Why Laura Jane Grace Is A Musician, First & Foremost

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Laura Jane Grace, transgender icon and pioneer, is first and foremost a musician and punk rock fanatic. And she's extremely proud of the band's seventh album Shape Shift With Me, which seamlessly blends the melodic sensibilities of the band's later records with the raw freewheeling sounds of their early years. According to Grace this was a record that came together very organically.

"This was kind of a set up the amps, plug in and play kind of recording," she confirms. "We were really lucky with the set-up we had this time around. Pretty much the entire record was written while we were on tour for the last album. What we'd do is between shows we'd come back to our studio in Michigan, which was kind of like home base for us because we're all so spread out across the country. Between different legs we'd have a couple of songs written and then we'd just throw up some mics and record them as we went. When we came back after two years on the road we were like 'oh we already have our record'."

For this record the band worked as a unit to write many of songs, something that hadn't really happened before, but something Grace says was by design. "That was a purposeful thing because for the last record I really isolated myself during the song writing process - because I needed to at that time. This time around I really I wanted to carry over the open spirit we had on the road and be more open with writing together with the band. For me that attitude carried over to outside the band. This time around two of the songs on the record [Boyfriend and Norse Truth] were co-written with a friend of mine — Cody who's in a band called Blood Brothers. We'd always talked about doing something together and it finally this time around it happened."

"For the last record I really isolated myself during the song writing process - because I needed to at that time. This time around I really I wanted to carry over the open spirit we had on the road..."

"Things with the band feel really good," says Grace in response to The Music's query about the stability of Against Me! following a couple of years where key members left the group. "We've got like 60 dates of touring lined up between now and the end of the year. It's funny, you realise that as a band - and we're all professionals who have been doing this for years - you get along much better being out on the road playing a lot of shows. In my experience things tend to fall apart in the inbetween times - that's when shit gets weird and you can lose your fucking mind," she laughs.

While Grace prefers to talk about her music, she can't escape from the media frenzy that surrounds her 2012 announcement that she had experienced feelings of gender dysphoria since childhood and was coming out as transgender. Now, everything the talented performer does is examined through the lens of this announcement. Leaving aside the sobriquets that have been foisted upon her, every artistic statement she now makes is ruthlessly dissected for political meaning.

Take the album cover for Shape Shift With Me. It shows Grace herself on her knees licking a pair of riding boots that seem to be worn by a large and imposing male figure. That image has led online activists to proclaim that Grace is promoting misogyny and (get this) transphobia. But where you'd expect a rebellious punk rock spirit like Grace to vigorously dissent from the labels and expectations thrust upon her, she accepts the critiques with great openness.

"Look it's tough in a way because I am a punk rock kid and I've never been a big fan of authority and labels. Anytime anyone puts a label on me my first instinct is to say: 'no: fuck you I'll tell you who I am - you don't get to tell me who I am'," admits Grace when reflecting on the labelling she's constantly subjected to. "But despite this natural urge I do recognise at the same time that some of these labels like 'pioneer' are highly complimentary and that really all people are saying is that I'm highly visible and trans. When I reflect on this I realise that just being public with who I am is bringing awareness about issues that I care about - and that's a great thing."

"As for people commenting on, or having really strong reactions to specific things I create — like the new record cover or a song I've written: I actually think that's great as well. On the new record there are some songs on there, and of course there's the cover as well, that I consciously wanted people to react to and question the meaning of. I think that you can tell a lot about who a person truly is by gauging their reaction to things like this."

"For me when I look at that record cover I feel like the person on the ground whereas other people immediately project gender roles on that image and that's fascinating because so much of the record is about power dynamics in relationships and the nature of emotions. Are certain emotions exclusive to gender? How much hate does it take before it's misogyny? Personally I feel that emotions should be genderless and that they shouldn't be exclusive to one way or the other. So I guess I really did want to spark discussion with this album and I'm actually really happy that people are doing this."

Grace is also happy to talk directly about her ongoing life journey - and she's more than willing to be honest. "Since coming out as trans I've had a lot of support and I am so grateful for that. But I'm taking life day by day. One of the illusions people had about me coming out as trans was that all my problems would suddenly go away. But when it comes down to it, being a touring musician when you are a parent and going through a separation can be really hard. Having a shit home life comes with the territory when you are a travelling musician - it's the price you pay. And honestly trying to take on something like gender transition when you are touring is also really daunting. That said, I'm doing everything I always wanted to and when I'm touring I feel I'm the best version of myself - and I'm so grateful for that chance."