Against Me! is a folk band formed in Naples, Florida but then moved to Gainesville, Florida. Their first full-length album, released on No Idea Records, is Reinventing Axl Rose. They have released music on Plan It X Records, Sabot Productions, No Idea Records, and most recently, Fat Wreck Chords. In December of 2005, they signed to Sire Records, and are scheduled to release their major label debut in 2007.
Tom Gabel started the band as a solo act with vocals and acoustic guitar, occasionally with backup from drummers or bassists. This period in the band was marked by playing a guerrilla show in a college apartment complex laundromat, emphasizing the folk-punk aspect of their work. A six song EP was released on Plan It X Records entitled "Crime, As Forgiven By."
After Crime, a 6 song self-titled Acoustic EP was released. It contains no electric guitar or drums; only acoustic guitar and bass guitar. It is one of the band's definitive releases.
Reinventing Axl Rose was the band's first full-length album. This album was a shift because of the addition of electric guitars, and a full band. There is a much more recognizable mainstream rock sound, but still a large hippie influence, particularly in songs like the Irish-influenced "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" and the tongue-in-cheek ballad "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!". The latter song, one of their most famous, takes jabs at those who they deem to be "spineless yep yep yep liberals," though ironically Against Me! would later join the Punk Voter campaign in 2004, a musical effort that was part of the " Anybody but Bush" movement to remove George W. Bush from office by voting for John Kerry.
After Axl Rose, a 3 song EP entitled The Disco Before The Breakdown was released. The title track was a marked departure from the earlier sound, incorporating friends and musicians from their label, No Idea Records, as a horns section. "Tonight We're Gonna Give it 35%" showed perhaps the band's greatest transition away from folk towards more rock sounds. "Beginning in an Ending" is the only track harkening back to the band's earliest days.