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November 15, 2005
The circus has come into town
Not unlike Minneapolis, a number of influential bands have come out of neighboring town, Chicago. When politically driven punk rock band The Broadways split, a new era of Midwest punk began to grow. At the same time a lull in the life of Chicago’s own Baxter (containing future members of Rise Against and The Lawrence Arms) made way for a brand new sound.
In January of 1999, while Neil Hennessy was visiting his brother who was away at college, he received an e-mail which commenced a change in his life. The e-mail was from a friend, Brendan Kelly of not only Slapstick, but The Broadways as well, telling him that the band The Broadways has recently broken up and that he would change Neil’s life. Because Baxter was not doing much during this time, Brendan and Neil decided to form a new band. Neil was asked to be the guitarist in this new band, because that is what he had played in Baxter, with Brendan taking on vocals. As it turns out Neil had been practicing drumming on a set in the house he was living at and decided to play drums.
Chris McCaughan, formerly of The Broadways, was not yet involved in the formation of the new band and was uncertain as to whether or not he wanted to play music so soon after the death of his band. Instead of asking Chris to participate, Neil and Brendan considered asking a guy named Zack of Sidekick Kato. The newly formed band lasted all of two practices without Chris in the band. By the time the three had finished the album “A guided tour of Chicago,” they had settled on the name “The Lawrence Amrs” with Brendan Kelly on bass and vocals, Chris McCaughan on guitar and vocals, and Neil Hennessy on drums.
Six years, four full length albums and shows totaling 750, The Lawrence Arms are still going strong, and will undoubtedly grow stronger. With the constant ebb and flow of the punk rock music scene, it is never surprising to see bands crash and burn and revive themselves in a variety of other bands. Even after six years of living and breathing so closely this band continues to push themselves harder.
Something that sets these three apart from others who are trying to become successful is that they never had any expectations. The mindset of wanting to become something renowned and great was absent. Couple that with making sure to respect each other and communicate about everything, and The Lawrence Arms have found a vast amount of success. They make decisions together about everything from T-shirt designs to where they should go out and drink that night and have the tendency to hold the same opinions about things pertaining to the band.
A tricky subject for everyone who has a sincere opinion about his/her favorite band is that of growth within a band and the progress they make. While we often fall in love with a bands initial sound and style, bands have a tendency to change over time. With those stylistic changes we can either encourage and enjoy the progress or feel nostalgic for what made us love the band to begin with. Since the beginning of The Lawrence Arms, progress has been more than apparent between the three of them. One of the most transformative experiences for them has been the frequent touring. Each show gives them a new experience to shape the band. With the last full length album, “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” released in September of 2003, fans witnessed the most growth in The Lawrence Arms. After a compilation of all the songs that they had for the album, they noticed a similar concept throughout the lyrics and upon realization decided to make “Greatest Story” a more thematic album. Touring constantly and driving all night to play show after show made them feel like a circus coming into town each day. Working with David
Holtz to achieve this feeling they created the sensation that this album was never ending, and did an amazing job at it.
It isn’t terribly often, with the mass amount of bands being formed, that bands are led to sheer success. In great contrast to this, The Lawrence Arms have accomplished nothing less than a great amount of success. Do they think that they have done anything different to gain such success? No; Neil made mention that with the number of albums released and shows played, it was most likely the staying power which has led them this far. Either that or he told me that is was because “Chris is so handsome...”
Recently The Lawrence Arms have re-recorded and released a number of songs on a compilation called
“Cocktails and Dreams.” They have said that without either one of those things, The Lawrence Arms wouldn’t exist. Currently they are finishing up their album to be released in March 2006, tentatively titled
“Oh! Calcutta!”
“Oh! Calcutta!” is a musical about naked, gay men that show and perform a variety of different sexual positions. Don’t set your heart on it being titled “Oh! Calcutta!” clever it may be, Neil makes no promises about the title of the new album.
In the end of November, if you shall be so lucky to be on the West Coast, The Lawrence Arms will be touring the coast with Lagwagon and I recommend heading to a show. As the upcoming album release date approaches, The Lawrence Arms will begin another long touring stint which will last through the year. They also hope to get back to Minneapolis somewhat soon as Neil tells me he loves it here.
Posted by msveum at November 15, 2005 12:06 PM
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