"An Evening of Extraordinary Circumstance" was the first song ever written for the band. Brendan Kelly wrote it while on a bus. It was written at a time when he didn't have a band or any direction, and was feeling completely helpless. Kelly has stated that the song still sums up some of his deepest resentments towards himself. He also stated that it's his favorite song on the album. They used the title of this song to be the name of their live tenth anniversary show DVD, released on Fat Wreck Chords. A homemade music video was made for the song. It consisted of random shots of Chicago and the band. It was released on the Asian Man Records DVD, 10 Minutes to Ogikubo Station. It was also released on the live DVD of the same name on Fat Wreck Chords. It remains the only song from the album regularly included in their live act. "Kevin Costner's Casino" is about actor, Kevin Costner buying land that belonged to the Lakota People in Deadwood, South Dakota, to add extensions to his casinos. "A Guided Tour of Chicago" is an ode to the homeless people living in Chicago. "Take One Down and Pass It Around" is about drinking and gambling. "Someday We're All Gonna Weigh 400 Ibs" is about technology taking over human interaction, written from a satirical viewpoint. "The Northside, the L&L, and Any Number of Crappy Apartments" mentions the L&L Tavern in its title, which is a bar located in Chicago. The song is about questioning the lifestyle they were living at the time. "Smokestacks" is a song about the environment, and thinking that nature will soon be replaced by smokestacks, concrete, and power plants. "Detention" was about a crazy dream that Brendan had. "Uptown Free Radio" is a reference to the apartment that Chris and Brendan lived in. On certain days they could hear local music being played across the street, from their porch. "Eighteen Inches" is an introspective anthem about the harsh winters in Chicago, and the hypocrisy of pontification.
The Broadways was a short-lived American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed in 1996 after the dissolution of the ska-punk band Slapstick. The latter's vocalist Brendan Kelly and trumpet player Dan Hanaway assumed the roles of bassist and guitarist, joined by Rob DePaola on drums and Chris McCaughan on guitar. All but DePaola also assumed vocal duties.
The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively.
Brendan Kelly is the bassist/vocalist of Chicago-based punk band The Lawrence Arms, as well as guitarist/lead vocalist in The Falcon and Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds. Kelly's former bands include Slapstick and The Broadways. He is known for his raspy vocals, drunken demeanor, and onstage witticisms.
The Falcon is an America, Chicago-based punk rock supergroup. The band features The Lawrence Arms members Brendan Kelly and Neil Hennessy on drums, Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano and The Loved Ones’ Dave Hause.
Oh! Calcutta! is the fifth studio album by American punk rock band the Lawrence Arms, released in 2006 by Fat Wreck Chords. It is the band's third and studio album to be released on Fat Wreck Chords. Brendan Kelly has stated that this is his favorite Lawrence Arms album. Punknews named this album the #1 album of 2000-2009.
The Greatest Story Ever Told is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band The Lawrence Arms, released in 2003 by Fat Wreck Chords. A concept album of sorts, it follows a linear storyline and has several songs which call back to or refer to others. The album includes extensive liner notes with footnotes to the lyrics that detail the many literary and pop culture references. Its title is a direct reference to the movie The Greatest Story Ever Told, a 1965 film about the life of Jesus.
Cocktails & Dreams is an album of B-Sides and rarities by the Chicago punk rock band The Lawrence Arms, released in 2005 by Asian Man Records. It collects the songs from their two Asian Man EPs, songs from several compilations and a few new songs.
Ghost Stories is a punk rock album by the Chicago, Illinois band The Lawrence Arms, released in 2000 by Asian Man Records. It was the band's second full-length album. With this release the band moved away from the political nature of some of their previous songs in favor of more introspective lyrics. Also, while singer/bassist Brendan Kelly had handled the majority of lead vocals on their previous album A Guided Tour of Chicago, on this album he and singer/guitarist Chris McCaughan split vocal duties almost equally. This singing style would continue throughout their next several albums, and eventually the two would begin to share lead vocals in an almost duet style on Oh Calcutta! It also features the only Lawrence Arms song written and sung by drummer Neil Hennessy, "106 South". The album was recorded at Scientific Studios in December 1999 by Mike Giampa. All of the drums were triggered, and the bass was recorded through a SansAmp. Accompanied by a heavily distorted guitar, this resulted in a very raw sounding album. It's loved by hardcore fans for its dark tones and lyrical themes. Brendan Kelly has stated that this is his second least favorite Lawrence Arms album, but called the cover his favorite. The album was released on vinyl for the first time in 2009 on Asian Man Records, with all new artwork.
Apathy and Exhaustion is the third album by the Chicago, Illinois punk rock band The Lawrence Arms, released in 2002 by Fat Wreck Chords. It was the band's first album to be released on that label, and with this release, the band formed a close relationship with the label and its founder Fat Mike, with whom they released their next two albums. It was also their first full-length album recorded with producer Matt Allison, with whom they would go on to record all of their subsequent material.
Shady View Terrace / The Lawrence Arms split EP is a punk rock EP by the Branchville, New Jersey band Shady View Terrace and the Chicago, Illinois band The Lawrence Arms. It was originally released in 2000 by Castaway Records on CD format, and was re-released later that same year by Asian Man Records. Both are currently out of print, however all of the Lawrence Arms tracks have been reissued on the B-sides album Cocktails & Dreams.
Present Day Memories is an EP by the Chicago, Illinois punk rock band The Lawrence Arms and the San Francisco, California ska punk band The Chinkees, released in 2001 by Asian Man Records. It is considered a "split" CD in that each band contributes several songs. It is now out of print, however all of the Lawrence Arms tracks have been reissued on their B-sides album Cocktails & Dreams. This is the release that got Fat Mike interested in signing The Lawrence Arms to his label, Fat Wreck Chords.
Chris McCaughan is the guitarist and vocalist in the band The Lawrence Arms. McCaughan was formerly the guitarist for the bands Tricky Dick and The Broadways. His solo music is released under the name Sundowner.
Slapstick is an American punk-ska fusion band from the Chicago area that was primarily active from 1993 to 1996. Started by a group of friends from the Elgin area, the group took inspiration from Operation Ivy and the guttural punk vocals of Crimpshrine. Though they had made the decision to break up a couple of weeks beforehand, their original final show was October 5, 1996 at the Metro with Less Than Jake and Skankin' Pickle. Since disbanding, Slapstick has periodically reunited to perform shows for various reasons, including benefits and anniversaries. The band is known for being the root of the "Slapstick Family Tree", a group of musical projects which spawned from members of Slapstick, including Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, The Broadways, Tuesday, Duvall, Colossal, The Honor System and The Falcon.
Sundowner is an American mostly acoustic project of Chris McCaughan of The Lawrence Arms, also featuring Jenny Choi, Neil Hennessy, and Eli Caterer.
Four One Five Two is the debut album of Chicago Illinois's Sundowner, the acoustic side-project from Chris McCaughan, singer guitarist of The Lawrence Arms. The album was released on March 13, 2007, after many months of playing coffee shops and touring alongside The Lawrence Arms.
Unicornography is the critically acclaimed debut album by the Chicago-based punk rock supergroup The Falcon which was released on September 26, 2006 in the United States. The album contains elements from modern rock and punk, as well as reintroducing some of the ska flavour from Kelly and Andriano's previous band, Slapstick.
Buttsweat and Tears is an EP by the Chicago punk rock band The Lawrence Arms, released October 27, 2009 by Fat Wreck Chords. It was the first recorded output from the band in three years, following their 2006 album Oh! Calcutta! In the interim, singer/bassist Brendan Kelly and drummer Neil Hennessy performed in The Falcon, Hennessy also performed in the Smoking Popes, and singer/guitarist Chris McCaughan performed in Sundowner.
The Fat Club is a series of twelve 7-inch singles released monthly by Fat Wreck Chords from March 2001 to February 2002. 1,300 of each single were pressed; They were not available for sale individually, but were distributed by postal service to those who purchased a subscription to the series.
Metropole is the sixth studio album from the punk band The Lawrence Arms. The record was released by Epitaph Records on January 28, 2014. Also released on the same date, as part of limited edition pre-order bundles, was the 7" vinyl-exclusive EP News From Yalta, which features three tracks from the same recording sessions that did not end up making it into the main release of Metropole. However, the digital Deluxe Edition does include these 3 tracks in Metropole itself, numbering them tracks 13–15.
We Are the Champions of the World is a compilation album of material by the Chicago punk rock band The Lawrence Arms. Released in 2018 by Fat Wreck Chords, it spans the band's entire career, and includes songs that were released on Fat Wreck Chords, Asian Man Records, and Epitaph Records. It concludes with 5 non-album tracks taken from recording sessions for the 2006 album Oh! Calcutta!, four of which were previously unreleased on any format.
