Confessing childhood secrets of dressing up in women’s clothes / Compulsions you never knew the reasons to”. It was this lyric, in the title track of Against Me!’s seminal 2005 LP Searching For A Former Clarity, that many writers and fans recalled when it was revealed three years ago that the band’s lead singer, then known as Tom Gabel, was to spend the rest of his life as a woman called Laura Jane Grace. To many, it was the first case of Grace’s gender dysphoria being explicitly laid out in an Against Me! song. Ten years on, and Grace has taken a time of confusion and distress and reclaimed it through performing songs from that album.

“It was a particularly dysphoric time in my life,” she reflects while packing for tour at her new home in Chicago. “It’s certainly not the first time that dysphoria was alluded to on an Against Me! record, but for sure it was a time that it was weighing in heavily on the music. It’s really interesting to reflect back on that record now when we’re playing songs from it live. I feel like they’re finally being received in the proper context – it actually makes it a lot of fun to perform them now. Maybe even more than ever before.”

Only Grace and lead guitarist James Bowman remain in the fold of Against Me! from the Former Clarity days. The last few years have seen the punk rockers reinvent in both a figurative and literal sense, cementing a new rhythm section of bassist Inge Johansson and drummer Atom Willard. They released Transgender Dysphoria Blues, their sixth LP overall, in January 2014 and have not looked back since. It’s a record that, according to Grace, has really taken on a life of its own through extensive touring.

“It’s pretty amazing to have a new album out that people are excited to hear anything off,” she says. “Every song is always welcomed, and I think you know you’re onto something special when that happens. We still enjoy playing these songs – we look forward to them every single night. We went full steam ahead when the record came out – we toured pretty much all of last year, we toured a bit already this year and we’ve got a lot of touring yet to come. There’s still special things happening every night when we play these songs.”

Since publicly coming out as transgender through a revealing Rolling Stone interview, Grace has spent more time in the public eye than ever before. It’s led her to her own webseries through AOL, True Trans, in which she explores her dysphoria and her transitioning by speaking with transgender people from all walks of life. “I got so much out of it – I got huge, tremendous feelings,” says Grace. “I remain friends and in touch with all of those people – it meant the world to me to have all those conversations. It put things in a great perspective for me. It was reassuring, to put it all in one word.”

Last November also saw Grace being interviewed by veteran broadcaster Larry King on the topic of being transgender in America. Despite King, in his 80s, being someone that you’d expect to be of a generation less understanding of LGBTQI people, Grace says he was incredibly open and engaged. She also points out that every individual case is different. “It can be tricky to do it in the context of TV,” she says of explaining trans issues. “A lot of it can get distilled. If you’ve got someone one-on-one, it’s more of a matter of whether they accept it. It’s their personal deal – you can’t place it on their generation or their background. You can take it or leave it.”

Most recently, Grace has been in the media’s attention for an unlikely pair-up with pop sensation Miley Cyrus. As a part of her Happy Hippie Foundation launch, Cyrus enlisted Grace to perform ‘Androgynous’ by The Replacements alongside Joan Jett, as well as to perform an Against Me! original, ‘True Trans Soul Rebel’. “All the proceeds are going to youth poverty and homelessness in America,” explains Grace. “It was pretty surreal, I’m not gonna lie. It was so much fun, though – we were connected through friends of friends, and it all worked out really well.”

This month will see Against Me! return to Australia for the first time since the 2013 Big Day Out festival, which was the band’s maiden voyage to our shores after Grace announced her transition. Expanding to several key cities and capitals, the tour will also see American pop-punk band Joyce Manor warming the stage each night – a band Grace and the Against Me! clan have taken quite a shining to.

“You don’t forget being introduced to a band like that,” she laughs. “We were both playing FYF Fest. After our set, Barry [Johnson, vocals/guitar] came bounding into our dressing room. He was all smiles, just introducing himself to everyone. ‘Hey! I’m Barry!’ I was immediately charmed by him – it was like, ‘OK, you’re Barry!’ We got to tour together later, which was so much fun, and now we get to do it all again in Australia – and that’s going to be even more fun!”

Against Me!’salbumTransgender Dysphoria Blues is out now through Total Treble/Resist. Supported byJoyce Manor, they playMetro Theatre on Saturday May 30 andCambridge Hotel, Newcastle onSunday May 31.

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