The Mercury talked to frontwoman Laura Jane Grace about the ongoing journey that has been Against Me!. 

Against Me! began as a lone anarchist’s screaming match ­funded by the sale of blood and plasma (yes, you can sell your blood to fund your band in America) in the late ‘90s. 

Since then, the outfit has become the punk band’s punk band after a career spent hammering out the rawest nerves and deepest fears of modern Westerners along the frets of a spaghetti-Western sounding ­guitar.

With the release of the less-punk-more-rock New Wave in 2007, AM! stepped out of the ­basements of the movement it had defined and became everybody’s favourite punk band. 

For many orthodox followers this was the end, but for the wider-minded music lovers this was just the second act. 

Each subsequent bootleg, live album and acoustic session showed a band striding through definitions and genres faster than any critic could keep up.

From the early days, AM! songs spoke of escaping Westward, often literally along America’s iconic highways – away from tropical Florida and the darkening social landscape of the 21st Century. 

Comparisons to Bob Dylan and Neil Young saw beyond the abrasive vocals of Grace to a diverse catalogue of songs that confronted issues of authenticity and purpose. 

“I’ve tried to maintain a strong work ethic over the years and to write, write, write,” she said.

“I can’t fake inspiration so whatever I’m feeling is whatever I’ll write about. 

“Sometimes that connects with other people, sometimes it doesn’t.” 

Grace’s simple approach to songwriting never changed – ­inspiration drove lyrics, lyrics drove guitar. 

The remarkable aspect came from the brutal honesty in the engine room of the songwriting process.

At a time when much of punk had de-escalated into angsty love songs and every other type of music beckoned us all into “da club”, Against Me!’s earthy, impassioned chanting reached out to tired people living unfulfilling lives.

Lines like “Me and my friends are just growing into the drunks and the liars that we’ve always hated/Every shortcoming has trapped us, every mistake is now our own infinite failure“ spoke to a group of aging punks who had grown alarmingly adult and cynical after waiting too long for the return of their childhood’s prodigal sons – Mark, Tom and Travis.

After Grace announced she was undergoing gender transition in Rolling Stone in 2012, Against Me! released Transgender Dysphoria Blues. 

Transgender was a step toward a more mature, refined but still undoubtedly AM! sound, even though the focus had narrowed to explore Grace’s gender dysphoria in greater detail. 

While the final resolution of Grace’s gender-straddling double-life dominated the newest album, fundamentally her songs still championed a journey toward self-fulfillment that could only be made along the fringes of Western life. 

Grace said that in the face of such drastic changes, the band remained her constant.

“Going through whatever personal changes in my life that I have I’ve always held onto the band for my sanity, the cathartic outlet of playing music,” she said.

The experience of seeing AM! live, as with everything the band does, is simple and powerful. 

The frenetic chanting of the anthems of the working punks will make you ask yourself why you haven’t given it all up to wander the highways and coastlines. 

The slower, acoustic moments let you hear the gravelly imperfections of a musician who values connection with fellow humans over perfection. 

And for those who have seen the band before, the live shows are supposedly more diverse and engrossing than ever. 

An article on website Noisey remarked that the varied life of AM! had now produced an equally varied fanbase.

“There was a small handful of older, bearded jerkoffs like me standing in the back with their arms folded, a lot of very enthusiastic young women and, to my surprise, a few pockets of frat douches,” the article read.

“But the most notable addition to her audience was a whole slew of very proud, very aggro trans people, which was f***ing awesome. 

“In between songs, they’d yell things out at Laura like, “You’re beautiful!” and “You go, girl!”

There’s a live album coming out after the tour and another studio album in the works so the journey is far from over. 

Grace still has a daughter to inspire her and a band to support her so be at the Cambridge on Sunday night to shout “PLAY PINTS OF GUINNESS!” with the rest of us. 

Against Me! play the Cambridge Hotel on Sunday evening.

Tickets are available through Oztix.com.au.