Biography of tim armstrong rancid 2015
Rancid
Emerging from the blue-collar swamps of Berkley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century. Apparently, nothing can kill them.
Back in 1991, after the demise of their much beloved and still influential first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible -- start an even better band.
Thus, Rancid.
Signing with Epitaph Records, the band released their first album, “Rancid,” in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) joined the band, because... well, are you going to tell him he can’t? The result, in 1994, was “Let’s Go.” People noticed.
In 1995, Rancid released the classic platinum-selling “...And Out Come The Wolves.” You still remember when you first heard it.
They followed with the even more ambitious “Life Won’t Wait” in 1998, and in 2000, Rancid released another album entitled “Rancid,” just to see if anyone was paying attention.
After “Indestructible” in 2003, Branden Steineckert (drums) joined to solidify Rancid’s current line-up. They subsequently released the albums “Let The Dominos Fall” (2009), “Honor Is All We Know” (2014), and “Trouble Maker” (2017).
Through it all, Rancid has remained fiercely independent, never losing their loyalty to community or each other. Their music confronts political and social issues, while balancing personal tales of love, loss, and heartbreak with attitude. Rancid gives their listeners a community where everyone can belong. By carrying on the traditions and spirit of the original punk rock bands that came before, Rancid has become a legend an inspiration to punk bands that have come after. They are the living embodiment of East Bay punk. And if you don’t know all this by now -- you’re not playing their music loud enough!
See ya in the pit.
Tim Armstrong
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One of the key figures of American punk rock in the 1990s and onward, Tim Armstrong is best known as the singer and guitarist with the band Rancid, which he formed in 1991 after the dissolution of the influential ska-punk group Operation Ivy. Rancid's vintage, Clash-inspired sound entered the mainstream in 1995 with the release of the platinum-selling ...And Out Come the Wolves. In addition to his work with Rancid, who released their ninth long-player, Trouble Maker, in 2017, Armstrong fronts the hip-hop/punk supergroup Transplants, and in 2007 he issued his debut solo LP, A Poet's Life. He began releasing stripped-down acoustic songs under the moniker Tim Timebomb in 2012. Armstrong has also found success writing for other artists including P!ink, Joe Walsh, and Jimmy Cliff, with whom he earned a Grammy Award in 2012 for Best Reggae Album. Born in Oakland, California, in the fall of 1966, Armstrong was friends since childhood with Matt Freeman, and as teenagers the two became converts to punk rock after seeing the Clash open for the Who in Oakland in 1982. Armstrong and Freeman were also deeply influenced by the British ska revival of the '80s, which had a major impact in California, and in 1987 they formed the influential ska punk band Operation Ivy. While the group lasted a bit less than two years and only released one single and one album, their revved-up fusion of punk and Jamaican sounds made them kings at Northern California's fabled all-aged club 924 Gilman Street. Internal friction caused Operation Ivy to break up in 1989, and an attempt by Armstrong and Freeman to put together a new band, Downfall, fell apart after a mere three shows in late 1989. Armstrong developed a serious drinking problem, while Freeman started playing bass for veteran anarchi American punk rock band Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, former members of the band Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited (alongside Green Day and the Offspring) as being among the wave of bands that revived mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s. Over its 34-year career, Rancid has retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its underground musical roots. Rancid has had two lineup changes since its inception, with Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman being continuous members. Their current lineup consists of Armstrong on guitar and vocals, Freeman on bass and vocals, Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals, and Branden Steineckert on drums. The band was formed by Armstrong, Freeman, and former drummer Brett Reed, who left the band in 2006 and was replaced by Steineckert. This lineup recorded their first album, with Frederiksen joining the band on their subsequent tour. To date, Rancid has released ten studio albums, one split album, one compilation, two extended plays, and a series of live online-only albums, and has been featured on a number of compilation albums. The band has sold over four million records worldwide, making it one of the most successful punk rock groups of all time. The band rose to popularity in 1994 with its second studio album, Let's Go, featuring the single "Salvation". In the following year, Rancid released its highly successful album ...And Out Come the Wolves, which produced its best-known songs "Roots Radicals", "Ruby Soho", and "Time Bomb", and was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA, selling over one million copies in the United States alone. Its next six albums – Life Won't Wait (1998), Rancid (2000), Indestructible (2003), Let the Dominoes Fall (2009), ...Honor Is All We Know (2014) an American musician This article is about the musician. For other uses, see Tim Armstrong (disambiguation). Musical artist Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. Prior to forming Rancid, Armstrong was in the ska punk band Operation Ivy. In 1997, along with Brett Gurewitz of the band Bad Religion and owner of Epitaph Records, Armstrong founded Hellcat Records. In 2012, through his website, Armstrong started releasing music that influenced him, along with stripped-down cover songs of his own under the name Tim Timebomb. Armstrong is also a songwriter for other artists. Armstrong won a Grammy Award for his work with Jimmy Cliff and Pink, and has also worked with Joe Walsh and the Interrupters. At the age of five, Armstrong met Matt Freeman while playing Little League Baseball. They grew up a few blocks apart in Albany, California, where Armstrong lived with his mother, father, and older brother, Jeff. Freeman and Armstrong formed bands many years later based on their shared love of bands such as the Clash and the Ramones. They both went to Albany High School. Armstrong's relationship with Bikini Kill drummer Tobi Vail inspired the Rancid song "Olympia, WA" from ...And Out Come the Wolves. He was married to musician Brody Dalle from 1997 to 2003. They met in 1995, when Dalle was 16 and Armstrong was 30, after Rancid and Dalle's band Sourpuss both played Summersault Festival in Australia. In 1997, when Dalle was 18, she moved to Los Angeles to live with Armstrong, and she formed the band the Distillers. The couple separated in 2003, after Armstrong saw a picture of Dalle kissing Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme in an issue of Rancid (band)
Tim Armstrong
Personal life