LAGWAGON interview

Still putting music in its place

Ask these guys whether they feel like grown up men and you'll see what they reply. According to their birth certificates they are and their baby has been around for around 23-25 years now (depending on the sources you go through).
Goleta-outside Santa Barbara, CA's LAGWAGON has 11 official releases out (this without counting compilations and some more obscure ones me and you don't know about), toured the world wide many times, went through the usual good measure of hardships and line-up changes and made a name for themselves becoming one of the most influential punk bands of the 90's.

The current band sees Chris Flippin and Joey Cape, founder members, share the stage with some older guys that used to and still play in a Cali punk band very influential to the wagon sound.
In 2011 Fat Wreck Chords re-issued expanded editions of band's first five records and early this year the five-some got back in the wagon to tour on these reisssues and took their shows around Europe through April to June.
Lagwagon played the Rock In Idhro preview festival, at Carroponte in Milan, on June 13th and we couldn't miss the opportunity to seat down with the guys to talk about their past and what the future holds for these not-grown-up punkers.
We got a hold of Chris F. (guitar), Dave Raun (drums) and Chris Rest (guitar) in the beach-resort like backstage on a pretty hot late Summer afternoon and got the thing wrapped up just a few minutes before all the hell broke loose on the main stage (where Billy Talent opened up the festival).
Lagwagon headlined the second stage and delivered a fun packed and just superb performance based on a stellar set-list spanning through their first five records, considered by many (and myself too) their best ever.

gan: Please introduce yourselves.

CF: Okay...Hi, I'm Chris Flippin I play guitar for Lagwagon.
DR: I'm Dave Raun drums for Lagwagon.

gan: How many gigs did you play on this Euro tour?

CF: This is our fifth gig...forth gig...
DR: (checking the AAA pass) yeah, forth gig...we have three weeks...I don't know...
CF: It's our third day in Italy, we played some fun towns...and yesterday???
DR: We were in Livorno...yeah...really good show...really good people.
CF: good food...
DR: really good people...good food...good show

gan: How's been the reaction of the kids thus far?

CF: Everyone is having a great summer probably...
DR: They're enjoying the music...
CF: A little rain here and there...you know, we don't have enough room in the festivals...

gan: And what are some of your expectations on tonight show?

CF: It's gonna roock!
DR: I've no expectations...I'm just gonna go and play and see what happens. Let's see how the kids react. I can't tell one way or the other, hopefully they have fun. My only expectation is that everyone has fun.
CF: I'm gonna check out a bit of Offspring who are headlining and, you know, have a good night, have some drinks, have wine (vino, right?), beer...
DR: Not get mad, get angry. Hurt yourselves, we don't want anybody hurt themselves.

gan: What about the setlist you guys are gonna play tonight? I mean, a mix songs from the beginning to the recent times or...?

DR: Only songs from the first five albums.

gan: Ah okay, so let's talk about the last year's reissue of your first five records. How this thing came about? I mean, was it a idea of yours, Fat Wreck idea? I don't know...

CF: Did you know it's 20 years and I wanted to digitally remaster the first two albums for which we didn't have much of a budget to spend on the albums. We recorded them very quickly and they're no mixed very well. So pretty much remastering those and we added extra artworks and the coloured vinyl series came out as well. The people are really into vinyl again so that's how things work out pretty well.

gan: Talking about vinyl, in the period you started out it seemed vinyl was a dead format and nobody wanted to buy it anymore but today we can see it's actually still doing well.

CF: Yah...everyone tried and they kept vinyl alive...they kept releasing 7”s, 10”s...just some obscure vinyl and kind of kept this industry alive. There's really been a good comeback. I guess it's like a book...something you can hold...
gan: A different feel I guess...vinyl against mp3...
CF: ipod haha...

gan: To get back to the day when you guys have been signed by Fat Wreck Chords. You've been the first band, right?

CF: Me and Joey went to San Francisco and met Mike in a bar and gave him our demotape. And then he came to Los Angels and told us he was starting a new label called Fat Wreck Chords and he was just interested in putting this out. So we recorded for him. That was that. It was 22 years ago...

gan: And what were some of your expectations on the first release ever?

CF: Well, it was great because we had a cd and album out.

gan: How do you feel like being grown up men, I mean you're musicians and grown up men and you're 20 years on on this venture? How things differ today from the band's first days?

ALL: We're not grown up hahaha...
CF: (laughs out loud and asks to Chris) Are you a grown up man?
CR: I'm an older man but I'm not grown up hehehe...I'm just enjoying it. I'm just still having a lot of fun doing it, you know? That's all...enjoying life and playing music. I'm pretty lucky.

gan: And what you think about your current audiences...a mix of younger and older guys?

CF: That's fine in music. I don't think music has like an age limit.
DR: If you like it you like it
CF: Listen to music and don't care about what your friends can say.
DR: There's a lot of music to chose from nowadays.
CR: People who listen to music because other people say they need to, that's no good, I mean, if you like it listen to it, if you don't, don't...

gan: Let's talk about the cover artwork of reissues boxset. You guys used your famed disc-being-put-in-the-trash-bin logo “Putting Music In Its Place”. Who did this graphic?

CF: It was from our original drummer (Derrik Pourdle). He drew one of us putting one of our records in the garbage can. Put music in its place! Hehehe...

gan: It got really really famous. I spotted many kids wearing hoodies with this graphic on their back and my younger brother has one too.

DR: It was so funny.
CF: He was the mastermind of that.
DR: Of course he was...putting music in the garbage hehehe...it's so funny because some people don't get the joke and think ohhh! you can't put music in the garbage, you can't throw away music. They don't get the nice sarcasm and they don't understand the band. The band is all about sarcasm. Funny...we don't mean to throw music in a garbage. It's a joke.
CF: The funniest thing is there's a garbage can in our practice studio, the Lagwagon trashed cds in there and...someone threw your cds away in there...
DR: It's the perfect picture...
CF: The perfect picture in the trash...all the cds are gone so, it's just the cover.
DR: Pretty raw, hehe...it's ironic...

DR: Oh...looks who's coming in! (Chris joins the guys). Let me ask him some questions...
DR: Introduce yourself hehe...what's your name?
CR: The other Chris from Lagwagon. Chris Rest.
DR: And how do we call you?
CR: Sad Panda.
DR: No, we don't call you sad anymore...satanic panda...hehehe...

gan: What about this nickname?

DR: He's just a big fat angry person hahaha...ask him about getting old...

gan: Yeah, okay. I just said your buddies they're now musicians and grown up men and they said: we're not grown up men! What's your reply?

CR: I'm still wearing big shorts and I still run away from responsibility...

gan: Is there one song you wrote over the years that your are the most proud of? That really means something to you?

DR: They're like your children, you know? Some of them achieve more than the others but you're proud of all the family.

gan: I saw a clip of a gig you guys played in 2010, in Milan at Magnolia, and you were playing a cover of Motorhead's “Ace Of Spades”. Who's the metalhead in Lagwagon?

CF: Yes, we did...hehehe
DR: Can we just do that again?
CF: It was a collaboration of a sort because No Use For A Name was on and Matt Riddle is a big metalhead we're...everyone loves Motorehead...

gan: Other metal bands that influenced your sound?

CF: Maiden, Judas Priest...English heavy metal probably...American metal...Scorpions...and the second wave of metal like Metallica and Slayer.

gan: What about the influences you drew from American punk rock? You're from California...

CF: Yeah California, I love the sound of those bands. I loved RKL as a kid. (pointing to Chris) He was in RKL. So we're trying to rebound this band and I think it worked out hehe...
DR: So the members that are still alive from that band (refers to himself, Chris and Joe Raposo -bass) are in this band. It worked out well hehe...

gan: Do you guys have plans as to write new stuff?

CF: We planned but I don't I don't know actually if we will go through the plans because it's two different things. So we have a plan to do it but...we need to do it.
DR: We have a lot touring to do and everybody is in different bands so hopefully when we find time we can stop and maybe start working. If it comes together probably we may do something new next year. If all goes well. If the stars is aligned and everything is perfect.
CF: I think they say the world is gonna end this year so it may not happen...
DR: If we can't do it by December than we're fucked. December 21st...according to Mike...Mike calendar hehe...

gan: Is it gonna be a full-length effort, an EP, what else?

CF: Double EP!
DR: Fold albums...there are several albums...
CF: There's five albums...it's like the Kiss. Then we're playing on each other's album. That'd awesome.
DR: Just jamming...songs that are not even songs...just jam.

gan: That's pretty much it for me. Wanna add something?

CF: Okay, thank you! If the world doesn't end this year look for a Lagwagon album. That might be coming if the world doesn't end.
DR: It could happen...50/50...thank you!

Check: lagwagon.com/ www.facebook.com/lagwagon