Rancid
Rancid is a punk band formed in 1991 in Berkeley, California, by former members of Operation Ivy, Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong. Rancid includes four members; Tim Armstrong on guitar and vocals, with Matt Freeman as backing vocalist and bassist, and Brett Reed (b. July 12, 1972, in Oakland, California, U.S.A.) as drummer (now replaced by Brandon Steineckert) . After searching for a second guitar player in 1993, Matt met Lars Frederiksen and he was added to the band on guitar and vocals, to round out the line up.Rancid's musical style blends punk and hardcore with ska, reggae, rocksteady, and minor elements of dub and funk. Among mainstream audiences, Rancid are best-known for "Ruby Soho" and "Time Bomb" from the 1995 recording ...And Out Come the Wolves.
Rancid was very popular throughout the 1990s, with the band touring constantly from 1993 through 1998. They have released 6 full-length albums, the first 4 through the independent label, Epitaph Records, along with numerous 7" vinyls and singles. Following the success of Let's Go, which garnered gold status in the U.S. with 500,000 copies sold, the band was pursued by several major labels, including Madonna's Maverick Records; Rancid chose to stick with Epitaph despite these offers.Rancid's self-titled 2000 album was released on Hellcat Records, and their 2003 record, Indestructible, was released by Hellcat Records with Warner Brothers distrubuting the record. After that, Rancid went on hiatus and all members were able to continue their work with side projects. The group did not completely disband.Rancid is scheduled to play an acoustic set every other night during the Hellcat Records nights starting March 7, 2006. This will be their first time playing together since Tim Armstrong's band The Transplants broke up, It has been rumoured that during one of the Hellcat Records nights that Rancid announced that they are releasing their new album in early 2007 and breaking up afterwards. They also said they would be doing a tour later on this year and no tour after the new album arrives to support it. However there have been no sources to support this claim.Rancid recently announced on their myspace blog that July 2006 will be the start of a worldwide Rancid tour to coincide with the release of a Rancid DVD that includes 31 Rancid Music Videos covering the years 1993-2003. In addition, they will have a new record release in the springtime of 2007.
Their songs and albums are based on hard times ("7 Years Down," "Hyena"), world issues ("Rigged On A Fix," "Brixton," "Rwanda"), old friends ("Old Friend," "Golden Gate Fields"), unity ("As one," "Avenues and Alleyways") and love ("She's Automatic", "Corazon de Oro").The band has recently relaunched their official website.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Rancid news:
The band have announced that Brett Reed has left the band and is being replaced by Brandon Steineckert who left the Used this past September:
"Brett Reed has decided to leave Rancid and we wish him all the best in his journeys. Thanx Brett for the last 15 years. Brandon Steineckert, formally of the band The Used has stepped in to the drumming position and we want to welcome Brandon into the Rancid family."
I'd like to meet:
1st,Tim Armstrong...
Because he is a GREAT PUNKROCKER and good in everything he does. And his voice makes my life brighter, I'm a big fan of Operation Ivy and Rancid. He is absolutely amazing. Period. A brilliant mind. A nice punkrocker, an inspiration for many musicians out there. A great artist, someone really well worth knowing. Thanks for keeping punkrock alive Tim, man, your the best.
Lars Frederiksen...
LARS FREDERIKSEN...simply because he seems to be a cool person...(period)Also because he is a SWEETHEART, a great musician, very well talented,a great person, a kind soul, someone really sincere and receptive. I love his ideas and admire what he has accomplished throughout the years. He has such a brilliant mind... an artist by nature (sensible enough to sublimate his feelings into something good-"MUSIC"). Well, yeah he is like everyone else, we all have qualities and weakness. But, what catch my attention is...HIS PASSION FOR MUSIC and the way he treats his fans. It's particularly good when you like what you do and get recognition for that. Real success is achieved when you like what you do. It is so rewarding in lots of ways...no words can come close to explain what I feel for him nor the reason of it. Need I say more...Lars is a light in this world.
♥LARS AND TIM WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY SUPPORT AND LOVE...♥
Music:
Rancid-REFERENCES IN THEIR MUSIC
SOME OF THEIR SONGS ARE ABOUT OR ALLUDE TO FAMOUS PEOPLE OR EVENTS.
Travis Bickle - Robert De Niro's character, Travis Bickle, from the 1976 Scorsese film Taxi Driver. This has substantial relevance to punk rock, as the famous mohawk hairstyle worn in the punk rock subculture was inspired by Travis Bickle's mohawk in Taxi Driver.
David Courtney - Dave Courtney is a famous ex-mobster from London who is now crime-free and an author.
Harry Bridges - Harry was an American labor leader along the westcoast.
Don Giovanni - Don Giovanni is the title and lead character of an opera composed by Mozart in 1787, based on the legend of Don Juan.
The song Rwanda is about the (Rwandan) genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994.
I always end up back on the hill, looking down at the landfill" from the song "As Wicked"-refers to Albany Hill, in Albany, CA where Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman grew up.
"Journey to the End of East Bay" is a reflective song about Operation Ivy, one of the bands before Rancid that Tim and Matt played in, and includes a line proclaiming that "too much attention unavoidably destroyed us."
Loki - According to Lars in the liner notes for Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards' first album, Loki is a god in Norse mythology who he compares to his old friend Ben Zenatto who was referenced in the song Roots Radicals.
Django - Django is a film series starring Franco Nero in the title role. The character is famous for dragging around a coffin, which holds a belt of ammunition, behind him. The Django series is considered a Spaghetti Western
Their songs and albums are based on hard times ("7 Years Down," "Hyena"), world issues ("Rigged On A Fix," "Brixton," "Rwanda"), old friends ("Old Friend," "Golden Gate Fields"), unity ("As one," "Avenues and Alleyways") and love ("She's Automatic", "Corazon de Oro").
(Wikipedia)
Books:
LARS BIOGRAPHY:Lars Frederiksen was born on August 30, 1971 in the South Bay city of Campbell, California. His mother, Minna Frederiksen came from Denmark, she came to the US as an immigrant, barely able to speak English and with very little money. Lars father, John Dapello abandoned the family when Lars was just 4 years old.Life was a constant struggle for Minna and she worked two jobs to try to support her two sons, Lars and his older brother Robert.However seeing his mother struggle gave birth to his survival instincts for later in life and surely helped to instill that working class punk rock ethic. His first introduction to music was by his brother Robert, who was four years older than him. Some of Roberts favorites were Kiss and AC/DC and Lars immediately fell in love with the powerful music. One of his first introductions to punk was when he saw the movie Rock n Roll High School. He watched in 27 times in a row. It was to be the first time he heard The Ramones and said they changed his life.One of the first punk gigs he went to was Social Distortion in 1982 where he got to hang out with the band and had a song dedicated to him he was only 11! However, Lars was a pretty crazy 11 year old by all accounts. He was already working as a drug delivery boy for the local hells angels and done several stints in juvenile hall for crimes such as breaking and entering, possession of a controlled substance (PCP) and cruelty to animals (he was high and put chewing gum on a dog (?!). He was also a member of local gang the Skunx and by age 16 he became the leader of the troupe. He became addicted to amongst other things, heroin. But it wasnt all bleak; also in this year he picked up the guitar and learned to play. At 18 he was asked by Charlie Harper to join the punk band UK Subs, Lars remembers it as being like going on tour with my dad. When his band Slip opened for a lil band named Rancid at Gilman Street, Tim dropped a broad hint to Lars that if his band ever broke up well..luckily it did and Lars locked himself in his room and learned to play the entire Rancid record. Tim says I think he knew the songs better than we did.The rest, as they say, is history Lars became a critical member of Rancid after recording their second album Lets Go in 1994. Lars became the official motormouth for the band, taking over the role as chief Rancid spokesman when it came to interviews and playing live gigs.He formed his side project band Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards in 2001. Making a somewhat autobiographical album, which focused on his childhood, and growing up in Campbell, CA.He has also produced a lot of records for bands including the Dropkick Murphys and the Anti-Heroes.On a personal note, the last few years have been very tough for Lars, in 2001 he returned home from tour with the Bastards to find his wife of 3 years, Megan, had packed her bags and left him. Also on tour with the Bastards, he slipped a disc in his back, had to have surgery and was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease a disease that could eventually crumble the bones in his spine and he may not be able to walk. And probably the most devastating thing to happen was his older brother, Robert sadly died of an aneurysm. Lars wrote the song Otherside on Indestructible in memory of his dearly missed brother.(Jennifer Lynn- Rancid unofficial website)
TIM ARMSTRONG BIOGRAPHY:
Tim was born in Oakland, November 25 in 1966, son to an alcoholic father, hardworking mother and the youngest of three brothers.As a young kid, Tim met his future mate and one of his best friends, Matt Freeman (current bass player for Rancid) playing Little League Baseball in California at age 6. Tim and Matt grew up together in Albany, California and as a young punk in high school, Tim's favorite band was the Ramones. Tim quotes in Maximum Rancid - The Unauthorized Biography Of Rancid, that if it wasn't for the Ramones, Rancid would have never become a band. He was in the punk/ska band Operation Ivy from their beginning in 1987 under the nickname "Lint". Operation Ivy continued until its demise in 1989. He then founded two relatively unsuccessful bands called the Dance Hall Crashers and Downfall but later went on to greater fame with the very successful Rancid, founded in 1991.
In 1999 Tim invited Rob Aston ("Skinhead Rob") around to work on some music he had been creating by himself in his basebent, the two worked together writing and recording music, later Travis Barker (of blink-182 fame) formed the band Transplants and released their self-titled debut album, Transplants, on October 22, 2002. Also in 2002, Armstrong contributed vocals to Tom Delonge's (also of blink-182 fame) side project entitled Boxcar Racer, on the track "Cat Like Thief". A second Transplants album, Haunted Cities, was released on June 21, 2005. The band's demise was confirmed by Rob Aston on January 16, 2006, when he told a reporter that the band had split.Tim co-wrote 8 songs with Pink for her 2003 album Try This, he has also collaborated with Gwen Stefani on her debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.In addition to his projects, Armstrong has also been known to pop up on others' albums in various roles. He's contributed vocals/guitar to tracks by bands including The Lordz, Box Car Racer, Bad Religion, Stubborn All-Stars, Head Automatica, Fefe Dobson, The Matches, NOFX, Time Again and Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, which is a side-project of his Rancid bandmate Lars Frederiksen. He's collaborated with P!nk, the Aggrolites, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Osbourne. He has also produced several albums, including the first album by AFI, Answer That and Stay Fashionable (1995), Viking by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and a few tracks from Decomposer by the Matches.(from Wikipedia)
