Tim Armstrong
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| Tim Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Berkeley, California |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Genres | Punkrock Ska punk Hardcore Punk Reggae Hip hop/Rapcore |
| Labels | Epitaph Records and HellCat Records |
Timothy Lockwood Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician best known for his work with punk rock bands Rancid, Operation Ivy, and Transplants, as well as his record label Hellcat Records.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Personal life
Armstrong was born in Berkeley, California, the youngest of three brothers. In 1997, he married Brody Dalle, who fronts The Distillers. They divorced in 2003. And contrary to popular belief, Tim is not related to Billie Joe Armstrong who fronts Green Day. However, the two are good friends.
[edit] Musical history
One of the first bands that Tim played in was Basic Radio. After Basic Radio disbanded, he performed in the ska punk band Operation Ivy under the nickname "Lint" from their beginning in 1987, until they disbanded in 1989. Soon thereafter, Armstrong helped found the Dance Hall Crashers, but left the band after a brief period of time. He was also in Downfall with Matt Freeman. In 1991 Armstrong went on to greater fame with the very successful Rancid with bassist Matt Freeman (who had previously played with Tim in Operation Ivy, Downfall, and Dancehall Crashers). Brett Reed was only a local skate punk who had been playing drums for six months when Tim and Matt asked him to be in the band. Rancid later added Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals to fill out their sound. While still with Rancid, he also has a side-project, Transplants, which started with Armstrong, his friend "Skinhead Rob" Aston and a drum machine. Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker later came on to replace the drum machine.
In addition to his projects, Armstrong has also been known to pop up on others' albums in various roles. He's contributed vocals to tracks by bands including The Lordz, Box Car Racer, Bad Religion, Stubborn All-Stars, Head Automatica, 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.
[edit] Recent history
Armstrong is still very active in the Berkeley scene that grew up around 924 Gilman Street. He has showcased his other artistic talents and created artwork for the INSAINTS logo. A new album by Rancid is set for an early 2007 release. He has also done a solo album entitled A Poet's Life, which fans can download for free on the internet. He is releasing one song at a time, and has so far released a music video with each song. In late December 2006, The Aggrolites issued a bulletin from their myspace page that the album would be availiable in March 2007. Rancid's song "Sidekick" was also featured in a pornographic film entitled "Fuck the System". Armstrong recently made a song with Skye Sweetnam and The Aggrolites entitled, "Into Action".
[edit] Discography
[edit] Operation Ivy
- Hectic EP (1988) – (credited as Lint) guitar and backing vocals on entire album
- Energy (1989, 1991) – (credited as Lint) guitar and backing vocals on entire album
- Seedy (1996) – (credited as Lint) guitar and backing vocals on entire album
[edit] Downfall
- Although no records by Downfall exist, the band did release a demo and a couple songs. It should be noted that Tim and Freeman started the band. They were featured on a compilation "Can Of Pork" with a song called "North Berkeley" [1].
[edit] Rancid
- Rancid (1993) – guitars and vocals
- Let's Go (1994) – guitars and vocals
- ...And Out Come the Wolves (1995) – guitars and vocals
- Life Won't Wait (1998) – guitars and vocals
- Rancid (2000) – guitars and vocals
- BYO Split Series, Vol. 3 (2002) – guitars and vocals
- Indestructible (2003) – guitars and vocals
- TBA (2007) – (presumably) guitars and vocals
[edit] Transplants
- Transplants (2002) – guitars and vocals
- Haunted Cities (2005) – guitars and vocals
- Haunted Cities: Screwed and Chopped (2005) – guitars and vocals
[edit] Solo albums
- A Poet's Life (2006) – guitars and vocals (download only)
[edit] Produced albums
- Answer That and Stay Fashionable (1995) by AFI
- Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards (2001) by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
- Try This (2003) by P!nk
- Viking (2004) by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
- The Stories Are True (2006) by Time Again
- Decomposer(2006) by The Matches
- F-Minus(2000) by F-Minus
- At Ease(1997) by The Gadjits
[edit] Other
The following is a list of songs that Armstrong has appeared on where he was not a member of the band.
- "The Stories Are True" by Time Again from their debut album
- "Tree City, USA" by Vic Ruggiero solo work from his debut album
- "Cat Like Thief" by Box Car Racer from Box Car Racer
- "Pick Yourself Up" by Stubborn All-Stars
- "Television" by Bad Religion from Stranger Than Fiction
- "Dance Party Plus" by Head Automatica off of "Decadence"
- "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" by AFI
- "Werecat" and "Moonlite Dreams" by Tiger Army from Tiger Army
- "City To City" by Left Alone from Dead American Radio
- "Tomorrow Burns" by F-Minus from their debut album
- "Gotta Go" by Agnostic Front from Something's Gotta Give
- "What's Your Number" by Cypress Hill
- "Faster Than The World" by H2O from F.T.T.W.
- "You (Don't) Know Me" by The Matches from Decomposer
- "My Life To Live" by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards from Viking
- "Fearful" by The Specials from Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent!
- "Travelin' Band" (guitar solo) by The Heart Attacks from Hellbound and Heartless
- "53rd & 3rd" by the Ramones from "We're Outta Here
- "Policeman" by The Skatalites from Give Em' the Boot 1
- "Outlaw" by "The Lordz"
[edit] Filmography
- Live Freaky! Die Freaky! (2003) Producer and Narrator
- The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) Actor
- Give 'Em the Boot (2005) Producer
[edit] Guitars and Amplification
- On Rancid's first album, Armstrong recorded with a Gibson SG through a Marshall
- With Let's Go, the same SG was used along with his custom-built Hagstrom Viking through the Marshall
- On AOCTW, he used a Epiphone Les Paul along with a Fender Stratocaster
- By Life Won't Wait Armstrong used various guitars, such as the Hagstrom, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, and a 1974 Gretsch Country Club
- On Rancid (2000) he switched to a Mesa Boogie amp and used the Hagstrom and the Gretsch Country Club
- Currently Armstrong is using his Country Club and a Schecter S-1 which he started using since the Transplants released their second album, Haunted Cities
[edit] External links
| Rancid |
| Tim Armstrong | Lars Frederiksen | Matt Freeman | Branden Steineckert |
| Former members: Brett Reed |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Rancid (Gun Cover) (1993) | Let's Go (1994) | ...And Out Come the Wolves (1995) | Life Won't Wait (1998) | Rancid (Skull Cover) (2000) | Indestructible (2003) | (Seventh Studio Album) (2007) EPs and compilation albums: Rancid (EP) (1992) | Radio Radio Radio (1993) | Let Me Go (2000) | BYO Split Series, Vol. 3 (2002) |
| Related articles |
| The Epitaph Records Portal
Lookout! Records | Epitaph Records | Hellcat Records | California punk scene | Operation Ivy | Social Distortion | Transplants | Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards | The Used |
