Lawrence Arms
Lawrence Arms, or The Lawrence Arms, despite not formidably forming until 1999, are a Slapstick Family Tree band, and have been very revered by the Chicago scene since their beginning. They began after first tier Slapstick Family Tree bands The Broadways, Baxter, and Tricky Dick disbanded. Brendan Kelly, frontman for Slapstick and The Broadways is the bassist and lead vocalist, Neil Hennessy is the drummer, and Chris McCaughan is the guitarist and other vocalist.
Lawrence Arms has produced music with much of the same ingredients as Slapstick and their other projects: Sometimes politically charged pop punk with an edge of grit and aggression. "Lawrence" is a reference to Lawrence Avenue on the north side of Chicago - evident in early songs.
Their first album, A Guided Tour of Chicago, was released by Asian Man in November of 1999, and they toured with NOFX in 2006. They have released a bevy of records, and in late 2013 they signed to Epitaph, a long earned accolade after 14 years of endurance.