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Yankees suck
But Rancid still rule the punk-rock roost
BY SEAN RICHARDSON

As the producer of the first two Dropkick Murphys albums, Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen has secured his place in Boston punk history. And despite his deep Bay Area roots, the time Frederiksen spent here in the studio with the Dropkicks seems to have left its mark on his baseball allegiances. "I was bummed out when the Red Sox beat the A’s, but I was even more bummed out when the Yankees beat the Red Sox," he admits in an impromptu discussion of this year’s playoffs. "And I was totally stoked when the Yankees lost the World Series. I fuckin’ hate the Yankees."

Frederiksen will be back in the epicenter of Yankees hatred this Saturday, when Rancid play Avalon with Hellcat labelmates Tiger Army, the Slackers, and Roger Miret and the Disasters. The band are on their first North American tour since the release of their sixth and latest album, Indestructible, which is their most infectious batch of songs since their 1995 classic, ... And Out Come the Wolves (both on Hellcat/Epitaph, though copies of Indestructible were shipped to journalists in envelopes from Warner Bros.; the major label is providing unspecified promotional support on the new disc). Frederiksen is quick to acknowledge the influence of the group’s recent flurry of side projects, Tim Armstrong’s Transplants and Frederiksen’s Bastards, on the new Rancid disc.

"Punk rock always has to evolve, and that’s why I think the Transplants record was so important, because it really upped the ante," he says. "Tim is the best songwriter I’ve ever seen: very prolific, always pushing the envelope. It’s inspiring. We’ve been a band for 12 years now, and we just keep getting better. I don’t even think we’ve made our best record yet."

The new Rancid single "Red Hot Moon" is a ska-punk party jam with a rambunctious guest appearance by Transplants singer Rob Aston and a historic video: the band filmed it last month during their first-ever gig at the legendary NYC club CBGBs. The trials they endured during the making of Indestructible have been well documented: Armstrong and Frederiksen both watched their marriages implode, and Frederiksen’s older brother Robert died of heart disease. The album’s tender closer, "Otherside," is for him.

"We haven’t even played ‘Otherside’ live yet. It’s too hard," Frederiksen says. "Rancid always wear their heart on their sleeve. With this one, we didn’t wear our heart on our sleeve — we opened up our chest and showed you inside. For us, music has always been like therapy. This record is a very current testament of the things we’re going through today, whether it’s politics or our personal lives."

Rancid are on a hot streak right now. Armstrong wrote and produced much of the new Pink album, Try This (Arista), and the first video from Indestructible, "Fall Back Down," featured cameos by Good Charlotte’s Benji and Kelly Osbourne and was the band’s biggest hit in years. As that roll call suggests, Frederiksen and company are doing their part to stamp out punk-rock elitism. "If we like a band, we’re not afraid to say it. I love Marilyn Manson. We just like to make music," he insists. "If it’s good, we tap our foot; if it’s not, we don’t listen to it. But open-mindedness is key. A lot of these new bands write great songs. Music has always been the important thing — not the way you look or where you come from."

Rancid perform this Saturday, November 15 at Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street, in Boston; call (617) 262-2424.


Issue Date: November 14 - 20, 2003
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