10 Questions with Tom Gabel of Against Me!

Toronto based contributor Sam Rashid interviewed the Against Me! leader recently. The band will be playing The Mod Club August 22 in Toronto, Canada.

Sam Rashid (SR): How is the summer tour going so far? And how are you feeling about your upcoming dates where you are going to be playing with Rancid and Blink 182?

Tom Gabel (TG): This summer has been incredible. We just wrapped up the Warped Tour and now we’re playing some headlining shows before we meet up with Blink 182 and Rancid which we’re all excited about.

SR: Anything crazy happen on the road yet? What do you get up to on the road? And what music are you listening to right now?

TG: Nothing too eventful, just some awesome shows. Usually when we’re out on the road the days are pretty busy, between the shows and press. On Warped Tour we were doing daily signing at our tent. When there is down-time I try and work on new songs, or read, watch movies.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral specifically. I rediscovered the album recently at random. Great album. That and my buddy plays in this band called Roll The Tanks. They have a new album coming out soon called Broke ‘Til Midnight that is phenomenal. Those two albums have probably been getting the most plays on my iPod as of late.

SR: Where’s your favourite Canadian venue to rock out and play at, and why?

TG: I think just playing in Montreal in general is my favourite. The after parties at Bifteck are pretty unbeatable.

SR: Now, your new music video for “Because Of The Shame” pays respect to Common Grounds. What did that place mean to you and the band? How do you feel about the finished product?

TG: We grew up as a band playing at Common Grounds. We’ve been playing there for over a decade. The fact that they closed their doors really marks the end of an era for us. Nothing lasts forever but still I’m sad to see it go.

SR: The track “Because Of The Shame” is also on your band’s latest reissue album, “White Crosses/Black Crosses.” Where did the idea come from to re-release “White Crosses,” and do so as a two-part album?

TG: We parted ways with Sire/Warner this past December. When we left they gave us back the rights to “White Crosses”. We worked really hard on the album and we’re still out on the road touring for the rest of the year so we wanted it to be available still for people to hear. If we wouldn’t have reissued the album it wouldn’t have been available in stores anymore, wouldn’t have even been up on i-tunes anymore. The idea to do it as a two part album came about simply because we had accumulated so much unreleased material that Sire/Warner never did anything with that again, we now had the rights too. White Crosses/Black Crosses is 28 songs long. Originally White Crosses was only 10 songs. It would have been a shame to have 18 songs just sit on a shelf for no one ever to hear. We thought this was a good opportunity to present them to people.

SR: Now not even three months ago, you started your own record label, Total Treble Music, and this two part reissue will be the first Against Me! release off of the label. What does that mean to you? How do you feel about it?

TG: I’m excited to have it as our first release and I look forward to release more music through Total Treble, both from Against Me! and from other bands.

SR: Warren Oakes, your previous drummer, was a part of Against Me! for almost 10 years and his name can’t help but come up with the release of “White Crosses/Black Crosses” as he played drums on most of the self-produced “Black Crosses” songs. Were there any emotions brought out during the organizing and planning of the reissue? And how are things with new drummer Jay Weinberg going?

TG: No emotions brought out really. He didn’t have anything to do with putting together Black Crosses, he just so happened to play on a couple of the songs. As for Jay, he’s been working out great. He’s a fantastic drummer and he’s brought a lot of new excitement to playing live.

SR: What was it like to work with Butch Vig again on the album? What is your relationship like with him?

TG: I’m extremely thankful for all the time we’ve had with Butch. Both times we’ve worked with him have been incredible learning experiences. I consider him both a friend and a mentor.

SR: After your brief summer tour, you will be preparing to record the sixth Against Me! album. What direction will it be taken in? Where is the inspiration coming from? Have you had any thoughts about another solo album or solo tour?

TG: It’s a little too early to tell what the direction is and all of that stuff. We’re touring through the end of the year and then we’ll jump into making a new album. That will be the focus though, once the next AM! album is done maybe I’ll think about another solo album or tour.

SR: Now, you play Toronto on Monday night (August 22) at the Mod Club. What can your fans expect from this show?

TG: They can expect a good time.