Reinventing Axl Rose

Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose was recorded in four sessions. Ten of the eleven songs on the album were recorded on December 21 and 28, 2001 and January 12, 2002 at Goldentone Studios in Gainesville . The recording process was led by Rob McGregor . “8 Full Hours of Sleep” was recorded earlier, on July 23, 2001 , with Jordan Kliman playing the Moog synthesizer .

Five songs from the album were previously released on various EP groups: “Walking Is Still Honest” and “I Still Love You Julie” were presented at Against Me! (2000) and Crime as Forgiven By Against Me! (2001), respectively. Both tracks were recorded by Tom Gable ( vocals / guitar ) and Kevin Meon ( drums ). Jordan's First Choice, Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious ..., and Pints ​​of Guinness Make You Strong were featured on Against Me! in the acoustic version, Tom Gable ( vocals / guitar ) and Dustin Fridkin ( bass guitar ) took part in the recording. By the time the album was recorded, Against Me! included Gable , Friedkin , drummer Warren Oaks and guitarist James Bowman . The above five songs the group rewrote in electric sound.

Invited musicians took part in the recording: Sam Jones, Todd "Bitchin" Ryan, Patrick Quinney, Adam Folk, Rose O'Hara and Jordan Kliman. The song “Baby, I'm Anarchist!” Refers to one of Tom Gable ’s previous bands:

“Baby, I'm Anarchist!” Was written by Tom Gable, Cassidy Rist and Rob Ogmen for a group that never appeared, remaining at the “cool idea” stage. Two or three times we played it at concerts, but we never recorded it. Cassidy kindly agreed to come and sing this song; she was drunk. It was at 11 in the morning.

Discussing the theme of the album in 2008, Tom Gable said:

“You reach an age in which you become disillusioned with such dreams [like playing in a group], and everyone around you says that you will never do something like that, and it feels like a door has been slammed in front of you. When I felt something like this, I continued to do my own thing. We made our own way, hence the name of the album, and the album itself, in fact, about doing everything ourselves, not accepting any “no” and rethinking our dreams. ”

Most of the songs from the album are regularly performed at concerts, with the exception of “The Politics of Starving”, “Scream It Until You're Coughing Up Blood (Jamaican Me Crazy)” and “Jordan's First Choice”, played until October 2017 only in May 2003 and November 2008, respectively. At the Fest festival in October 2017 Against Me !, with the participation of Dustin Fridkin , the bass player of the original composition, the album was fully played.

AllMusic critic Corey Apar put Reinventing Axl Rose 4.5 out of 5, calling it “an impressive debut that successfully combines choral choruses, powerful rhythms and high-speed drums, all of which give the raw underground energy that these punks ”, as well as“ real classics that take listeners straight to the dirty cellars and cheap bars in which the band appeared. ”

The words and music of all songs are Tom Gable, except those noted.

Group

• Tom Gable - electric guitar , vocals , cover design
• James Bowman - electric guitar , backing vocals
• Dustin Fridkin - bass , backing vocals
• Warren Oaks - Drums

Guest Musicians

• Sam Jones backing vocals on Pints ​​of Guinness Make You Strong, We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules), and Jordan's 1st Choice
• Todd Ryan backing vocals on “We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)”
• Patrick Quinney Backing Vocals on “We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)”
• Adam Folk - Backing vocals on “We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)”
• Rose O'Hara - backing vocals on "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)"
• Cassidy Rist backing vocals on "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!"
• Jordan Kliman - Backing vocals on “We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)”, Moog on “8 Full Hours of Sleep”

Production and Design

• Rob McGregor - Sound Engineer
• Jordan Kliman - Cover Design
• Var Thelin - cover design

• Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose at No Idea Records