Saturday, 25 April 2020

Lagwagon - May 16


Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1990, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can be seen on the back cover of their 1994 second album Trashed.
 

The band has 11 releases through Fat Wreck Chords: eight studio albums, one EP, one live album and a collection of B-sides, compilation tracks and demos. Lagwagon has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America, Europe and Asia. Their moderate success reflected a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, along with fellow California bands Rancid, Green Day and The Offspring.  

I am sharing the song May 16 from their 1998 5th album Let’s Talk About Feelings which was also featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
 
In 2016 Noisey did an interview with singer and songwriter Joey Cape about the meaning of the song and how the date had the nickname, "Lagwagon Day". Speaking about the inspiration for the song:

"You know, it was me, hungover in an apartment with some girl I went home with from the bar the night before. There was an acoustic guitar in the corner. I heard this ruckus happening in a park adjacent to the apartment complex, and it was just a wedding happening on this Saturday, May 16. And my heart just broke; this wedding that I hadn’t been invited to for someone I was so close to for so many years of my life, where a misunderstanding caused a falling out between us from some time before. That story is very long and I don’t want to revisit it, but I kind of picked up the guitar and the first thing that came to mind was: “It’s just another Saturday,” but obviously I was in denial. The melody and the song came together; by the time my new friend got out of the shower or whatever, I had this terribly sad song."

It is a great "American punk rock" song and one worth a share.

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