Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can be seen on the back cover of their 1994 second album Trashed.
The band has 10 releases through Fat Wreck Chords: seven studio albums, one EP, one live album and a collection of B-sides, compilation tracks and demos. Lagwagon has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America, Europe and Asia. Their moderate success earned a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, along with fellow California bands Rancid, Green Day and The Offspring. Unlike these bands, however, Lagwagon has never been signed to a major label.
History[]
After signing to Fat Mike's label Fat Wreck Chords, Lagwagon released their debut album for the label, Duh, in 1992. Frontman Joey Cape commented on how the album was made, "Back then, we were experienced in the studio. It was less about the recording process and more about rehearsing. We recorded and mixed Duh in 4 days. There's something to be said for a budget. You have to have your shit together before you go into the studio and the end result is a record that better reflects the band's sound at the time." Two years later, Lagwagon released Trashed, their second record on Fat, which turned out to be highly successful, leading to the eventual production of a video for "Island of Shame." During this time, a number of punk bands, such as Green Day, The Offspring and Rancid, had hit the mainstream and Lagwagon turned down offers to join several major labels. Hoss, the third Lagwagon album, was released on November 21, 1995. After the release of that album and an extensive tour in Europe, Australia, and Japan, both guitarist Shawn Dewey and drummer Derrick Plourde would leave the band and be replaced temporarily by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) on guitar, and permanently by Dave Raun (RKL) on drums. Shawn Dewey, already in the side project band Buckwild on Lobster Records would go on to release two full length LP's Beat Me Silly and Full Metal Overdrive and do two European tours with Good Riddance and Ten Foot Pole.
After two more albums, Double Plaidinum and Let's Talk About Feelings, the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2000, due to all members working on side projects. Lagwagon resurfaced in 2002, and released their sixth album Blaze the following year. In 2004, frontman Joey Cape released a split album with No Use for a Name vocalist Tony Sly featuring acoustic versions of songs by both bands. On November 1, 2005, Lagwagon released Resolve, which is a homage to the life of Derrick Plourde, original drummer for Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut.
In 2008, Lagwagon released an EP titled I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon. Despite earlier reports that the band would begin recording their next full-length studio album by 2009, Lagwagon had gone on hiatus from touring and writing again, due to Cape launching a solo career, releasing Bridge in 2008 and Doesn't Play Well with Others in 2010.
In January 2010, Joey Cape announced during an interview with Canada's Exclaim! magazine that Jesse Buglione has left Lagwagon, having been with the band since its foundation in 1990. However, Cape dismissed rumors of Lagwagon breaking up. While he's not sure if Lagwagon will ever make a new album or embark on another full-scale tour, he's open to playing shows and possibly recording and releasing new Lagwagon songs sporadically. Jesse Buglione confirmed his departure on Lagwagon's official message board himself, as reported by sputnikmusic.com and punknews.org. Lagwagon toured with No Use for a Name that summer. In an interview with fasterlouder.com.au Joey Cape, revealed former RKL bassist Joe Raposo is Lagwagon's new bassist. In a June 2011 interview with ExploreMusic however, Joey Cape said that things didn't work out with Raposo, and the band is testing a new bassist. In August 2011, the band - for the first time - started an official Facebook page and posted that the new bassist is Patrick "Pat" Solem.
On September 22, 2011, Fat Wreck announced they would be re-issuing expanded editions of the the first 5 albums on CD, vinyl, and digital download. The albums will be available both individually, as well as in a boxed set entitled Putting Music In Its Place. The reissues are set to be released November 22, 2011, with a short line-up of concerts to be played in December.
Current members[]
- Joey Cape – vocals (1990–present)
- Chris Flippin – guitar (1990–present)
- Patrick Solem – bass (2011–present)
- Chris Rest – guitar (1997–present)
- Dave Raun – drums (1996–present)
Former members[]
- Shawn Dewey – guitar (1990–1997)
- Ken Stringfellow – guitar (1997–1997)
- Jesse Buglione – bass (1990–2010)
- Derrick Plourde – drums (1990–1996) (deceased)
Touring members[]
- Lindsay McDougall – guitar (November 2008)
- Scott Shiflett – guitar (September 2008)
- Chris Shiflett – guitar (summer 1996)
- Joe Raposo – bass (2010)
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Duh | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | Debut album |
| 1994 | Trashed | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | One of Lagwagon's most successful albums to date. |
| 1995 | Hoss | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | Last album recorded with guitarist Shawn Dewey and drummer Derrick Plourde. |
| 1997 | Double Plaidinum | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | First album recorded with drummer Dave Raun. Only album to feature guitarist Ken Stringfellow |
| 1998 | Let's Talk About Feelings | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | Last album before going on hiatus, First album recorded with guitarist Chris Rest |
| 2003 | Blaze | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | First studio album since the hiatus. |
| 2005 | Resolve | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | This album is a homage to the late original Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde. |
EPs[]
| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Tragic Vision b/w Angry Days | Fat Wreck Chords | 7" | |
| 1994 | Brown Eyed Girl | Hard Records | 7" | Split single with Jughead's Revenge |
| 2000 | A Feedbag of Truckstop Poetry | Fat Wreck Chords | 7" | |
| 2008 | I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/EP | Final recording with bassist Jesse Buglione. |
Other releases[]
| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Let's Talk About Leftovers | My Records / Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | Compilation of rare and previously unreleased tracks. |
| 2005 | Live in a Dive | Fat Wreck Chords | CD/LP | Live album |
Singles and music videos[]
- "Island of Shame" from Trashed
- "Razor Burn" from Hoss
- "Falling Apart" from Blaze
- "Heartbreaking Music" from Resolve
Compilations[]
- "Know-It-All" and "Mr. Coffee" on Fat Music For Fat People
- "Sleep" and "Lamen's Terms" on Survival of the Fattest
- "Raise a Family" on Physical Fatness
- "May 16th" on Life in the Fat Lane
- "Alison's Disease" on Live Fat, Die Young
- "Never Stops" on Uncontrollable Fatulence
- "Randal Gets Drunk" on Short Music for Short People
- "Failure" on Warped Tour 1998 Tour Compilation from Double Plaidinum
- "Dinner and a Movie" on Warped Tour 2002 Tour Compilation from Blaze
- "Falling Apart" on Warped Tour 2003 Tour Compilation from Blaze
- "S.O.S. (One Man Army)" on Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records
- "Status Pools" on Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2
- "Violins" from Hoss and "Bury The Hatchet (demo)" on Wrecktrospective (Fat Wreck Chords, 2009)
- "Give It Back (early version)" and "Choke (early version)" on Just Add Water (Flapjack Records, 1993)
- "Wind In Your Sail" on Quality Punk Rock (Bad Taste Records, 1995)
- "Drive By" on How To Start A Fight (SideOne Dummy, 1996)
- "Defeat You" on Happy Meals, Vol. 1 - A Smorgasbord Of My Favorite Songs (My Records, 1997)
- "Freedom Of Choice" on We Are Not Devo - A Tribute To Devo (Centipede Records, 1997)
- "No One Like You" on Metal Rüles [band name listed as "Sweet Lixx"] (Smart Recordings, 1998)
- "Restrain" on The Show (Theologian Records, 1998)
- "Bring On The Dancing Horses" on Before You Were Punk 2 (Vagrant Records, 1999)
- "Narrow Straits" on Punk Ass Generosity (One Foot Records, 1999)
- "After You My Friend" on That Darn Punk (Kung Fu Records, 2000) from Let's Talk About Feelings
- "Messengers" on Happy Meals, Volume 2 - The Perfect Marriage (My Records, 2001) from Let's Talk About Feelings
- "May 16th (acoustic)" on Happy Meals, Volume 3 - Songs To Run Away From (My Records, 2002)
- "E Dagger" on Atticus ... Dragging The Lake II (SideOne Dummy, 2003) from Blaze
- "Fallen" on Take Action, Vol. 5 (Sub City Records, 2006)