Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California.[1] The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13.[2][3] The band has released six studio albums and four EPs.
Tiger Army played their first show at the famous 924 Gilman Street venue in Berkeley, California, on March 29, 1996.[4] The band's sound drew from early punk, rock n' roll and rockabilly, as well as dark English pop. Their first official release was a self-titled vinyl recordEP, now referred to as the Temptation EP. The record was released by Chapter 11 Records. This EP caught the attention of Tim Armstrong of Rancid; he was also co-owner of Hellcat Records. Armstrong signed the band.
Tiger Army recorded their first full-length, the self-titled Tiger Army, in January 1999. It was released that October. Stand-up bassist Joel Day left Tiger Army before the band was signed, so the Quakes stand-up bassist Rob Peltier was hired to play on the album. Drummer Adam Carson of AFI, who had been helping out the band live, played on the record, as well. The band then embarked on a California mini-tour promoting the album in 1999. In 2000, Nick 13 asked former AFI bassist Geoff Kresge, one of his former bandmates from Influence 13, to join Tiger Army. Ex-Samhain drummer London May came on board as well.
Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite followed in 2001. Fred Hell replaced London May shortly after the recording. The band toured with TSOL, The Damned, Dropkick Murphys and others in support of the record and went to Europe and Japan for the first time on the album as well. The band's friend and drum tech, Mike Fasano, played on the next Tiger Army album, Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise, when Hell was unable to record or tour behind the album after being shot 4 times in a home invasion robbery. Nick 13 announced a new lineup for Tiger Army, featuring drummer James Meza and stand-up bassist, Jeff Roffredo, formerly of Los Angeles psychobilly bands Cosmic Voodoo, Calavera, and The Rezurex in 2004. This lineup supported Social Distortion on an extensive US tour.
In the spring of 2005, the band headlined a string of five sold-out shows at the Hollywood House Of Blues. The following year, the band sold out four nights at the Anaheim House of Blues. They also hit the road with Morrissey and AFI, performing several headlining tours around the world.
Nick 13 performing at a Warped Tour.
Tiger Army made major festival appearances across the US and Europe in support of their fourth album, titled Music from Regions Beyond. The album was released on June 5, 2007[5] and was produced by Jerry Finn.[6] "Forever Fades Away" went to No. 1 on Los Angeles rock station KROQ FM,[citation needed] which Tiger Army performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live![7] and at radio festivals like "BFD".[citation needed]The New York Times called the album "one of the year's best punk albums".[8]
Geoff Kresge returned to Tiger Army in early 2008 and joined Nick 13 and drummer James Meza on tours of the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe.[citation needed] The band launched a multi-night festival, Octoberflame, in Southern California in 2008, concluding two years of touring behind Music from Regions Beyond. Nick launched a solo project focused on Americana/country music in 2009, making his first live solo appearance at the Stagecoach Festival in 2010 in Indio, California.[citation needed] Tiger Army continued to appear at Octoberflame each year, as well as in cities like Las Vegas, San Diego, Tempe, Costa Mesa and the MusInk Festival. On June 7, 2011, Nick 13 released his solo album on Sugar Hill Records. Tiger Army has been less active while 13 has built his solo career in the Americana world.[citation needed]
Tiger Army played their largest standalone headlining show to date at the Orange County Fair in 2011. In March/April 2012, the band performed two shows in Southern California and one in Las Vegas dubbed "Spring Forward." Octoberflame V followed with six shows in five cities.[9] In December 2012, Tiger Army announced "Spring Forward 2013," which took place in March 2013 in San Diego, Ventura, CA and Las Vegas.[10] The band played a radio show in Arizona around the same time.
Octoberflame VI took place in October 25 and 26, 2013 at City National Grove of Anaheim.[11] The two back-to-back shows were advertised as Tiger Army's last shows of 2013.[12] The Octoberflame events have become known for varied set lists that explore deep cuts and cover songs, special guests and diverse support acts running the gamut of rock, alt-rock, punk, hardcore, psychobilly, industrial, rockabilly and more.
In February 2014, Geoff Kresge announced he would be leaving Tiger Army via a lengthy statement on his Facebook page.[13]
In June 2014, Nick 13 announced that writing for a new Tiger Army album was underway via the band's Facebook page.[14] After announcing that live performances including the annual Octoberflame dates would be on hold for 2014 to focus on preparing for the album,[15] the return of Octoberflame (VII) for 2015 was announced in June,[16] with tickets sold out by early July.[17] Beginning with the 2015 Octoberflame shows, which showcased material from the Ghost Tigers Rise album, drummer Mike Fasano rejoined the band on a full-time basis.[18] Tiger Army released their fifth studio album, V •••–, on May 20, 2016, on Luna Tone Records/Rise Records.[19]
On June 22, 2018, the band released a three-song EP, Dark Paradise, which featured covers of Lana Del Rey's "Dark Paradise" and the Chantays' instrumental "Pipeline."
Tiger Army's sixth full-length studio album, Retrofuture, was released on September 13, 2019, on Luna Tone Records/Rise Records.[20] The following month, the band played two sold-out shows at the Wiltern in Los Angeles for Octoberflame X; supporting acts included Brian Fallon (formerly of the Gaslight Anthem), the Delta Bombers, Wayne Hancock, and 8 Kalacas.
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."
The Nekromantix is a Danish-American psychobilly band founded in Copenhagen in 1989. Their lyrics are generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built double bass with a body in the shape of a coffin and a headstock the shape of a cross. Nekroman has been the sole constant member of the band. The current lineup consists of guitarist Francisco Mesa and drummer Mike Mata.
The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A Prick magazine reviewer called Heath the "godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly".
Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise is Tiger Army's third full-length album. It was released by Hellcat Records on June 29, 2004. It takes the psychobilly of their first two efforts and layers it with elements of country, blues and punk to create a more mature and emotional sound than previous works. The focus of the lyrics on the album range from topics of ghosts and vampires to life and love. The album was well received and led to their first U.S. headlining tour in spring of 2005.
Adam Alexander Carson is the drummer of the alternative rock band AFI. He and Davey Havok are the two original members left in the lineup. Carson also filled in as drummer for the psychobilly band Tiger Army. His drumming can be found on Tiger Army's Early Years EP as well as their debut album Tiger Army. Carson was also a member of Influence 13 – a band formed by Nick 13, Jade Puget, Geoff Kresge, and two other friends.
HorrorPops are a Danish punk band that formed in 1996. The band's sound is rooted in psychobilly, rockabilly, and punk rock.
Demented Are Go are a Welsh psychobilly band that was formed around 1982 near Cardiff, Wales. They were one of the earliest in the initial wave of bands to mix punk rock with rockabilly, and as a result, are considered to be highly influential to the psychobilly scene. The band often claims their name originated from the phrase "Demon teds are go!" as an adaptation of the phrase "Thunderbirds are go!" from the Thunderbirds TV series. Psychobilly is often associated with horror.
Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite is Tiger Army's second album, released on July 24, 2001. It featured London May on drums, Geoff Kresge on stand up bass and Nick 13 on vocals and guitar. London May left the band before their next album, Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise. This album in particular features songs that are laced with rockabilly overtones, though the band is considered psychobilly.
Tiger Army is the first full-length release by California psychobilly band Tiger Army, released on October 26, 1999. The band had previously recorded a vinyl EP in 1996, and came to the attention of Tim Armstrong, the owner of Hellcat Records. Armstrong contacted Tiger Army's lead singer, Nick 13, interested in the band recording an album. Although Nick 13 did not initially have a confirmed line-up for the band, the studio line-up consisted of Nick 13, drummer Adam Carson and bassist Rob Peltier, from The Quakes.
Geoff Kresge is a songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and record producer.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore punk bands, elements of rhythm and blues music - including harmonica - also remained an occasional element of their work.
Devils Brigade is an American rock band formed as a side project by Rancid bassist Matt Freeman in 2000. In Devils Brigade Freeman performs a mix of punk rock and psychobilly styles, singing lead vocals and playing a double bass in contrast to the backing vocals and bass guitar he performs in Rancid. He was backed by his Rancid bandmates for singles released in 2003 and 2005, and recruited X drummer DJ Bonebrake to play on Devils Brigade's eponymous debut album in 2010.
Kim Nekroman is the bassist and lead singer for the psychobilly band Nekromantix and the lead guitarist of HorrorPops. He is from Denmark, and worked for the Danish Navy as a submarine radio operator for eight years before beginning his music career.
Patricia Day is a Danish musician best known as the lead singer and bass player of the rockabilly/psychobilly band HorrorPops.
Viva Hate is a rock band that was formed late in the summer of 2004 by Geoff Kresge after he left Tiger Army. Shortly after forming Viva Hate, Kresge was asked to join the HorrorPops, with whom he played guitar with from 2004 to 2006, although the official statement of his departure was not made until the summer of 2007, leaving many questions regarding the nature of his parting ways with the HorrorPops.
Devils Brigade is the debut album by the rock band Devils Brigade, a side project by Matt Freeman of Rancid. The band, which performs a mix of punk rock and psychobilly, features Freeman on lead vocals and double bass in contrast to the backing vocals and bass guitar he typically performs in Rancid. Originally envisioned as a concept album about the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, Devils Brigade was co-written by Freeman and his longtime bandmate Tim Armstrong, who also played guitar on the album and served as record producer alongside Ryan Foltz. The album also features X drummer DJ Bonebrake and contributions from Rancid's Lars Frederiksen, and was released August 31, 2010 through Armstrong's label Hellcat Records.
The Limit Club is an American psychobilly / punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 2005. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Nick Feratu, upright bassist NickDave, drummer Niko J. and guitarist Miranda Duffy.
V •••– is the fifth studio album from American psychobilly band Tiger Army, released May 20, 2016 on Luna Tone Records/Rise Records. On February 26, 2016, "Prisoner of the Night", the first single from the album, was released on iTunes. Like the first three full-length albums, V •••– contains 13 tracks.
Stellar Corpses was a psychobilly horror punk band formed in Santa Cruz, California, in 2005. The first lineup included singer, guitarist and primary songwriter, Dustan Sheehan, known as Dusty Grave, upright bassist Dan Lamothe, drummer, Matt Macabre and lead guitarist, Mr. Grim. Their sound and style combined elements of psychobilly, Horror punk, hardcore punk gothic rock and metal. Since their formation Stellar Corpses toured both in the US and internationally.
Retrofuture is the sixth studio album by Tiger Army, and the second with producer Ted Hutt, and was released on September 13, 2019. Lead vocalist Nick 13 said the album had a more stripped and guitar-driven production than the band's previous releases. They also say they used vintage equipment in the recording to get a retro 1950s sound. The album features a range of songs in modernized bygone genres, such as classic rock n’ roll, spaghetti-western and doo-wop.
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