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.
The Raw and Searing Flesh
The Lawrence Arms Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the raw and searing flesh
I don't ever want to hear you
Singing softly to the dead
I never want to feel your skin
Running warm along my side
I don't ever want to sink that way again
It would be easier to die
I'm tending the parts of my frustrations
Burning leaves on buried dreams
Kneeling in to rake the ashes
I'm in the rain, it's colder out
My hands are free,
My lungs are proud
Your forgivness is a failing fiction
Your forgivness is a failing fiction
These flames have never burned so high
I won't be starting in your eyes
I'm trying hard to remember
The way the smoke drifts through the air
We'll all be dead come November
Four months out of every year
Every year
(every year)
I won't be staring in your eyes
Every year
The Lawrence Arms's song The Raw and Searing Flesh is a deep and complex examination of heartbreak and loss. The lyrics speak of the singer's intense desire to avoid any kind of contact with their former lover, even going so far as to express a willingness to die rather than endure the pain of seeing them again. The opening lines, "I never want to see you in the raw and searing flesh," suggest a rawness and intensity of emotion that is almost unbearable to contemplate, while later lines like "Your forgiveness is a failing fiction" reveal the sense of bitterness and betrayal that underlies the song.
The juxtaposition of images of burning leaves, rain, and smoke creates a sense of unease and disconnection, as though the singer is struggling to make sense of their own emotions in the face of overwhelming sadness. The repeated refrain of "every year" at the end of the song reinforces the idea that heartbreak is an endless cycle, but also suggests a kind of hope in the idea that life goes on, even in the midst of pain and loss.
Overall, The Raw and Searing Flesh is a powerful and haunting exploration of the human heart in its most vulnerable state.
Line by Line Meaning
I never want to see you
I have no desire to see you again
In the raw and searing flesh
I don't want to see you in your most vulnerable state
I don't ever want to hear you
I want to avoid hearing your voice
Singing softly to the dead
Especially if it involves pouring out your emotions to things that cannot respond or care.
I never want to feel your skin
I don't wish to touch you ever again
Running warm along my side
Even though I might miss the physical sensation of your presence
I don't ever want to sink that way again
I would rather not revisit the negative places we went to
It would be easier to die
Things were so terrible that death almost seemed like a better alternative
I'm tending the parts of my frustrations
I'm sorting through and dealing with my anger and disappointment
Burning leaves on buried dreams
I'm getting rid of old hopes that have since died
Kneeling in to rake the ashes
I'm accepting what happened and cleaning up the mess it caused
I'm in the rain, it's colder out
It's a difficult season for me right now
My hands are free, My lungs are proud
But I am still in control and feeling strong
Your forgiveness is a failing fiction
I cannot trust that you have truly forgiven me
These flames have never burned so high
My emotions are more intense than they have ever been
I won't be staring in your eyes
I will avoid direct confrontation with you
I'm trying hard to remember
I'm desperately trying not to forget
The way the smoke drifts through the air
Especially how the memory of our time together fades and changes like floating smoke
We'll all be dead come November
We will all wither away and die eventually, so why focus on temporary things?
Every year
Every year our time on this earth dwindles a bit more
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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