- Hroyer
- Tom Gabel
In surprising news I woke up to this morning, Against Me! head honcho Tom Gabel is becoming a woman. As reported by Rolling Stone, Gabel has been dealing with gender dysphoria for years and will begin taking hormones and going through electrolysis treatments, and will eventually assume the name Laura Jane Grace. Gabel will remain married to Heather Hannoura (who took the name Gabel), and says she’s been “super-amazing and understanding.”
Gabel began Against Me! as a solo project in 1997, then pieced together a band for the anthem-loaded 2002 album Reinventing Axl Rose. Long known for playing DIY folk-punk and relentlessly grinding through basement tours, Against Me! caught flak from DIY loyalists when they moved to well-known punk label Fat Wreck Chords in 2003. That backlash was followed by a bonkers shitstorm when the band signed a major-label deal with Sire in 2005—but they’ve since parted ways with the label. Against Me! started recording their sixth album this past February.