Against Me! singer Tom Gabel has revealed to Rolling Stone that he plans to begin living as a woman under the name Laura Jane Grace.

The full story of Gabel’s transformation will be explained in the new issue of Rolling Stone but a teaser for the interview reveals that Gabel has dealt privately with gender dysphoria for years and will soon begin taking hormones and undergoing electrolysis treatments.

“I’m going to have embarrassing moments,” Florida-based Gabel realises, “and that won’t be fun. But that’s part of what talking to you is about – it’s hoping people will understand, and hoping they’ll be fairly kind.”

Gabel will remain married to wife Heather, explaining that “For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news. But she’s been super-amazing and understanding.”

While Gabel didn’t comment on how his decision would impact the future of Against Me!, in an interview with FasterLouder.com.au in 2010 he was adamant that music was his life: “This is what I do and this is what I will always do until I die.”

Gabel has sung about his transgender struggle in the song The Ocean which features the lyrics:

“If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman, My mother once told me she would have named me Laura, I would grow up to be strong and beautiful like her, One day I’d find an honest man to make my husband.”

In March, Gabel also performed an acoustic rendition of a new song called Transgender Dysphoria Blues.