Against Me!

Wikipedia:

Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in Naples, Florida in 1997 by singer and guitarist Tom Gabel. Since 2002 the band's lineup has also included guitarist James Bowman and bassist Andrew Seward; current drummer Jay Weinberg joined in 2010. After releasing three studio albums through independent record labels, Against Me! moved to Sire Records for 2007's New Wave, which reached no. 57 on the Billboard 200. Their fifth and most recent album, 2010's White Crosses, was their most successful, reaching no. 34. In 2011 the band launched their own record label, Total Treble Music, through which they plan to release future albums. In 2012 Gabel publicly came out as transgender, with plans to begin a medical process to live as a woman and eventually take the name Laura Jane Grace while continuing to front Against Me!. The first album expected to feature Laura Jane Grace as frontwoman is Transgender Dysphoria Blues.

Biography

1997–2002: Formation and Reinventing Axl Rose

Against Me! was formed in 1997 by singer/guitarist Tom Gabel as a solo act, occasionally performing with backing musicians. The first Against Me! release was an eponymously-titled 1997 cassette demo. With the addition of drummer Kevin Mahon, a second demo, Vivida Vis! (1998), was released in limited numbers by Misanthrope Records. The band's first EP, Against Me!, was released in 2000 through Crasshole Records. Their first widely-distributed release was the EP Crime as Forgiven by Against Me! (2001), released by Plan-It-X Records and Gabel's own Sabot Productions. A third EP, an eponymously-titled acoustic recording by Gabel and bassist Dustin Fridkin, was released later that year.

Mahon left the band and was replaced by Warren Oakes, and second guitarist James Bowman was added for the band's first album, 2002's Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose, released by No Idea Records. Fridkin left and was replaced by Andrew Seward, and this lineup released the single "The Disco Before the Breakdown" (2002).

2003–05: As the Eternal Cowboy and Searching for a Former Clarity

Against Me! signed to Fat Wreck Chords and released their second album, 2003's Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy. It reached no. 36 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and was supported by singles for "Cavalier Eternal" and "Sink, Florida, Sink". The DVD We're Never Going Home followed, documenting their Spring 2004 tour. 2005's Searching for a Former Clarity was their first album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching no. 114. It spawned singles for "Don't Lose Touch" and "From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer)", which also became the band's first music videos. The live album Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! followed in 2006.

2005–10: New Wave and White Crosses

Against Me! moved to Sire Records for 2007's New Wave, produced by Butch Vig. It debuted at no. 57 on the Billboard 200 and featured their first charting single, "Thrash Unreal", which reached no. 11 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. "White People for Peace", "Stop!", and "New Wave" were also released as singles, and New Wave was named as Spin's album of the year. The DVD Live at the Key Club followed later that year. In 2008 Against Me! supported Foo Fighters on a North American tour, and Sire released the digital EP New Wave B-Sides.

Oakes left the band in June 2009, in part to focus on running his Mexican food restaurant. "I didn't want to play music with Warren anymore", said Gabel, "it's been a long time coming. Warren's heart hasn't been in this for a while now." Oakes was replaced by Hot Water Music drummer George Rebelo. The following month Fat Wreck Chords released The Original Cowboy, an album of demo recordings from the Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy sessions.

On August 17, 2009, Against Me! headed into the studio with New Wave producer Butch Vig. Their fifth studio album, White Crosses, was released on June 8, 2010. Against Me! joined Billy Talent on tour in Canada in March 2010, and also supported the Silversun Pickups during a US tour starting June 2010 . The band for this tour includes former keyboardist for The Hold Steady and World/Inferno Friendship Society, Franz Nicolay.

Against Me! released their second album with Sire, White Crosses, on June 4, 2010. The band announced the release of an EP for the song "I Was A Teenage Anarchist" to be released on April 20, 2010. However, on April 7 the EP was released on iTunes for users in the US and Canada, with the previously stated April 20 release date for those in other countries.

On September 29, 2010, just over a day before the start of their Australia/ New Zealand tour, Against Me! cancelled all of their upcoming shows, due to a "culmination of circumstances" and having "to take some time off from touring to go home and sort things out." November 28 saw the arrival of a new post on Gabel's blog, saying that Against Me! have cut ties with Sire.

2010–present: Transgender Dysphoria Blues and recent activity

November 2010 saw Against Me!'s departure from Sire Records, their first (and only) major label. Following a two-month hiatus from touring, the band spoke for the first time since their tour cancellation, talking of their upcoming December 2010 shows, which saw Jay Weinberg cover for George Rebelo on drums, as he toured with Hot Water Music.

Throughout December 2010, Gabel spoke of George Rebelo's intentions to record an album with his primary band Hot Water Music. In January 2011, Weinberg was officially confirmed as Against Me!'s new drummer. Total Clarity, an album of demos and unreleased songs from the Searching for a Former Clarity sessions, was released on May 24, 2011 through Fat Wreck Chords.

Gabel has expressed his desire to release at least one album per year for the next decade and that he hopes to record Against Me!'s sixth studio album in Winter 2011. As well as this, he spoke of releasing a 7" on Sabot Productions before Summer 2011, featuring two original songs. This was announced as being Russian Spies / Occult Enemies, which was released on June 14, 2011. In the same studio session, the band recorded a cover of the theme song for a season 8 episode of One Tree Hill, which aired May 3.

On June 3, 2011 the band announced that they started their own record label, Total Treble Music. In September 2011, Gabel built a recording studio in Elkton, Florida, for future Against Me! projects. The studio has since been named Total Treble Studio. The first band to record an album in the studio are Cheap Girls from Lansing, Michigan, with their album Giant Orange.

Against Me! started recording their sixth studio album, entitled Transgender Dysphoria Blues in February 2012, at Total Treble Studio; the album is a concept record about a transgender prostitute.That May, Gabel publicly came out as transgender, having dealt with gender dysphoria since childhood. Gabel plans to transition to living as a woman by taking hormones, undergoing electrolysis treatments, and eventually taking the name Laura Jane Grace. "I felt like I drop-kicked them in the face," Gabel said of informing the other members of Against Me! "We had the most awkward hug ever, and then they left. And the second I shut the door, I was like, 'What the fuck did I just do?'" Gabel will continue fronting the band, saying "However fierce our band was in the past, imagine me, six-foot-two, in heels, fucking screaming into someone's face."