- Tim Armstrong
Infobox musical artist
Name = Tim Armstrong
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Timothy Lockwood Armstrong
Alias = Lint
Born = Birth date and age|1966|11|25
Berkeley,California , U.S.
Died =
Origin = Albany,California , U.S.
Instrument = Vocals,Guitar , Bass, drums, keyboards,Synthesizer
Genre =Punk rock ,Ska punk ,Street punk ,Pop punk ,Rapcore ,Reggae ,Ska
Occupation =Musician ,Songwriter , Producer, Director
Years_active = 1984–Present
Label = Hellcat, Epitaph
Associated_acts = Rancid
Transplants
Operation IvyDance Hall Crashers
DownfallBasic radio Shaken 69
The Silencers
The LJs
URL = [http://www.ratsinthehallway.com/ Official Site]
Notable_instruments =Timothy Lockwood Armstrong (born
November 25 ,1966 ) is an influential American musician and songwriter best known for his work withpunk rock bands Rancid, Operation Ivy,Dance Hall Crashers , and Transplants. He is also the owner and operator ofHellcat Records .Personal life
Tim Armstrong was born in Oakland, CA November 25 in 1966. He is the youngest of three brothers. As a child, Armstrong met
Matt Freeman while playing Little League Baseball in California at age 5. Freeman became one of his best friends and the bass player for Rancid. Armstrong and Freeman grew up together in Albany, California. Embracing punk culture during high school, Armstrong's favorite bands were the Clash and theRamones . Armstrong was quoted in 'Maximum Rancid - The Unauthorized Biography Of Rancid', that:"If it wasn't for theRamones , Rancid would have never become a band." After the demise of his first locally (and later internationally) successful band, Operation Ivy, Armstrong suffered fromalcoholism , and eventually became homeless. [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/white_punks_on_warner_bros_/Content?oid=286084] During this time, Freeman suggested the two start a band together, partially in hopes of curbing Armstrong's alcohol addiction. Armstrong began writing songs that would appear on their first album,"Rancid".Marriage to Brody Dalle
Armstrong met
Brody Dalle ofThe Distillers while Rancid was playingAustralia 's Summersault Festival (Dalle was performing with her band Sourpuss). Although Armstrong is 12 years older than Dalle (she confesses that she had lied about her age when they met, claiming to be 19 when she was only 17,) the two began dating and corresponding. [ [http://www.laweekly.com/music/music/killing-the-angel-in-the-house/2704/ LA Weekly - Music - Killing the Angel in the House - Judith Lewis - The Essential Online Resource for Los Angeles ] ] Shortly after her 18th birthday, Dalle moved from her home in Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, California and married Armstrong.She has said that their marriage was in decline for some time before its dissolution, and that the couple had considered marriage counseling. It is reported that Dalle ended the relationship over a long distance phone call. She filed for divorce in 2003.During their divorce, photographs of Dalle kissingQueens of the Stone Age frontmanJosh Homme were published in Rolling Stone Magazine. Armstrong, who claims he knew nothing of Dalle's relationship with Homme, said in a Guitar One interview, that he broke down when he saw the photos.Armstrong is open about his hatred for Homme over the incident, and has accused Dalle and Homme ofadultery . [ [http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/tim%20armstrong.s%20rancid%20feelings%20for%20josh%20homme Rancid - Tim Armstrong'S Rancid Feelings For Josh Homme ] ] Homme has received a series of death threats from loyal Armstrong fans. [ [http://www.qotsa-news.com/news.php?news=61 HOMME BLASTS RANCID SINGER OVER DALLE TREATMENT (03-21-2005) | qotsa-news.com ] ] Dalle has since married Homme.Hellcat Records Armstrong started Hellcat Records in 1997 as a sub-label of
Epitaph , owned by Armstrong's friend andBad Religion memberBrett Gurewitz . Armstrong acts as a talent scout for Hellcat, and has final say concerning what bands are signed to the label. Contrary to popular belief, Hellcat Records is not a lucrative venture for Armstrong, and is just avanity label . Armstrong also owns the merchandise manufacturer Machete Mfg, [http://www.machetemfg.com/] which provides merchandise for bands on Hellcat Records.Musical history
One of the first bands that Armstrong 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 theDance Hall Crashers , but left the band after a brief period of time. He was also in Downfall withMatt Freeman . In 1991 Armstrong went on to greater fame with Rancid with bassistMatt Freeman (who had previously played with Armstrong in Operation Ivy, Downfall, and Dancehall Crashers).Brett Reed was a local skate punk who had only been playing drums for six months when Armstrong and Freeman asked him to join their band. Reed was later replaced byBranden Steineckert (formerly of The Used) in 2006. Steineckert has said that Rancid is one of his favorite bands and one of his biggest musical influences. Tim Armstrong is a left-handed guitarist. Other notable southpaw musicians areJimi Hendrix Paul McCartney (bassist),Johnny Rotten , andEric Esqueda .In 1999, Armstrong invited
Rob Aston ("Skinhead Rob") to work on some solo material that Armstrong had been creating in his basement, and the two worked together writing and recording music. They formed the band Transplants withTravis Barker (ofblink-182 fame) and released their self-titled debut album on October 22, 2002. Also in 2002, Armstrong contributed vocals to Tom Delonge's (also of blink-182 fame) side project Box Car Racer, on the track "Cat Like Thief". A second Transplants album, "Haunted Cities", was released on June 21, 2005. The Transplants break-up was confirmed byRob 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 withGwen 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 ,Cypress Hill ,Stubborn All-Stars ,Head Automatica ,Fefe Dobson ,The Matches ,NOFX ,Time Again ,Left Alone , andLars Frederiksen and the Bastards , which is a side-project of his Rancid bandmateLars Frederiksen . He's collaborated withP!nk ,the Aggrolites ,Gwen Stefani andKelly Osbourne . He has also produced several albums, including the first album by AFI, "Answer That and Stay Fashionable " (1995), "Viking" byLars Frederiksen and the Bastards and two tracks forthe Matches , "You (don't) know me" on "Decomposer" and "Yankee in a Chip Shop" on "A Band in Hope ".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 theINSAINTS logo. He has also done a solo album entitled "A Poet's Life ", giving fans the option to download the tracks for free on the internet. He has so far released 10music video s. After much airplay of the song "Into Action" (featuringSkye Sweetnam on guest vocals), "A Poet's Life" was released with on May 22nd with bonus DVD containing video clips for each song.Despite Armstrong's solo tour, drummer
Branden Steineckert mentioned in June that Rancid would go back to the studio to resume work on their new album in January 2008. [http://www.punknews.org/article/24146 Rancid posts update, plans to record in January 2008] ]The
LA Times reported in February 2008 that Rancid had booked 3 weeks at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch studio for recording their new album. [ [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-tm-skywalker-03march2,0,3448533.story Inside George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch - Los Angeles Times ] ]Brett Gurewitz , who produced the band's new album, recently reported that Rancid was finished mixing it. [ [https://twitter.com/OblivionPact/statuses/774701074 Twitter / Brett Gurewitz: mad diggin' final Rancid mi ] ]Discography
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 albumDownfall
* Although no records by Downfall exist, the band did release a demo and a couple songs. It should be noted that essentially Downfall is Operation Ivy minus Jesse Michaels but adding Pat Mello (Dave Mello's brother) on guitar. They were featured on the compilation "Can Of Pork" with a song called "North Berkeley". [http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1243976/a/Can+Of+Pork.htm]
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
* "B Sides and C Sides " (2007) – guitars and vocals
* "TBA" (2008) – guitars and vocalsTransplants
* "Transplants" (2002) – guitars and vocals
* "Haunted Cities " (2005) – guitars and vocals
* "" (2005) – guitars and vocalsolo albums
* "
A Poet's Life " (2007) – guitars and vocalsProduced albums
* "
Answer That and Stay Fashionable " (1995) by AFI
* "East los Presents " (1997) byUnion 13
* "At Ease " (1997) byThe Gadjits
* "F-Minus " (2000) byF-Minus
* "Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards" (2001) byLars Frederiksen and the Bastards
* "Try This " (2003) byP!nk
* "Viking " (2004) by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
* "The Stories Are True " (2006) byTime Again
* "Decomposer " (2006) byThe Matches
* "Live Freaky! Die Freaky! " (2006) byTim Armstrong ,Billie Joe Armstrong ,Theo Kogan Other
The following is a list of songs that Armstrong has appeared on where he was not a member of the band.
*"Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" by AFI
*"Television" byBad Religion from "Stranger Than Fiction"
*"53rd & 3rd " by theRamones from "We're Outta Here "
*"Gotta Go" byAgnostic Front from "Something's Gotta Give"
*"Faster Than The World" by H2O from "F.T.T.W. "
*"Fearful" byThe Specials from "Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent!"
*"Pick Yourself Up," "Tired of Struggling," and "Because of You" byStubborn All-Stars from "Back With A New Batch"
*"Policeman" byThe Silencers from "Give 'Em the Boot"
*"Tomorrow Burns" byF-Minus from their debut album
*"Werecat" and "Moonlite Dreams" byTiger Army from "Tiger Army"
*"The Stories Are True" byTime Again from their debut album
*"Cat Like Thief" byBox Car Racer from "Box Car Racer"
*"What's Your Number" byCypress Hill
*"Dance Party Plus" byHead Automatica off of "Decadence"
*"You (Don't) Know Me" byThe Matches from "Decomposer"
*"Go Go Go" byShiragirl from "Not Sold In Stores"
*"My Life To Live" byLars Frederiksen and the Bastards from "Viking"
*"City To City" byLeft Alone from "Dead American Radio "
*"Travelin' Band" (guitar solo) byThe Heart Attacks from "Hellbound and Heartless"
*"Outlaw " by "The Lordz "
*"It All Makes a Lot Less Sense Now" by7 Seconds from "Soulforce Revolution"
*"Misty Days" byBuju Banton from "Unchained Spirit"
*"No More" by Black Flag from
*"Tell Me What You're Feeling" byNocturnal from "Give 'Em the Boot"Filmography
* "
Larry is dead " (1995) Director, Actor, Producer* "
Live Freaky! Die Freaky! " (2003) Producer and Narrator* "
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) Acting* "
Give 'Em the Boot " (2005) ProducerGuitars and Amplification
Armstrong uses Mesa/Boogie Amplification. Here is a partial list of guitars he has been known to use:1. Gibson SG, black finish with a black pickguard, rosewood fretboard.2. Hagström Viking, pink finish, rosewood fretboard.3. Epiphone ES 335, sunburst finish, rosewood fretboard.4. Hagström Viking, red finish, rosewood fretboard.5. Hagström Viking, black finish, rosewood fretboard.6. Gretsch 1974 Country Club, originally natural, spray-painted black, rosewood fretboard.7. Gibson Les Paul, black finish, rosewood fretboard.8. Schecter S-1, originally black finish, sanded off and spray-painted black, rosewood fretboard.9. Gibson SG, originally red finish, spraypainted black, rosewood fretboard.10. Fender Acoustic, natural with a brownish "pickguard, rosewood fretboard.11. Gretsch White Falcon, white finish, rosewood fretboard.
During "Rancid": guitar 1.During "Let's Go": guitar 1, 2 and 3.During "And Out Come The Wolves": guitar 2, 3, 4 and 5.During "Life Won't Wait": guitar 2, 6, 7 and 8.During "Rancid 2000": guitar 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9.During "Transplants": guitar 6, 8, and 9.During "Indestructable": guitar 6, 8, 9 and 10.During "Haunted Cities": guitar 6, 8, 9 and 10. Solo, "A Poet's Life": guitar 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Conflicts
Armstrong has had quite a few conflicts with other bands over the recent years.
*
The Queers mentioned Tim Armstrong in their song "Rancid Motherfucker".
*Leftover Crack have had disputes with Tim Armstrong & many other artists on his labelHellcat Records over censorship issues and accusing them of being homophobic.References
External links
* [http://www.rancidrancid.com Rancid Official Website]
* [http://www.punknews.org/bands/timarmstrong Punknews.org Tim Armstrong Biography]
* [http://www.epitaph.com/artists/artist/233/ Epitaph Records artist page]
* [http://www.musicemissions.com/blog/2008/06/10/episode-16-a-punk-dennis-scanland/ Tim Armstrong featured in podcast]
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