Members of the Lawrence Arms have also played in The Broadways, Slapstick, Tricky Dick and Baxter.
The three musicians came together to form the Lawrence Arms in 1999. Although punk rock bands in their infancy generally start out by releasing EPs and 7" vinyl singles, the band members used their existing relationship with Asian Man Records to immediately begin recording a full-length album, a guided tour of chicago, which was released later that year. A second album, ghost stories, followed in 2000. Both albums focused heavily on the members' own stories of growing up and living in Chicago.
The band's next two releases were split EPs with other bands. The first, a split with Shady View Terrace, was released in 2000 and was their first release to be recorded by Matt Allison, who would continue to record and produce all of their subsequent releases. A second EP, Present Day Memories, was released in 2001 and was a split with The Chinkees.
The band's records and touring schedule had brought them to the attention of Fat Mike of NOFX, who signed them to his label Fat Wreck Chords in late 2001. Their first release on the label was a 7" vinyl single, part of the label's "Fat Club" series of 7" records. This was followed by the full-length album apathy and exhaustion, released in 2002. The album spawned the band's first music video, for the song porno and snuff films and they toured extensively with NOFX and other bands from the label.
Their next album was 2003's the greatest story ever told. Arguably their most ambitious album to date, it demonstrated the band members' continued growth as musicians and songwriters and included extensive footnotes to the lyrics detailing their many references to history, literature and pop culture. It also showed an evolution in the band's vocal style. Kelly had sung most of the vocals on their first album, while on subsequent releases he and McCaughan had split vocal duties almost equally from one song to the next, with Kelly's voice tending to sound more harsh and urgent while McCaughan's sounds more relaxed and melodic. With this release, however, the two began to move towards more of a duet style of singing which would feature prominently on their next album. Extensive touring following the album's release saw the band on the road for much of 2003 and 2004. They also contributed a song to the Fat Wreck Chords Rock Against Bush, Volume 2 compilation, leading up to the 2004 presidential election and became involved with the Punk Voter campaign.
In December of 2004 Kelly and Hennessy joined with fellow Chicago natives Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio (who had played with Kelly in Slapstick) and Todd Mohney, formerly of Rise Against, to form The Falcon, and released an EP on Red Scare. Meanwhile, with interest in the Lawrence Arms increasing and their EPs out of print, Asian Man Records planned a CD release of the band's EP tracks. The resulting compilation album, Cocktails & Dreams, was released on Asian Man in June of 2005 and included their songs from both EPs along with nearly all of their compilation tracks, rare songs and b-sides.
The Lawrence Arms re-entered the studio in October and November of 2005 and recorded the album oh! calcutta!, which was released on Fat Wreck Chords in March of 2006. It had an overall faster and more urgent feel to it than their previous album, and demonstrated another step in the development of their singing as Kelly and McCaughan shared vocals in a duet style on nearly every song. They filmed a music video for the song the devil's takin' names.
The Lawrence Arms spent most of 2006 touring extensively alongside bands such as NOFX, Alkaline Trio, The Draft, Lagwagon, and A Wilhelm Scream. The full-length debut by the Falcon was released that fall on Red Scare. In December, the Lawrence Arms embarked on their first headlining tour of Australia, also playing supporting shows with Frenzal Rhomb.
In March of 2007, guitarist Chris McCaughan released the debut album from his acoustic side project Sundowner, entitled four one five two.
The band toured again in 2007, with their side projects The Falcon and Sundowner as openers along with the recently reunited American Steel.
The 2010s saw minimal studio activity by the band, but for one album. 2014's Metropole was received well, and marked the band's first full-length in eight years. The band took another extended break in between albums again, taking six years before releasing their seventh album Skeleton Coast in 2020.
3AM QVC Shopping Spree Hangover
The Lawrence Arms Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The Lawrence Arms’s song “3AM QVC Shopping Spree Hangover” opens with the lyrics “Limp lines resign themselves to margins. Like a drunken vampire, I miss the sun. I killed this summer, now it's done. Let's split and reconvene in a warmer space.” These lyrics connote a sense of desolation, as expressed through the metaphor conflating the writer with a “drunken vampire” who has killed the summer season. The metaphor is apt because vampires only come out at night, associating the singer with isolation or loneliness. They are reminiscing about a better time, the summer, which has come to an end, most likely leaving them without anything to do. The line "Limp lines resign themselves to margins" might indicate the writer feeling stuck in their creative output and feel like they are falling short of what they want to achieve.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more disjointed, touching on topics like legacy, boredom, doom, and death. The line “Gangrene hangs on every word,” suggests that the writer has become stagnant in their thinking and needs a change of pace. The lyrics “I leave all of this to thee. Drink at the funeral. Piss on the corpse. Yell at the sun till your voice is all hoarse. I'm gone. This is goodbye. Dead as a dream beneath a grey Chicago sky” are cryptic and seemingly nihilistic. While the first two lines may indicate leaving behind material possessions upon death, the following lines imply a sense of rebellion, challenging the very institution of death and rejecting the natural order of things. The final lines suggest that the singer is ready to move on, saying goodbye to an old chapter, embracing a bleak future.
Line by Line Meaning
Limp lines resign themselves to margins.
The singer feels unimportant and marginalized.
Like a drunken vampire, I miss the sun.
The singer feels lost and disconnected from the things they used to enjoy.
I killed this summer, now it's done.
The singer feels like they wasted the summer and it's over now.
Let's split and reconvene in a warmer space.
The artist wants to leave and find a new, better place.
I'm scratching my head turning nights into days.
The artist is confused and disoriented, unable to keep track of time.
Don't talk to me about boredom. Don't talk to me about pride.
The singer doesn't want to hear about trivial complaints.
I sucked it all up, I swallowed it down. It's fine.
The singer is dealing with their problems by suppressing their emotions.
Gangrene hangs on every word.
The artist is surrounded by negativity and decay.
Bullshit endings to stories unheard.
The artist is tired of hearing fake stories and empty promises.
It's unheard of to me to not fathom doom.
The artist is used to feeling hopeless and pessimistic.
So, what did you find in my emperor's tomb? Some notebooks, some tee-shirts, some bad spelling errors.
The singer is reflecting on their own shortcomings and failures.
Strangled syntax, broken bottles and chairs.
The artist's life is chaotic and disordered.
This here is my legacy. I leave all of this to thee.
The singer believes that their struggles and mistakes will be passed on to future generations.
Drink at the funeral. Piss on the corpse. Yell at the sun till your voice is all hoarse.
The singer is suggesting destructive and self-destructive behaviors as a coping mechanism.
I'm gone. This is goodbye. Dead as a dream beneath a grey Chicago sky.
The singer is leaving and feels hopeless, like their dreams are dead.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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