Everything about Tim Armstrong totally explained
Timothy Lockwood Armstrong (born
November 25,
1966) is an influential
American musician and songwriter best known for his work with
punk rock bands
Rancid,
Operation Ivy,
Dance Hall Crashers, and
Transplants. He is also the owner and operator of
Hellcat Records.
Biography
Personal life
Tim Armstrong was born in Oakland, CA November 25 in 1966. He is the youngest of three brothers. His family was poor, and Armstrong has said that his father was an alcoholic, which made for a difficult childhood.
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 the
Ramones.
Armstrong was quoted in
'Maximum Rancid - The Unauthorized Biography Of Rancid', that:
"If it wasn't for the
Ramones, Rancid would have never become a band."
After the demise of Armstrong's first locally (and later internationally) successful band,
Operation Ivy, it's said that Armstrong suffered from
alcoholism addiction, and eventually became homeless. During this time, Freeman suggested the two start a band together in hopes of curbing Armstrong from his alcohol addiction. Armstrong began writing songs that would appear on their first album,
Rancid.
His Marriage to Brody
Armstrong met his now ex-wife,
Brody Dalle of
The Distillers while Rancid was playing
Australia's
Summersault Festival. She was playing in her band, Sourpuss. Although Armstrong is 12 years older than Dalle (she confesses that she'd lied about her age when they met, claiming to be 19 when she was only 17,) the two began dating and corresponding. 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 over for some time and that they considered marriage counseling before Dalle called it off. It is reported that Dalle ended their relationship over a long distance phone call. She filed for divorce in 2003.
During their divorce, photographs of Dalle kissing
Queens of the Stone Age frontman
Josh 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 of
adultery. Homme has received a series of death threats from loyal Armstrong fans. The conflict has divided L.A.'s punk rock microcosm.
Dalle has since married Homme.
It is rumored that Armstrong ghost-wrote both of
The Distillers first two albums. This rumor is based on the fact that some songs on these albums employ the same "multi-voice sing, solo-voice sing" style chorus that's common in many
Rancid songs ("Oh Serena", "City of Angels") and similar chord progressions that are found in
Rancid songs ("L.A. Girl", "The Young Crazed Peeling"). Neither Armstrong nor Dalle have acknowledged these rumors as true.
Armstrong started Hellcat Records in 1997 as a sub-label of
Epitaph, owned by Armstrong's friend and
Bad Religion member,
Brett Gurewitz. Armstrong acts as talent scout for Hellcat and makes the ultimate decision as to what bands are signed to the label. Contrary to popular belief, Hellcat Records isn't a lucrative venture for Armstrong, as it's just a
vanity label. Armstrong also owns the merchandise manufacturer Machete Mfg,
(External Link
)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 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 Armstrong in Operation Ivy, Downfall, and Dancehall Crashers).
Brett Reed was only a local skate punk who had been playing drums for six months when Armstrong and Freeman asked him to join their band. Reed was later replaced by
Branden 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.
In 1999, Armstrong invited
Rob Aston ("Skinhead Rob") around to work on some solo material that Armstrong had been creating in his basement, the two worked together writing and recording music, later
Travis Barker (of
blink-182 fame) formed the band
Transplants and released their self-titled debut album,
Transplants, on October 22, 2002. Also in 2002, Armstrong contributed vocals to Tom Delonge's (also of blink-182 fame) side project entitled 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 by
Rob 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's also collaborated with
Gwen 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 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 two tracks for
the 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 the
INSAINTS logo. He has also done a solo album entitled
A Poet's Life, of which fans can download the tracks for free on the internet. He has so far released 10
music videos. In late December 2006,
The Aggrolites issued a bulletin from their myspace page that the album would be available in March 2007, but this didn't come to pass. After much airplay of the song "Into Action" (featuring
Skye Sweetnam on guest vocals), it was decided to release
A Poet's Life as a CD with a bonus DVD containing video clips for each song from the 22nd of May.
An extract taken from Hellcat Records' website about the solo album -
Punk legend Tim Armstrong has announced plans to give his debut solo album, A Poet's Life, away for free on the internet beginning April 17th. Each Tuesday fans are encouraged to hunt down new songs and videos that will be made available for download on various blogs, sites and social networks. Additionally the album will also be available for sale on May 22nd with a bonus DVD containing 10 new videos.
Never a stranger to having his music suddenly and widely embraced, as evidenced by the hit songs Armstrong has created for both Rancid and his side-project the Transplants, by March it was clear that the iconic singer/songwriter had another bona fide hit with the track "Into Action." The undeniably catchy dance song became an instant favorite of fans and critics alike, with support from everyone from Myspace users to the influential LA radio stations KROQ and Indie 103.1. Continuing to sweep the nation with its infectious groove, "Into Action" is guaranteed to be blasting from every car stereo and beach boom box this summer.
Be the first one to find hot new songs and videos each Tuesday!
Track Listing:
1. "Wake Up"
2. "Hold On"
3. "Into Action"
4. "Translator"
5. "Take This City"
6. "Inner City Violence"
7. "Oh No"
8. "Lady Demeter"
9. "Among The Dead"
10. "Cold Blooded"
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.
The
LA Times reported in February 2008 that Rancid had booked 3 weeks at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch studio for recording their
new album.
Brett Gurewitz, who produced the band's new album, recently reported that Rancid was finished mixing it.
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 album
Downfall
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".(External Link)
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
Untitled upcoming release (2008) – guitars and vocals
Transplants
Transplants (2002) – guitars and vocals
Haunted Cities (2005) – guitars and vocals
(2005) – guitars and vocals
Solo albums
A Poet's Life (2007) – guitars and vocals
Produced albums
Answer That and Stay Fashionable (1995) by AFI
East los Presents (1997) by Union 13
At Ease (1997) by The Gadjits
F-Minus (2000) by F-Minus
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
Live Freaky! Die Freaky! (2006) by Tim Armstrong, Billie Joe Armstrong, Theo Kogan
Other
The following is a list of songs that Armstrong has appeared on where he wasn't a member of the band.
"Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" by AFI
"Television" by Bad Religion from Stranger Than Fiction
"53rd & 3rd" by the Ramones from We're Outta Here
"Gotta Go" by Agnostic Front from Something's Gotta Give
"Faster Than The World" by H2O from F.T.T.W.
"Fearful" by The Specials from Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent!
"Pick Yourself Up" by Stubborn All-Stars
"Policeman" by The Silencers from Give 'Em the Boot
"Tomorrow Burns" by F-Minus from their debut album
"Werecat" and "Moonlite Dreams" by Tiger Army from Tiger Army
"The Stories Are True" by Time Again from their debut album
"Cat Like Thief" by Box Car Racer from Box Car Racer
"What's Your Number" by Cypress Hill
"Dance Party Plus" by Head Automatica off of Decadence
"You (Don't) Know Me" by The Matches from Decomposer
"Go Go Go" by Shiragirl from Not Sold In Stores
"My Life To Live" by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards from Viking
"City To City" by Left Alone from Dead American Radio
"Travelin' Band" (guitar solo) by The Heart Attacks from Hellbound and Heartless
"Outlaw" by "The Lordz"
"It All Makes a Lot Less Sense Now" by 7 Seconds from Soulforce Revolution
"Misty Days" by Buju Banton from "Unchained Spirit"
"No More" by Black Flag from
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) Producer
Guitars and Amplification
He started off with Marshall Amplification.
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.
Switched to Mesa/Boogie amplification.
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 label Hellcat Records over censorship issues and accusing them of being homophobic.Further Information
Get more info on 'Tim Armstrong'.
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