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- This page is about a musical group; for the process of food becoming rancid, see rancidification.
Rancid is a punk rock band formed in 1991 in Berkeley, California, by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong (former members of Operation Ivy). 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. 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.
History
Rancid is a punk revival band that formed in the 90's. Among mainstream audiences, Rancid are best-known for "Ruby Soho" and "Time Bomb" from the 1995 recording ...And Out Come the Wolves. Rancid's style often draws comparison with The Clash, especially in their albums ...And Out Come the Wolves and Life Won't Wait, the latter of which is sometimes referred to as "Rancid's Sandinista!". This influence is further emphasized by direct homages to the seminal punk rock group in the lyrics to several of Rancid's songs, such as the title track to Indestructible.
Rancid enjoyed widespread popularity throughout the 1990s, with the band touring constantly from 1993 through 1998. They have released 6 full-length albums, along with numerous 7" vinyls and singles. Following the commercial and critical 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. Despite these offers, Rancid chose to stick with independent label Epitaph Records for their first four studio albums. Rancid's second self-titled album was released on the Hellcat Records imprint in 2000; the 2003 follow-up album Indestructible was released by Warner Bros. Records where the band continue to be signed to this day.
After Indestructible's release, Rancid went on hiatus. Rancid's members continued work with side projects, though the group did not completely disband.
Beginning March 7, 2006, Rancid played several acoustic sets as part of Hellcat Records' Hellcat Nights concert series at The Echo. This was their first time playing together since the break-up of Tim Armstrong's side project The Transplants. On April 13, 2006, Rancid also announced plans for a worldwide tour beginning in July 2006 and the release of a DVD compiling 31 of their music videos, as well as a tentative release date of Spring 2007 for a new, as-of-yet-unamed studio album on Warner Bros. Records . *
References in their music
Some of their songs are about or allude to famous people or events.
- 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.
- Travis Bickle - Travis Bickle is a fictional charecter in the film Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorcese. Travis Bickle was potrayed by Robert De Niro and is an icon in the culture of Punk.
- Rwanda - 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
Related projects
- Tim Armstrong played with Travis Barker (drummer of blink-182) and Rob Aston (a.k.a. Skinhead Rob) in the Transplants until they announced their split in January 2006.
- In late 2005, rumours abounded that Tim Armstrong would replace the late Joe Strummer in a reunion of the British Punk band The Clash. These, however, have since been dismissed as untrue. Mick Jones, lead guitarist of The Clash, has said that he has always been opposed to a reunion and these claims are simply wrong. The rumors stemmed from a news site that posted an April Fool's joke that was then perpetuated by people unaware of the posting date.
- Lars Frederiksen has a side band named Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards.
- Matt Freeman joined Social Distortion in 2004, replacing previous bassist John Maurer. Brent Harding replaced Freeman as bassist for Social Distortion in early 2005, after Freeman was incorrectly diagnosed with lung cancer. Freeman is also bassist and lead vocalist in the psychobilly band, Devil's Brigade, in which Tim Armstrong and Brett Reed also play.
- Rancid also recorded a song on the Chef Aid South Park Album, the song is entitled Brad Logan (commonly mistitled "California Sun" due to the lyrics).
- Rancid did a "split" CD with NOFX, where Rancid did covers of NOFX songs, and NOFX did covers of Rancid songs.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
- Rancid (1992)
- Radio Radio Radio (1993)
- Let Me Go (Album) (2000)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | |||
| 1992 | "I'm Not the Only One" | - | - | - | - | Rancid EP |
| 1994 | "Hyena" | - | - | - | - | Rancid (1993) |
| 1994 | "Nihilism" | - | - | - | - | Let's Go |
| 1994 | "Salvation" | - | #21 | - | - | Let's Go |
| 1995 | "Roots Radicals" | - | #27 | - | - | ...And Out Come the Wolves |
| 1995 | "Time Bomb" | - | #8 | - | - | ...And Out Come the Wolves |
| 1996 | "Ruby Soho" | - | #13 | - | - | ...And Out Come the Wolves |
| 1998 | "Bloodclot" | - | - | - | - | Life Won't Wait |
| 1998 | "Hooligans" | - | - | - | - | Life Won't Wait |
| 2000 | "Let Me Go" | - | - | - | - | Rancid (2000) |
| 2003 | "Fall Back Down" | - | #13 | - | - | Indestructible |
| 2004 | "Red Hot Moon" | - | - | - | - | Indestructible |
| 2004 | "Tropical London" | - | - | - | - | Indestructible |
Collaborations
- Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day joined the band for a brief period of time prior to Fredriksen's joining the band, doing a live show with them in 1993 and co-writing "Radio" on Let's Go. Originally Tim Armstrong asked Lars Frederiksen to join, but he turned it down due to being a member of the UK Subs at the time. In his stead, Armstrong enlisted Green Day's frontman as a temporary stand-in, and eventually asked Billie Joe to become a full-fledged member of the band. Billie Joe turned down his idol from the days of Operation Ivy, opting to stick with Green Day. Frederiksen later changed his mind and left the UK Subs.
- Tim Armstrong sang on the track "The Stories Are True" from Time Again's debut album, on the track "Cat Like Thief" from Boxcar Racer's self-titled album, on the song "Pick Yourself Up" by Stubborn All-Stars and on Bad Religion's "Televison" from Stranger Than Fiction.
- Lars Frederiksen sang in a Mad Sin song and in "We are All that We Have" on The Unseen's latest album, "State of Discontent"
See also
- 1990s music groups
- List of alternative music artists
- List of musicians in the second wave of punk music
- List of popular music performers
References
- Huey, Steve. "Rancid". All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
External links
1990s music groups | Alternative musical groups | American musical groups | Hellcat Records groups | Later punk groups | Punk rock groups | California musical groups
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"Rancid"