Vocalist Joey Cape, guitarists Chris Flippin and Shawn Dewey, bassist Jesse Buglione, and drummer Derrick Plourde formed Lagwagon in 1990 and shortly after their formation they signed a record deal with Fat Mike’s record label, Fat Wreck Chords. Their debut album “Duh” was released in 1992 and was produced by Fat Mike. Although the album did not place on the charts it was considered a huge success for Fat Wreck Chords and is considered by critics to be one of the most influential punk albums of the ‘90s.
Lagwagon’s second studio album “Trashed” was one of their most successful albums to date. It was released in 1994 during the same year that Green Day released “Dookie” and The Offspring released “Smash”. During this time Lagwagon had the chance to sign with several major labels, but they turned down the offers to stay on Fat Wreck Chords. In 1995 the band released their third album “Hoss”, which was followed by a world tour and then the departure of drummer Derrick Plourde and guitarist Shaun Dewey. The band’s next album “Double Plaidinum” was released in 1997 and reached the No. 20 position on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Ken Stringfellow filled in for Dewey’s absence on guitars and Dave Raun would fill in on drums after Plourde’s departure. The band’s fifth album “Let’s Talk About Feelings” was released in 1998 and received critical praise from such publications as “Pitchfork”. Some of the songs from the album were also featured in films like “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Welcome To The Dollhouse”.
After the release of “Let’s Talk About Feelings” the band took a brief hiatus to work on side projects. In 2000 Joey Cape formed the band Bad Astronaut with former Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde. Bad Astronaut followed a musical style close to alternative rock and featured highly emotive and personal lyrics. After Lagwagon’s hiatus came to an end they released the album “Blaze” in 2003. The album showed the band continuing with their typical sound of pop punk and melodic hardcore music.
After the band released their 2005 album “Resolve”, the band would go on hiatus again with Joey Cape pursuing a solo career where he would release two solo albums. In 2010 bassist Jesse Buglione officially announced his departure from Lagwagon and would be replaced by Joe Raposo. The band began touring again in 2012 and in 2014 they released their first studio album in 9 years, which was called “Hang”. The album would go on to reach the No. 95 position on the Billboard 200 chart.
Lagwagon is known for their energetic performances and have toured all over North America, Asia, and Europe. The band has also played several festivals like Vans Warped Tour as well as has toured with notable bands like Dead To Me, Useless ID, and The Flatliners.
Lagwagon, gained prominence in the 90s belong to the skate-punk revolution that was taking place. They were signed to Fat Mike of NOFX’s record label Fat Wreck along with similar bands like No Use for a Name, Strung Out, and Good Riddance.
Many skate punk bands sound rather similar with their three/four chord songs Lagwagon stand out in part because of the energy from their lead singer Joey Cape. Joey is one of the most animated vocalists in all of punk rock. Rarely does he stand still on stage for more than a few moments. He tends to bounce around on stage in the face of the other band members or dancing comically for the fans.
Cape is a little on the shorter side, so it’s amusing to see as his guitarists tower over him as he hops around. Lagwagon’s best sets may have been in the summer heat of early Warped Tours, but you can still find them touring and promoting re-issues of some of their older records.
Cape also tours solo if you’re into folky acoustic rock.At a Lagwagon show you’ll find hundreds of kids in NOFX and Pennywise shirts singing along to their favorite tracks like “Know It All,” “Violins,” “May 16th,” and “Making Friends.” Grab a beer and dive into the crowd and enjoy one of the greatest skate punk bands of all time.