Against Me! Laura Jane Grace

The green room is a hole in the wall. On the other side of the door, the faint thud of sound-checking drums in short bursts. Laura Jane Grace is perennially cool and soft-spoken and wrapped in stovepipe jeans like a second skin. Her long fingers are laced into each other. Laura’s transition now is not from the single-minded rebel angel of her youth; that gifted spark is still there. The ‘Blues record was her emergence from a chrysalis.

The drums pace, even like a heartbeat. When commentating, Laura is fabulously grand then terribly small and vulnerable, an array of half counsels and complete truths. Patti Smith said that ‘an artist wears their work in place of wounds’, and like the Godmother of punk, Laura Jane Grace has become a figurehead, changing the mutinous romanticism of women in punk rock.

The Words.
“I will usually write stuff down; I’ve got some really good ones in my notepads. Hunter S. Thompson: ‘Sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey and drive fast with nothing in mind expect falling in love and not getting arrested.’ William Freeland: ‘What if life should be like night and death awaking into light where it’s not beautiful to find? Another birth, see with other eyes, skies opening still on skies?’ Or, ‘The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again.’ That’s Jimi Hendrix.”

The Edge.
“Dealing with suicidal thoughts is something that’s been very real to me. And getting that point where you reach this abandon where you’re realising that edge is there. Knowing where the edge is, and walking that edge makes you appreciate life more. Like well, fuck it—I can always end it if I need to, so why not go for it on an everyday level of living life to the fullest.”

The Fear.
“Being abandoned is a fear you can experience without knowing words. As a child, it’s something you instinctually fear without having it being taught to you. It’s a very base instinct. Coming from a broken home … In general and sometimes with the way life works out, you’ll have friendships that you really thought were something that was going to last for the rest of your life. But there are crossroads where it’ll cease to exist. It’s not like you’re a dog that’s been left on the side of the road. But it’s a loss of sentiment, a step into coldness, I guess.”

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READ MORE IN JULY ISSUE #33 OF HYSTERIA HERE