Heyo! It’s time to hitch a ride with Forte’s favourite punk rockers, Lagwagon, once again when they return to our friendly shores next month. So to celebrate, we sat down with their equally affable front man Joey Cape to discuss their latest album ‘Hang’, his new gig as a talent scout, and why bald and green is the new black.
Hang is Lagwagon’s eighth studio album and the first in nine years. “We’re very proud of the record. I feel in many ways that it’s the best work we’ve ever done,” Cape smiles. “I suppose it’s kinda political, which is not something we’ve done in the past, but I decided it was time to write a record like that.
“I think the idea came from mates of mine – we’d be out at the pub having drinks and I would go on some rant about something, and then for years they’d say, ‘You should write about that’, and I’d say ‘Oh no, I don’t write about that kind of thing. Fuck that concept! I write about death and disloyalty, and all these really depressing things’,” he laughs. “I never wrote political, angry songs like other punk bands have done. So the idea was just to write a conclusive piece about my views – like things I’ve observed about the world around me that my daughter has to grow up in, and my admission of how angry it makes me.
“Most importantly though, it just felt so good to make a record. We hadn’t made a record in a long, long time – and there was something about the collaborative way this record was made, that was different to other ones we’ve recorded in the past,” Cape says. “I suddenly realised that I have this amazingly seasoned band behind me that really wanted to make a record and it would be criminal after all these years not to involve them. I know now that it’s much better when you’re able to work with other people and get their points of view. So we spent about six months developing all that material, and a lot of it was little pieces and parts of songs that were written by other guys in the band, and it worked perfectly. It makes us the most happy to play those songs, too – they just feel right played live. It’s killer to have a record that you feel that good about, and I think we really needed that.”
Cape is open about a particularly dark period in his life that began a few years ago with the breakdown of a relationship with a life-long friend, and the tragic and unexpected death of his brother-in-punk Tony Sly, of No Use For A Name, in 2012. ‘One More Song’ on Hang was inspired by the death of Tony Sly. “It’s the eight ball of the record – it’s the odd man out, it’s the only song that’s a tribute and the only song that comes from that grieving process. Tony was just such an important person to me and to my band, we all knew him well, and it just made sense to do it with Lagwagon. It’s part of life, you know? It can fit into any theme – loss and mourning is part of life.
“I hadn’t even had a glimpse of Stitch Puppy yet or else it would have likely been on that record because it would maybe suit that record better. I don’t know.”
Stitch Puppy is Cape’s third solo acoustic album which was released in September of this year. The album title and cover art were inspired by a handmade gift from his daughter. “My wife’s been making dolls for years and my daughter’s quite an artist too,” he says proudly. “They made that doll [Stitch Puppy] for me when I was going through that pretty hard time as a sort of mourning doll. At some point I thought it was a good muse and I like the idea of it being on the album cover, especially because my daughter made it. Then later I ended up sort of embodying the doll – I shaved my head and painted myself green because the doll is bald and green. Thankfully now my hair’s starting to grow back!” he laughs.
“I took Stitch Puppy on one tour and I realised when I spilt a little coffee on it that it’s probably my most prized possession. I just thought the road is no place for this doll! I want it to last as long as it can. So now it just lives on my bedside table, and it’s a good luck charm.”
Stitch Puppy will take centre stage at a handful of intimate gigs that Cape has planned once Lagwagon wrap up their headline tour. Joining him at these shows will be The Flatliners’ Chris Cresswell (The Flatliners are also the support band on the Lagwagon tour), Brian Wahlstrom from Scorpios, and Brisbane’s folk-punk Laura Mardon. “I produced all three of their acoustic records, so they’re all near and dear to my heart, and I know all their songs very well.
Cresswell and Wahlstrom have been Cape’s collaborators and friends for years, but it’s his new-found friendship with Mardon, and his eye for spotting talent, that he’s keen to share. “I think we’ll probably learn one song from her album and support her, maybe more,” he says. “I’m sure Brian will play some piano with her and, something you have to do on those acoustic, singer-songwriter tours, is to do a songwriter-in-the-round where you can play each other’s stuff together – and certainly if there’s a female in the house who can sing as well as Laura, it would be a sad move not to get her to sing a little bit with us.
“But the best part of this story is how I discovered Laura, or how she discovered me – that’s how I look at it. Brian and I developed a competition when we were last on tour. We had local songwriters submit videos of them playing their songs. Then we picked a songwriter from each town to come up on stage at the height of the set, like three quarters of the way through when you really have the whole venue as full as it’s going to be.
“Sure, it’s one thing to offer someone an opening slot – but sometimes it’s 7pm and people aren’t there yet or they’re out in the pub and they’re not watching, but if you bring somebody up and you introduce them, ‘Hey this is one of your own, that we think is great’, it’s much more fun. And that’s what we did with Laura – she came out, she played her song and I’ll never forget it. The night Laura played, there was this rowdy Surfers Paradise crowd – you know the crowd you get up there, the surfers, man,” Cape adds, “Anyway, it was pretty loud and crazy, and Laura came out and she played a quiet, pretty, beautiful song, and there was not a dry eye in the house – I wept! It was just so good. Australia has a lot of great singer-songwriters. It’s traditionally been strong for that kind of thing, but I think she’s very special.”
Written by Natalie Rogers
When & Where: Barwon Club, Geelong – December 2 & Max Watts, Melbourne – December 4