When you’re in a band with a dedicated international following, one thing you get kind of used to is travelling the world. But for Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun, one thing you never get used to is the jetlag.  “I thought I’d found a cure for it and I had all these remedies, but last year we were touring and nothing worked – all the possibilities went out the window,” he says when asked about how he’ll survive the long-haul flight from the band’s hometown of Santa Barbara. “You can try and get into the time of the country you’re going to as early as possible, or you can get into the booze on the plane, get smashed and knock yourself out and then it just doesn’t matter anymore. That works, too.”

So aside from jetlag cures, what else can Doctor Dave and his merry band of punksters offer punters when they head to our fair shores come February? “Well, we don’t have any fireworks for this show, but we’re pretty funny – we’re like a musical comedy act.” You’re not being serious, Dave. “No, really. I’ve been known to get up and crack a few jokes.” And if he can believed, it might also be his birthday during this tour, so there may be celebrations of the balloon and cake variety. But you have to take into account that Dave will quite happily define his birthday as any day of the year and when Lagwagon recently toured Europe, the band had crowds singing Happy Birthday to him more than once. “Why should my birthday be limited to just one day of the year?,” he asks.

Why indeed? There’s no good reason. Just like there’s no good reason why you shouldn’t go and see them when they head to a venue near you. Sure, it may be on a school night and sure, their Adelaide gig is on Valentine’s Day, but Dave reckons the band has never been disappointed by a turnout in Australia yet – and they sure as hell don’t intend to start now. “I guess it depends on how much you want to be put out the next day. Maybe you’ll have a bit of a hangover but to hell with it – just come out.” And for those kids going on a first date on February 14? “Oh yeah, it’ll be the perfect first date. If they make it through the show together they’ll make it through anything.” Such a romantic.

Resolve is Lagwagon’s ninth full-length release and as much as he can be flippant about their upcoming tour, Dave is anything but when it comes to the album. Recorded in the days after the suicide of former Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde, Dave says recording the album was a form of therapy. “I really love this new album and I think the feeling is mutual throughout the band. It was a pretty rough time, you know, but it was therapeutic. It was like if we wrote about it, it was a way to move on a little bit.” While it’s helped them to move on, Resolve harks back to the band’s early days of skate-punk, which will have older fans reminiscing and new fans taking in a whole new batch of sounds.

This tour will also be the first time Tasmanian fans will get to experience Lagwagon live and it’s somewhat of a tour highlight for the boys. “I’m really looking forward to playing in Perth because we never got to stay there last time really – we just flew over, played at some festival, then flew back to the east coast. We’re looking forward to Tasmania because we’ve never been there at all. It’ll be good playing in the big cities but yeah, Tasmania should be good.” And Dave’s excitement grows when told he can visit a the Cadbury factory as well as the Cascade Brewery on his travels to Tassie. “Man, that sounds wicked.”

Catch Lagwagon:
 
February 7 at The Basement in Brisbane
February 8 at the Coolangatta Hotel 
February 9 at Sydney’s Gaelic Theatre
February 10 at Huon Quays in Hobart
February 11 at the Hi Fi Bar in Melbourne
February 12 at the Barwon Club in Geelong
February 14 at Unibar in Adelaide
February 15 at the Prince of Wales in Bunbury
February 16 at Amplifier in Perth