If the members of Rancid seem to share a deeper bond than most bands -- or most anyone, for that matter -- itīs because they do. From Tim Armstrong and Matt Freemanīs childhood friendship in the working class enclave of Albany, CA (a one-square-mile town bordering Berkeley), to the subrequent additions of Brett Reed and Lars Frederiksen (in 1991 and 1993, respectively), they have depended on one another for friendship, support and even survival for the better part of a decade.
Friends from the age of five, Tim and Matt began playing together in high school, eventually forming the short-fived but vastly influential Operation Ivy. From its 1987 inception, Op Ivy would became the keystone of the East Bay scene that centered around the Gilman Street club/musicianīs collective; the scene around which the lives of all four Rancid members would converge. The bandīs 1989 break-up found Tim spiritually adrift for a spell, eventually straightening out with help from Matt as they co-founded Rancid in September 1991. When it came time to recruit a drummer, Tim turned to friend and room mate Brett Reed, with whom heīd been sharing a crash pad over a liquor store on the South Berkeley / North Oakland border. That Brett had been playing for all of six months was hardly an issue; Rancid was playing shows within two months, releasing its first single an Berkeley-based Lookout! Records (the label that released the posthumous Op Ivy compilation, as well as formative releases from Green Day, Avail, Econochrist, Isocracy, Crimpshrine, et al.) in 1992.
The original three-piece Rancid line-up soon signed to Epitaph Records, recording and releasing a self-tittled debut LP by 1993. Meanwhile, the band had set about recruiting a record guitarist. (Green Dayīs Billie Joe Armstrong -- no relation to Tim -- even filled in for on show and co-wrote "Radio" which would appear on Rancidīs sophomore effort, Letīs Go). Lars Frederiksen, a native of neighboring Campbell, CA whoīd done a stint in a late model version of UK Subs, was approached but initially demurred in favor of sticking with his own band, Slip. When Slip broke up, however, Lars signed up, learning the entire Rancid song catalogue in one week.
Consisting of 23 songs recorde live over the course of four days, 1994īs Letīs Go both focused and expanded upon the raw fury of the previous yearīs debut. LP opener "Nihilism" introduced the Lars/Tim dual vocal that has since became a signature of the bandīs sound, as the two traded true to life tales of their hardest times. Letīs Go featured trade after track that remain staples of the Rancid live show to this day: "Radio", "Tenderloin", "St. Mary", "Gheto Box" and of course the single/video, "Salvation". A humble chronocle of Timīs tenure as a Salvation Army resident/employee, "Salvation" broke into the MTV playlists, providing the band with its first taste of mainstream exposure... for better of worse.
By the time Rancid came off a marathon world tour supporting Letīs Go, the major label A&R weasels were nipping at their heels and banging down their doors. More than once, seven-figure offers were made. And more than once, they were refused. (Check the lyrics to "Disorder & Disarray from the following yearīs... And Out Come The Wolves for the full details). The band remained with its indie label home, rejecting the majorsī front-loaded life-term deals in favor of the artistic freedom and control afforded by their unique Epitaph contract.
...And Out Come The Wolves came out like gangbusters in 1995 with a triumvirate of instant classics: "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho"... Wolves saw Rancid shattering stereotypes and limitations, as they established themselves as punk rockers capable of world class sangwriting. "Roots Radicals" mixed memories of the bandmembersī personal and musical cameuppance with an avowed passion for reggae music, culminating in one of the most rousing choruses ever committed to vinyl. "Time Bomb" kicked open the floodgate for an impending neo-ska revival. "Ruby Soho" was a rare gem in the form of the quintessential Rancid love song. Additionally, "Journey To The End Of The East Bay" and provided a historical narrative of the Gilman St. era, "Daly City Train" eulogized a departed friend, "Junkieman" featured a poetic interlude from Jim Carroll, and "Alleyways & Avenues" sounded a new generationīs clarion call for racial unity.
Once again, Rancid hit the endless road. The... Wolves tour wrapped with Lollpalooza 1996, where Rancid played alongside mentors the Ramones, fellow Bay Area residents Metallica, Soundgarden and more. The close of Lollapalooza marked not only the end of Rancidīs 1995-1996 itinerary, but actually the first appreciable time Tim, Lars, Matt and Brett would spaend apart since 1993. Perhaps this interval with no recording or touring plans on the horizon gave rise to some of the more introspective lyrics on the new Life Wonīt Wait. Perhaps not. Either way, the relatively brief hiatus gave way to yearīs worth of sessions in various locals that would eventually be distilled into the most diverse, accomplished and overall satisfying album of Rancidīs career.
...Which is not to say that Life Wonīt Wait is a radical departure. Anything but, actually. Just as... Wolves was a logical step forward from Letīs Go (and as Letīs Go was to Rancid), Life Wonīt Wait is, quite simply, the next Rancid record. Nothing more, nothing less.
Recorded over the course of a year and in San Francisco, Los Angeles (in Timīs own home studio, Bloodclot Studios), NewYork, New Orleans and Jamaica (They didnīt go to Cuba, despite what you may have read), Life Wonīt Waitīs highlights are as varied as they are plentiful. "Bloodclot" is a punk anthem as powerful as any ever recorded, replete with Larsīlyrical nods to Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Ramones (not to mention a bass break evoking the best of Entwistle and Foxton). "Warsaw" and "New Dress" explore world scale class struggle and out-and-out warfare, the latter drawing brilliant parallels between a working class girl struggling to stretch her budget and children fighting to survive in the former Yugoslavia. "Backslide" sets the tale of Tim's move to L.A. to an R&B flavored backchop with an irresistible chorus. "Leicester Square" wears a mod influence on its sleeve, with gritty Rickenbacker guitar tones propelling the true story of a friend attempting to rise above his gangster past. "Hooligans" spins similar tales buoyed by the legendary guitar and vocals of Roddy Radiation, Lynval Golding and Neville Staples of The Specials.
Of the two songs actually recorded in Jamaica, "Hoover Street" is a poignant addictīs lament ("Itīs who I am, baby/Back to it") with sweet soulful vocal assits from Hepcat, while the tittle track features Tim and Lars sparring with dancehall Kingpin Buju Banton against a canuas of urgent old school ska... and holding their own. The San Francisco sessions offer up the recordīs -- and probably Rancidīs -- most daring stylistic stretch to date, "Cranefist". Hammond B-3 organ and acoustic piano duel over rock steady bottom and rimshots, while Tim and Lars take their vocal skills to new levels of deftness (or should that be def-ness?). New Orleanīs "Cash, Culture & Violence" returns to more familiar territory with help from Mighty Mighty Bosstone Dicky Barret, while "Wrongful Suspicion" and straight up punk of "1998" and "Something In The World Today" pay homage to Rancidīs East Coast family: the former with Larsī numerous shout-outs to NYC allies, the latter two paying homage to the Lower East Side punk/HC scenes through vivid lyrical imagery and a cameo from Agnostic Front-man Roger Miret.
Self-produced, culled from life experience, and played live in large measure, Life Wonīt Wait is as ambitious and independent as it gets. Itīs real, itīs Rancid, and in these times, thatīs more than enough.