I'd like to write that I had some huge epiphany upon hearing LAGWAGON for the first time on a high school radio station on Long Island, but really, I just thought I was listening to a new NOFX song from a release that wasn't out yet. When the DJ credited the immediate song to LAGWAGON, I knew right then that I had a new band to track down (the song was "Violins" from Hoss). Years later, when Pastepunk was still in its toddler stage, I was covering the Warped Tour in New York City. Eager to use my spiffy press credentials, I had made it a mission that day to tell Fat Mike (playing then with ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES) how much I appreciated his label's support in sending promos to Pastepunk (like he cared!). Anyway, I managed to get in a word to a very popular person backstage who I was sure was Fat Mike. Except it wasn't. The very polite man said, "Umm... I'm Joey. Thanks for the kind words. Fat Mike is over there by the bar." Awkwardness. This interview was conducted by email with Joey Cape in September 2008.
Pastepunk: Between a new LAGWAGON release, last year's THE PLAYING FAVORITES full-length, and your upcoming solo album, it seems that the concept of 'downtime' eludes you. Is it the urgency of being a songwriter that drives you? Perhaps the specter of getting older and accomplishing more? Something else entirely?
Joey Cape: Yes, yes and yes. Yeah, I just try make as much music as I can. This is what I do. Otherwise I am in idle, which is not good. In a way, this was just a response to the download and subsequent lack of records sales. I just form more bands and start new projects. Ha ha. Probably not the wisest choice. I'm more busy but no more successful. It doesn't matter. I know I'm really lucky to be able to do what I love. I love music and not just one style. I'm lucky to be able to try new things and have them heard.
Pastepunk: With the title of the new LAGWAGON release being I think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon, there's a good chance you'll get a nice chuckle from those near 30 and above. Does your live show now reflect that audience predominantly, or do you see a steady stream of young fans packing the place?
Joey: No. Not too many new kids. I would say our crowd is mostly made up of people who have listened to us for a long time. The album title is self-deprecating of course, but it's also a bit of a joke at the expense of our old fans. Really it's just a good joke for anyone who has been a band a long time. I'm guessing a lot of bands can identify. We didn't come up with it. It's a direct quote we've heard a million times, usually at a gas station on tour somewhere. The full quote is "Lag Wagon... I think my older brother used to listen to Lag Wagon in high school."
Pastepunk: Do you have regrets about the demise of My Records? In this age of digital distribution, do you plan on have your releases resurface on services like iTunes and eMusic?
Joey: No. I was never really cut out for the biz side of music. When we closed shop, we found labels for most of the releases and I was relieved.
Pastepunk: We all know about LAGWAGON's storied history with Fat Wreck Chords, but little has been shed on why you chose to work with Virgil Dickerson and his Suburban Home Records / Vinyl Collective labels for your upcoming solo release and THE PLAYING FAVORITES. How did that relationship come together?
Joey: I met Virgil a long time ago. No great story there, but I have always liked Virgil and his label. He's just a great guy. Also, it seemed appropriate to do something different considering how different those two releases are from anything else I've been involved with. Truthfully, I doubt Fat would have been interested in either release anyway. Who knows.
Pastepunk: If you were in your teens or young 20s, would you want to start a new band today? Are websites like MySpace and iMeem liberating or daunting? It's not like people didn't promote their bands in the days of punk rock before the internet, but now, it seems like the pressure is nearly overwhelming right from the get-go... is this a good thing, bad thing, or just it is what it is...?
Joey: I'm on the fence. Because I am an old man, I see it as a negative thing for most indigenous music scenes and the sound they bring to the rest of the world. I miss the days when bands had to tour to gain exposure outside of their inner circles and there hometowns had pure groundswell and bands that were connected to it. I also see a lack of romanticism in the new music world. It's simply over-saturated and therefore overwhelming to most. It ends in diminishing returns. On the other hand, this is now a world where any band can be heard, no matter where they call home. That has to a be good for some. Also, it has revitalized music and the search. In my opinion, the most important and positive change is the fact that it has nearly destroyed the dinosaur mentality and their ways of marketing music as a soul-less commodity. It's created a new independence. Really it's just different and everyone sees change in their lives and has difficulty accepting it.
I'd like to write that I had some huge epiphany upon hearing LAGWAGON for the first time on a high school radio station on Long Island, but really, I just thought I was listening to a new NOFX song from a release that wasn't out yet. When the DJ credited the immediate song to LAGWAGON, I knew right then that I had a new band to track down (the song was "Violins" from Hoss). Years later, when Pastepunk was still in its toddler stage, I was covering the Warped Tour in New York City. Eager to use my spiffy press credentials, I had made it a mission that day to tell Fat Mike (playing then with ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES) how much I appreciated his label's support in sending promos to Pastepunk (like he cared!). Anyway, I managed to get in a word to a very popular person backstage who I was sure was Fat Mike. Except it wasn't. The very polite man said, "Umm... I'm Joey. Thanks for the kind words. Fat Mike is over there by the bar." Awkwardness. This interview was conducted by email with Joey Cape in September 2008. 
