bands on Tooth & Nail had some pull. But in my opinion, no label came close to what Fat Wreck Chords accomplished. Lagwagon was right up there leading the charge and released 3-4 all time albums in the early to mid 90s, starting with their first three, Duh (’92), Trashed (’94), and Hoss (’95). Double Plaidinum (’97) was sick too. Joey Cape had one of the best voices in punk, they had tons of speed metal influence, and the drummer was all time (especially on Duh- RIP to Derrick Plourde, that guy was so good, committed suicide in 2005). Duh was fast and raw, Hoss and Trashed a little more polished. Double Plaidinum is where Lagwagon “matured,” aka got worse. Let’s Talk About Feelings was good too, even though they had seemingly embraced the mainstream and full Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater mode. Back in the day, Lagwagon was one of those bands you could just play on repeat. They were in the Taylor Steele 90s surf videos, and hailing from Goleta, were a critical influence on SoCal skate and surf culture. (I even lived in Goleta for a year, good times back in like 2001/2002). “Beer Goggles”, “Mr. Coffee”, “Stokin the Neighbors”? Lagwagon was talented, fast, and aggressive and brings me back to early high school parties and skateboarding. I almost wish I could go back to those days, the days where record labels were important and respected, where weekends meant finding keg parties in Socal, and where the bands would give props to all the other punk bands in the thank you section. Instead of finding new music by cheating with an app listing related bands, all I had to do was read the last page on the CD insert where every band thanked about 50 other punk bands. Just doesn’t happen anymore! The CCS and Fat Wreck Chords catalogs were very well received at my house. Here was the progression for me in genres: classic rock (early years), modern rock (4th-7th grade), punk rock (8th-10th), hardcore (sophomore year in high school until college when Clayman came out), metal (2000 on…), with a little hip hop and classic 80s metal thrown in. Lagwagon was incredibly important as a foundational band for me. The old fans of them are going to like this album, just maybe not as much as the first 3 albums. Railer sounds about exactly as you might think when you hear from online reviews that the new album sounds more like old Lagwagon. I was skeptical that it would be as good as any one of those original three, and I was right. There’s no way Lagwagon will ever release another Duh, Hoss, or Trashed. Those albums were released right in the heart of that era and Lagwagon was a young band then (crazy Joey Cape is 52!). I’m sure the kegs in Isla Vista were flowing to early 90s Lagwagon albums and wish I could’ve been in college then. There is not too much I need to write about on this album. It’s a perfect album this month and felt good to get back to my punk roots for at least one review. Joey Cape’s voice sounds exactly the same almost 30 years after Duh came out…I can’t believe it’s been almost 30 years! The songs are fairly straightforward with a return to faster songs and a metal influence. The first track kicks it off well with the opening line, “What’s another word for fuck?” They discuss the insane cost of living in California, have some catchy intros they revisit at the end (“Parable”), talk about the past (“Bubble”), and even the background singer that for the longest time I had always mistakenly thought was the NOFX singer makes a refreshing appearance (pretty sure I’m thinking of Chris Flippin in “The Suffering”). “Pray for Them” is my favorite track on the album, and addresses the ridiculousness of offering “thoughts and prayers” and suggesting a PERSONAL religious belief as some sort of substitute for an actual attempt at a solution. Lagwagon set the bar incredibly high in the 90s, and this album is great, and easy to listen to over and over. It’s not going to top the 90s rippers and that is totally ok. It is beyond worthy of a monthly selection, and if you listen to it 400 times in a row like other Lagwagon albums, you might really enjoy it, and it will undoubtedly lead to some much needed nostalgia and make you want to hit up your old skate/party buddies to grab a beer or try to kickflip the Mission Oaks 4 stair again.

 BIG month for me! The houses I used to pay mortgages on closed in October, and my Mom and I just got the keys to the Tahoe pad last Friday, and it’s fucking paid off! I found an apartment to rent on weekdays in Alameda, and I had to give up Cody to the Alameda animal shelter. It had to be done, as it just wasn’t going to work having 3 dogs with one of them (Cody) being fairly aggressive and putting a burden on my Mom while I was away in the Bay Area most of the week. But this week I cried pretty damn hard to the point where I could barely tell his story to the shelter that will need to find him a home. But, on Wednesdays, I get to break him out of jail for a couple hours and take him for runs, so that’s cool. If you know anyone who wants an incredible dog with a lot of energy, let me know!