The rousing punk-rock and folk sound of Gainesville, Fla.s Against Me! began 11 years ago through the lone crooning of vocalist/guitarist Tom Gabel, who went about town serenading audiences in the most dive of establishments. Gabel later recruited bassist Andrew Seward, drummer Warren Oakes and guitarist James Bowman to release three successful full-length records on independent labels: Reinventing Axl Rose (No Idea); As the Eternal Cowboy (Fat Wreck Chords); and Searching For a Former Clarity (Fat Wreck Chords), which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart. Against Me! signed with Sire Records in 2005, with the rock solid, Butch-Vig-produced New Wave surfacing two years later.