The band has 11 releases through Fat Wreck Chords: eight studio albums, one EP, one live album and a collection of B-sides, compilation tracks and demos. Lagwagon has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America, Europe and Asia. Their moderate success reflected a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, along with fellow California bands Rancid, Green Day and The Offspring. Their song 'May 16' was also featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
The story about the name Lagwagon is that Joey’s mom was often late picking him and his brother up from school. She drove a station wagon, which his brother dubbed the "lagwagon". After signing to Fat Mike's label Fat Wreck Chords, Lagwagon released their debut album for the label, Duh, in 1992. Frontman Joey Cape commented on how the album was made, "Back then, we were inexperienced in the studio. It was less about the recording process and more about rehearsing. We recorded and mixed Duh in 4 days. There's something to be said for a budget. You have to have your shit together before you go into the studio and the end result is a record that better reflects the band's sound at the time." Two years later, Lagwagon released Trashed, their second record on Fat, which turned out to be highly successful, leading to the eventual production of a video for "Island of Shame." During this time, a number of punk bands, such as Green Day, The Offspring and Rancid, had hit the mainstream and Lagwagon turned down offers to join several major labels. Hoss, the third Lagwagon album, was released on November 21, 1995. After the release of that album and an extensive tour in Europe, Australia, and Japan, both guitarist Shawn Dewey and drummer Derrick Plourde would leave the band and be replaced temporarily by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) on guitar, and permanently by Dave Raun (RKL) on drums. Shawn Dewey, already in the side project band Buck Wild on Lobster Records would go on to release two full-length LPs Beat Me Silly and Full Metal Overdrive and do two European tours with Good Riddance and Ten Foot Pole.
After two more albums, Double Plaidinum and Let's Talk About Feelings, the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2000, due to all members working on side projects. Lagwagon resurfaced in 2002, and released their sixth album Blaze the following year. In 2004, frontman Joey Cape released a split album with No Use for a Name vocalist Tony Sly featuring acoustic versions of songs by both bands. On November 1, 2005, Lagwagon released Resolve, which is a homage to the life of Derrick Plourde, original drummer for Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut.
In 2008, Lagwagon released an EP titled I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon. Despite earlier reports that the band would begin recording their next full-length studio album by 2009, Lagwagon had gone on hiatus from touring and writing again, due to Cape launching a solo career, releasing Bridge in 2008 and Doesn't Play Well with Others in 2010.
In January 2010, Joey Cape announced during an interview with Canada's Exclaim! magazine[4] that Jesse Buglione had left Lagwagon, having been with the band since its foundation in 1990. However, Cape dismissed rumors of Lagwagon breaking up. While he was not sure if Lagwagon would record a new album or embark on another full-scale tour, he said that he was open to playing shows and possibly recording and releasing new Lagwagon songs sporadically. Jesse Buglione confirmed his departure on Lagwagon's official message board himself, as reported by sputnikmusic.com and punknews.org. Lagwagon toured with No Use for a Name that summer. In an interview with fasterlouder.com.au Joey Cape, revealed former RKL bassist Joe Raposo is Lagwagon's new bassist. In a June 2011 interview with ExploreMusic however, Joey Cape said that things didn't work out with Raposo, and the band is testing a new bassist. After first announcing Patrick Solem as the new bass player in August 2011, the band decided that Raposo would remain in the band permanently.
On September 22, 2011, Fat Wreck announced they would be re-issuing expanded editions of the first 5 albums on CD, vinyl, and digital download. The albums were available both separately and in a box set titled Putting Music In Its Place. The reissues were released November 22, 2011, with a short line-up of concerts in the USA played in December and January, and a European tour following in April 2012. As of October 2012, Lagwagon is headlining a full U.S. tour titled The Fat Tour 2012, with Dead To Me, The Flatliners, and Useless ID as support.
In October 2012, Joey Cape stated that there will be a new Lagwagon album, which will be their first since 2005's Resolve. While details and release dates are not yet known, the band announced on its Twitter feed that songs are being written for a new album. The September 22 Tweet reads, "Writing, writing, writing. New album... It's gonna happen!"
The band recorded their eighth album, Hang, with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room, Ft Collins, CO. The album was released on October 28, 2014, and debuted at #95 on the Billboard 200.
On October 4, 2019, the band released their ninth studio album Railer.
Know It All
Lagwagon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You used to follow now you lead
College has enlightened you
And you are proud to be different
And like different bands different types
You ain't nobody's fool
It's like certain bands remind you of someone you hated
And there's only one true fashion
a lot of the bands on the college charts are great bands
Until they get signed. Then you hate them
It's such bullshit you used to love them you hypocrite
I remember you and I listening to bands that we liked
Only the songs mattered to you
But now you're a D.J. and preaching that hype
"Corporate Rock Sucks"
"You know, college radio enlightens you"
It's supposed to serve as a means to expose new bands
Without prejudice, but it makes no sense
Safe harbor for the underground
'Til the alternative becomes the popular sound
The bands are good 'til they make enough cash
To eat food and get a pad
Then they're sold out and their music is cliche
Because talent's exclusive to bands without pay
Know it all did you really listen to that song?
Could you ever write what you call wrong?
The song "Know It All" by Lagwagon is a critique of the hypocrisy and elitism exhibited by those who consider themselves "enlightened" after attending college. The lyrics describe a person who used to appreciate different types of music and was open-minded towards new and upcoming bands. However, after attending college, they become a self-proclaimed "know it all" who believes they are better than others because of their education. They now judge bands based on their appearance and what's considered fashionable, rather than on the quality of their music.
The cynicism in the song is evident when the lyrics mention how college radio, which is meant to expose new bands and serve as a safe harbor for the underground music scene, loses its credibility when the alternative sound becomes popular. The song suggests that people who act like they know everything and refuse to appreciate popular music are pretentious and hypocritical. The final lyrics, "Know it all did you really listen to that song? Could you ever write what you call wrong?" ask the question of whether the person is even capable of writing music.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at the world in disbelief
View the world in shock and disbelief
You used to follow now you lead
You once followed others, but now you lead your own path
College has enlightened you
College has enlightened and educated you
And you are proud to be different
You are proud of being different from others
And like different bands different types
You like different types of bands
You ain't nobody's fool
You are not a fool or easily misled
It's like certain bands remind you of someone you hated
Certain bands remind you of someone you disliked
'Cause they didn't wear the right clothing
You disliked them because of their fashion choices
And there's only one true fashion
You believe there is only one true fashion/style
a lot of the bands on the college charts are great bands
Many of the bands on college charts are great
Until they get signed. Then you hate them
Once they become successful, you start to hate them
It's such bullshit you used to love them you hypocrite
You are a hypocrite for hating bands you once loved
I remember you and I listening to bands that we liked
I remember when we used to listen to bands we both enjoyed
Only the songs mattered to you
Only the music/songs were important to you
But now you're a D.J. and preaching that hype
But now you are a DJ who promotes popular music trends
"Corporate Rock Sucks"
You believe that corporate rock music is bad/poor quality
"You know, college radio enlightens you"
You believe that college radio exposes new and different types of music
It's supposed to serve as a means to expose new bands
College radio is supposed to help new bands gain exposure
Without prejudice, but it makes no sense
However, it doesn't make sense because there is still bias in the system
Safe harbor for the underground
College radio is a safe haven for underground/indie bands
'Til the alternative becomes the popular sound
Until alternative music becomes mainstream and popular
The bands are good 'til they make enough cash
The bands are good until they become successful and earn money
To eat food and get a pad
To afford basic necessities like food and housing
Then they're sold out and their music is cliche
Then they become sellouts and their music becomes generic
Because talent's exclusive to bands without pay
You believe that true talent belongs to bands that aren't commercially successful
Know it all did you really listen to that song?
You think of yourself as a 'know it all', but did you really listen to that song?
Could you ever write what you call wrong?
Could you ever write something that goes against what you believe is right?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANGELA MCCLUSKEY, CHARLES MARTIN WARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ovidio
on Never Stops
twin towers coming down