iSound

The roots of Against Me!\\\\\\\'s rousing punk-folk sound lie in Tom Gabel\\\\\\\'s guitar-and-stool troubadourship around his native Gainesville, FL beginning in 1997. The then seventeen-year-old Gabel perfomed as a solo act wherever anyone would have him, drawing much influence from early acoustic protest music. The band around him would eventually solidify by 2001 -- including guitarist James Bowman, drummer Warren Oakes, and bassist Andrew Seward -- and get considerably louder as punk bands often do. But there would always be some anarchism and Billy Bragg in the raucous braggadocio. After a few initial 12\\\\\\\" and 7\\\\\\\" releases, Against Me! issued the extremely well-received Reinventing Axl Rose through No Idea in 2002. The genre-mashing album blended elements of punk, folk, and country into socially-conscious and impassioned anthems for late-night basement shows and bars. Continuing their reputation of always being on the road, countless tour dates were playe...