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.
The Contortionist
Lagwagon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Draw a kid, left behind
Severed limbs in harmony
Strumming from a few good deeds
Carry it to survive
To a bed half alive
Deep inside a funeral for a friendâ?¦
Runs in portions like film clips
Run, run
Rundown the list
The memoirist
Like kindling
Burn, burn, burn, and burn down
I will stay inside
The saved
It's a good mourning
They will ignite you (soon)
The doomed
I will write for you
Of a boy, damaged goods
Of a bench, understood
For a spell, the soul resides
In a yellow chalk outline
Carry on the camel's back
Have another heart attack
To the cure I would drive
Played that scene a hundred times to date
Today's ambition, to relate
In a sustaining saccharine state
Impart the burden and get well
It's what everyone's trying to sell
Anything you want it to be
Weigh the screenplay and revise
Warp, warp, warp with the contortionist
So hopelessly ill-fated everyday
He will stay inside
The doomed
It's a good mourning to loom
They will inspire him
The saved Innocently filling graves
The lyrics of Lagwagon's song, The Contortionist, begin with a haunting image of a child, left behind and depicted in a chalk dotted line. The image, though disturbing, is rendered beautifully in the lyrics as the setting becomes a funeral for a friend. The song is marked by a juxtaposition of images, such as the severed limbs in harmony and the strumming of a few good deeds that carry people to survive to a bed half alive. The lyrics then shift to the idea of a memoirist, who is writing about the experiences of others, including the doomed and the saved. The chorus of the song calls to "run, run, rundown the list" and "burn, burn, burn, and burn down" like kindling.
The song portrays the experience of the contortionist who is ill-fated daily but is trying to get well. The songwriter implies that it is what everyone is trying to sell — the idea of getting better. The contortionist is represented by a bench, understood, and in a yellow chalk outline, for a spell, the soul resides. In the final part of the song, the lyrics shift once again to focus on the idea of the doomed and the saved. The saved will ignite you, and the doomed will inspire you.
Line by Line Meaning
In a chalk dotted line
Drawing with chalk on the ground, following the line.
Draw a kid, left behind
Drawing a picture of a forsaken child.
Severed limbs in harmony
The detached body parts all fit together perfectly.
Strumming from a few good deeds
Playing music from acts of kindness.
Carry it to survive
Keeping going despite hardship.
To a bed half alive
Lying in a moribund state in a bed.
Held before a dozen times
Going through a familiar ritual or tradition many times.
Deep inside a funeral for a friendâ¦
Grieving internally at a memorial service for a loved one.
Runs in portions like film clips
Moments in life can seem like fragments of a movie.
Run, run
Escape or avoid something.
Rundown the list
Go through a to-do list.
The memoirist
The writer of a personal history book.
Like kindling
Easily started on fire.
Burn, burn, burn, and burn down
Destroy completely by fire.
I will stay inside
Retreat from the world.
The saved
Those who have been rescued or helped.
It's a good mourning
A positive feeling after a tragedy.
They will ignite you (soon)
They will inspire or motivate you shortly.
The doomed
Those who are destined for failure.
I will write for you
Compose a story or poem for another person.
Of a boy, damaged goods
About a child who has been harmed or broken.
Of a bench, understood
A bench that is significant and known to all.
For a spell, the soul resides
The spirit remains in a place for a while.
In a yellow chalk outline
The drawing of the figure in chalk on the ground.
Carry on the camel's back
Bear a heavy burden like a camel.
Have another heart attack
Be startled or frightened again.
To the cure I would drive
Go to get help or a remedy.
Played that scene a hundred times to date
Repeatedly gone through the same scenario many times.
Today's ambition, to relate
Desire to connect or communicate with others.
In a sustaining saccharine state
Kept alive in an overly sentimentalized condition.
Impart the burden and get well
Share the load and recover from it.
It's what everyone's trying to sell
This is what many people try to persuade others to do.
Anything you want it to be
Whatever you wish or imagine.
Weigh the screenplay and revise
Evaluate and edit the script for a movie or play.
Warp, warp, warp with the contortionist
Move and change dramatically with flexibility and skill.
So hopelessly ill-fated everyday
Inescapably destined for a sad outcome every day.
He will stay inside
He will keep to himself and not venture out.
It's a good mourning to loom
A positive feeling during a time of waiting or speculation.
They will inspire him
They will motivate or stimulate him.
The saved Innocently filling graves
People who were rescued or spared pass away without malice.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ovidio
on Never Stops
twin towers coming down