Background and Recording
Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose was recorded in four sessions. Ten of the album's eleven songs were recorded on December 21 and 28, 2001 and January 12, 2002 at Goldentone Studios in Gainesville by Rob McGregor. "8 Full Hours of Sleep" came from an earlier recording session on July 23, 2001 on which Jordan Kleeman played the Moog synthesizer.
Five of the album's songs had previously been released on the band's EPs but were re-recorded for the album: "Walking Is Still Honest" had appeared on Against Me! (2000) and "I Still Love You Julie" had appeared on Crime as Forgiven By Against Me! (2001), both recorded when the band consisted of only singer/guitarist Tom Gabel and drummer Kevin Mahon. "Jordan's First Choice", "Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious...", and "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" had appeared on Against Me! as acoustic versions recorded by Gabel and bassist Dustin Fridkin. By the time of the album's recording Against Me! consisted of Gabel, Fridkin, drummer Warren Oakes, and guitarist James Bowman, and the band re-recorded these five songs with full electric instrumentation.
Several guest singers provided backing vocals for "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)" including Sam Jones, Todd "Bitchin'", Ryan and Patrick Quinney, Adam Volk, Rose O'Hara, and Jordan Kleeman. Sam Jones also sang backing vocals on "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" and "Jordan's 1st Choice". "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!" dates back to one of Gabel's previous bands:
"Baby, I'm an Anarchist!" was written by Tom Gabel, Cassidy Rist, and Rob Augman for a band that never happened, but was a really good idea. Although we played it live 2 or 3 times, it was never recorded. Cassidy was kind enough to come in and sing on this song; she was drunk. It was 11am.
Remarking on the album's themes in 2008, Gabel said: "you get to an age where you get discouraged with dreams like and you're told you're never going to be able to do anything like that, and you start to feel like there's a closed door, and when I started to feel that way, I went ahead and started doing my own thing. We made our own way and that was kind of just what the title of the album and a lot of the album was about, really, was just doing it yourself and not taking 'no' for an answer, and reclaiming your dreams."
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