Old Against Me! Demos On EP

04/24/09 5:16pm

by Craig Clark (CHARTattack)

Florida political punks Against Me! will release previously unreleased demo recordings as an eight-song EP titled The Original Cowboy on July 7 through Fat Wreck Chords.

Against Me! recorded the songs on July 15, 2003 at Goldentone Studio in Gainesville, Fla. with producer Rob McGregor (Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio) before they went to Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tenn. to record their 2003 Fat Wreck debut, As The Eternal Cowboy.

"Having already recorded our first full-length album and two previous EPs with Rob at Goldentone, we wanted to do something different for our second full-length," singer/guitarist Tom Gabel said on the Fat Wreck website on Wednesday. "We specifically wanted to make an all analog recording with as few overdubs as possible, which is what we could do at Ardent.

"With Rob McGregor coming along to produce, we wanted to make sure he was familiar with the songs, so we made this demo recording."

That session's version of "Cavalier Eternal" made it on As The Eternal Cowboy after Fat Wreck founder Fat Mike preferred it to the version recorded at Ardent.

"Recorded and mixed in only a couple of hours, The Original Cowboy was only meant to be a trial run, but, listening to it today, there’s a part of me that feels foolish for ever recording these songs a second time,” said Gabel.

The Original Cowboy will be available on CD, vinyl and as an iTunes download. A limited run of colour vinyl records will also be sold.

Against Me! released As The Eternal Cowboy, 2005's Searching For A Former Clarity and 2006's Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live In London!!! through Fat Wreck before they made a major breakthrough with their 2007 Sire debut, New Wave.

Gabel released his Heart Burns solo debut through Sire last fall.

You can see Against Me! here:

April 24 Huntsville, AL @ Crossroads Cafe w/Off With Their Heads and The Pine Hill Haints
April 25 Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box w/Off With Their Heads and The Pine Hill Haints
April 26 Pensacola, FL @ Sluggo's w/Off With Their Heads, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb and The Pine Hill Haints
April 28 Charleston, SC @ The Charleston Pourhouse w/Off With Their Heads and The 33's
April 29 Athens, GA @ Tasty World w/Off With Their Heads and Music Hates You
April 30 Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox w/Off With Their Heads and American Aquarium
May 1 Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern w/Off With Their Heads and Of Angels And Lions

Gabel will perform solo with Chuck Ragan here:

May 7 Brisbane, Australia @ The Zoo
May 8 Newcastle, Australia @ The Cambridge Hotel
May 9 Sydney, Australia @ The Annandale Hotel
May 10 Canberra, Australia @ Tuggeranong Youth Centre
May 13 Melbourne, Australia @ Corner
May 14 Hobart, Australia @ Republic Bar
May 15 Adelaide, Australia @ Enigma Bar
May 16 Perth, Australia @ Hyde Park

Here are the songs on The Original Cowboy:

"A Brief Yet Triumphant Introduction/Cliche Guevara"
"Mutiny On The Electronic Bay"
"T.S.R."
"Rice And Bread"
"Cavalier Eternal"
"Unsubstantiated Rumors"
"Slurring The Rhythms"
"You Look Like I Need A Drink/Turn Those Clapping Hands Into Angry Balled Fists"