Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel recently checked in from their ongoing Warped stint to share his thoughts on the elections, what punk means to him, and revealed upcoming tour plans throughout the year, including Canada, France dates as well as the "Revival Tour" alongside greats Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, Ben Nichols of Lucero, and Tim Barry of Avail. The band released their fourth and major label debut "New Wave" last year, garnering the highest level of commercial success yet, featuring hit single "Thrash Unreal".

How's Warped Tour going so far? How's the crowd and vibe amongst this year's lineup?

Other than some really intense heat, Warped tour has been going great. I'm not really that familiar with the majority of bands on the tour this year, and I haven't had much time to watch anyone play. We did Warped tour two years ago though, and it doesn't seem like much has changed crowd-wise.

Against Me! recently participated in a Rock the Vote PSA calling for action in the upcoming elections. What changes do you hope the election will bring, and to what extent should musicians be openly involved in politics?

If a musician has an opinion they'd like to express, or a cause they'd like to support, then they should do so. [But] I don't feel like that there's an inherent responsibility that comes along with the job. There are many important issues on the table with this coming election, the war, the environment, healthcare, women's reproductive rights, same sex marriage's, etc. And I think Obama is the candidate that can have the most positive impact in all these areas.

In "Piss and Vinegar", there's a line that goes "A middle of the road opinion that no one finds offensive or challenging." Does it sum up today's music scene generally or are you referring to a particular group or genre?

I guess I really meant it more on a personal level in music. A lot of the time when you meet people in bands, they are hesitant to take sides on issues and state their true feelings on people or subjects. They're worried about losing out on opportunities, or losing fans. It can be really frustrating. I always try and be a very upfront person with the way I feel about something.

You got Tegan to duet on "Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart" -beautifully done. Would you like to work with her again, maybe on a side project?

I would love to have the chance to do something with her again. I'm a huge fan of her band, and I love the way our duet came out. She was a total pleasure to work with.

Any collaboration plans with other musicians in the near future?

Nothing specifically planned, but I'm open to all opportunities. I love playing music with other musicians.

How far along are you into the next album?

I've been writing by myself pretty constantly. I have a good handful of songs written. We haven't had much time to work on stuff as a band though [since] we've been on tour. We aren't in any real rush. We're touring through the end of the year and plan to really start focusing on the next record after we're done touring.

These days do you still get crap for signing on to a major label? How do you deal with the pressure?

I guess we get a couple random nasty emails on our myspace account every now and then, but nothing that really amounts to anything. The only pressure I ever feel is self-imposed.

Do you intend to use your current blog as a means to communicate with your fans?

I didn't really start the project as a way to communicate with fans. I just saw it as an outlet for writing, which is something I'm passionate about. It's good exercise. I plan to keep doing it as long as I have the time to do so.

How has your attitude towards punk changed over the years? What does punk mean to you?

I don't think about stuff like this. Honestly-and I don't mean to be a jerk when I say this-, I don't care how my attitude towards punk has changed over the years, or what punk means to me. I've never had to define it to know that I identify with it. I watched the new Joe Strummer documentary "The Future Is Unwritten" recently. In the documentary, he says that his definition of punk rock is "exemplary manners towards your fellow human beings." That's a good enough definition of punk for everyone.

What was it like touring with Foo Fighters? Any favorite bands that you've toured with?

It was an incredible tour. Of all the bands their size, they were definitely the best we could have hoped to tour with. They still have their heads on their shoulders, and in a lot of ways they come from the same place as us, the "punk scene". I mean, Dave Grohl was playing in a band on Dischord Records when I was in elementary school. Their fans were also totally open and receptive to us. I don't think I could pick a favourite band that we've ever toured with...we've
been lucky to tour with so many great bands over the years.

What else do you have planned for the rest of 2008?

After Warped tour is over, we are doing a headlining tour of Canada in September with Japanther and Saint Alvia Cartel. In October, we are doing a headlining US tour with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and a band from Wales called Future Of The Left. In November, I'm playing some shows by myself on the "Revival Tour" with Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, and Tim Barry. Then finally in December, we might be heading over to France for a week or two of shows. We still have a lot of miles ahead of us this year. [IM]


**VOTE FOR AGAINST ME! TO PLAY AN EXTRA 10 MINS ON WARPED**

Catch Against Me! all summer long on Warped Tour and VOTE for them to play 10 minutes longer for each set here.

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