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Matt Freeman | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roger Matthew Freeman |
| Also known as | Matt McCall |
| Born | April 23, 1966 |
| Origin | California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1980–present |
Roger Matthew Freeman, also known as Matt McCall (born April 23, 1966) is an American musician. He is best known for his bass work with the punk rock bands Operation Ivy, Rancid and as the frontman of Devil's Brigade.
In an interview streamed from the Rancid website before the release of Rancid (2000), he revealed that his style was heavily influenced at an early age by John Entwistle, bassist for The Who. He plays both with a pick and fingerstyle.
Freeman's playing style is considered atypical in the punk rock world due to his frequent use of scales and arpeggios as opposed to "motoring" through a chord progression's root notes as is typical of punk bass playing.
Although Armstrong and Frederiksen are the principal singers in Rancid, Freeman has taken the lead vocal duties in a number of gritty sounding songs through the years, including the songs "Black and Blue", "Rigged on a Fix", "Black Derby Jacket", "Tenderloin" and, "L.A. River". He is known for possessing a deep and raspy singing voice. Freeman was also the primary co-lead vocal for the first Rancid album, before Frederiksen joined the band, with his role subsequently being reduced by choice.
Freeman plays Fender Precision and Jazz Basses. His 1977 Fender Precision was used as the basis for the 2011 Squier Matt Freeman Signature Bass. [1]
He has also played Music Man Stingrays, Ibanez ATK's and Rickenbacker 4003's in the past.
In May 1987, Freeman and Armstrong formed the band Operation Ivy. After Operation Ivy broke up in May 1989, they formed a new band, Downfall, which included all but one member of Operation Ivy and two additional members. Downfall recorded a 10-song album which has never been released, then broke up. Freeman and Armstrong next formed Generator, who played a number of shows, but are not known to have recorded anything. After that, Freeman played with the political punk band MDC for about a year.
After Operation Ivy, Freeman and Armstrong formed the ska band the Dance Hall Crashers, but they left the band shortly after its formation. The band went on to become moderately successful throughout the 90s.
He joined MDC in 1990, completing one US and one European tour and playing bass on their 1991 release Millions Of Dead Cops II: Hey Cop! If I Had A Face Like Yours.... The lineup for this version of the band consisted of Freeman, original singer Dave Dictor, original drummer Al Schvitz and guitarist Bill Collins, formerly of Fang, Special Forces and Intensified Chaos.
He joined The Gr'ups in 1991. In 1992, Freeman and Armstrong recruited drummer Brett Reed and formed Rancid. Rancid is his most successful band yet. He considered Rancid a side project until Armstrong had proved to him that he had his alcoholism under control. Guitarist Lars Frederiksen joined the band later in 1993. The band released their tenth album, Tomorrow Never Comes , in June 2023. Their partnership has continued with Freeman contributing basslines to selected tracks by the Transplants, one of Armstrong's side projects.
During Rancid's 2004 hiatus, Freeman replaced bassist John Maurer in Social Distortion shortly before the release of their then-new album Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll . Freeman did not intend to stay in the band permanently and he was replaced by current bassist Brent Harding in late 2004.
In 2020 Matt formed a heavy metal band, Charger.
In May 2021, Freeman along with fellow Rancid bandmate Tim Armstrong, Fletcher Dragge (Pennywise), Byron McCracken (Pennywise), and Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies) formed a punk rock supergroup called The Crew. [2] The band's first single, "One Voice", was released on Epitaph Records. [2]
Following his departure from Social Distortion, Freeman was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2005, but was dismissed as abnormal tissue growth and not terminal to his health in June 2005. [3] He had been a smoker for 20 years but had quit, seemingly by coincidence, shortly prior to this. He learned to play the mandolin so he would have something to do with his hands as heard on the Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards album Viking .
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, former members of the band Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited as being among the wave of bands that revived mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s. Over its 32-year career, Rancid has retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its underground musical roots.
...And Out Come the Wolves is the third studio album by American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on August 22, 1995, through Epitaph Records. Rancid's popularity and catchy songs made them the subject of a major label bidding war that ended with the band staying on Epitaph. With a sound heavily influenced by ska, which called to mind Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman's past in Operation Ivy, Rancid became one of the few bands of the mid-to late-1990s boom in punk rock to retain much of its original fanbase. In terms of record sales and certifications, ...And Out Come the Wolves is a popular album in the United States. It produced three hit singles: "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho", that earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date. All the singles charted on Modern Rock Tracks. ...And Out Come the Wolves was certified gold by the RIAA on January 22, 1996. It was certified platinum on September 23, 2004.
Let's Go is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on June 21, 1994, through Epitaph Records and was the band's first album to feature Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals. The album initially achieved little mainstream success, though it appealed to the band's fanbase. However, the surprise success of punk rock bands such as The Offspring, Green Day and Bad Religion in the mid-1990s brought forth more mainstream interest in Let's Go, and it peaked at number 97 on the Billboard 200. "Salvation" was released to alternative radio on February 3, 1995.
Timothy Ross Armstrong is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. Prior to forming Rancid, Armstrong was in the ska punk band Operation Ivy.
MDC is an American punk rock band formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas, subsequently based in San Francisco, and currently Portland, Oregon. Among the first wave of bands to define the sound and style of American hardcore punk, MDC originally formed as The Stains; they have periodically changed the meaning of "MDC", the most frequent being Millions of Dead Cops. The band's lyrical content expresses radical left political views and has proven influential within the punk subculture.
Dance Hall Crashers was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its career, with the most recent lineup includes Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké on vocals, brothers Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon on guitar and drums respectively, and Mikey Weiss on bass. They have released four studio albums, highlighted by the 1995 release Lockjaw which featured the minor hit song "Enough", produced by Rob Cavallo and featured in the film Angus.
Rancid is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on May 10, 1993, through Epitaph Records.
Operation Ivy was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in May 1987. They were critical to the emergence of Lookout Records and the so-called "East Bay Sound."
Energy is the only studio album by the American ska punk band Operation Ivy. It was originally released on vinyl and cassette in May 1989 through Lookout! Records with the catalog number LK 010. Although the album itself has never been released on CD, all of the tracks were featured on the career-spanning compilation Operation Ivy issued by Lookout in 1991. Despite achieving no mainstream success, Energy is considered one of the most important albums of ska punk and is frequently cited as an influence by many later bands of the genre.
Rancid is the eponymously titled debut extended play by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released in January 1992 through Lookout! Records, home of Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman's prior band, Operation Ivy. It is a recording of the band in its earliest days as a three-piece. Although the correct title of the extended play is simply Rancid, it is commonly referred to as I'm Not the Only One or The Bottle among Rancid collectors and fans.
Radio Radio Radio is an EP by the American punk rock band Rancid. The EP was released on August 26, 1993, through Fat Wreck Chords with the catalog number FAT 509. It was also their only release on Fat Wreck Chords.
Michael Allen Muir is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and the only sole continuous member of Los Angeles-based bands Suicidal Tendencies, Los Cycos, and Infectious Grooves. He has also released several solo albums under his nickname Cyco Miko. Muir's trademark is wearing bandanas, jerseys with the number 13, and hats with block-style letters that read "suicidal".
The Transplants are an American punk rock/rap rock supergroup. They formed in 1999 when Tim Armstrong played his friend and roadie Rob Aston some beats he had made using Pro Tools and asked Aston if he would consider contributing lyrics. Initially, Armstrong played all the instruments himself, but as the project grew, he invited musician friends such as Matt Freeman, Lars Frederiksen (Rancid), and Vic Ruggiero to add to the sound. Before long, Armstrong and Aston decided to officially form a band, but to make things complete, they wanted a drummer, so Travis Barker from Blink-182 was asked to join in 2002.
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.
"Knowledge" is a song by American band Operation Ivy. It was written by lead vocalist Jesse Michaels and appeared on the album Energy.
One Nine Nine Four is a documentary film written and directed by Jai Al-Attas, "exploring the birth, growth and eventual tipping point of punk rock during the 90s" and produced by the independent Australian company Robot Academy Films. The bulk of the film's content consists of band interviews and archive footage. The film was screened once at the Calgary International Film Festival on September, 29th.
B Sides and C Sides is a compilation album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was first released online on December 11, 2007, followed by a standard release on January 15, 2008. It contains a number of B-sides and rare songs as well as compilation or soundtrack appearances plus 4 previously unreleased songs. The set spans from 1992 to 2004, therefore it doesn't include any songs recorded with current drummer Branden Steineckert.
This is a discography of Transplants, a punk rock hip hop supergroup. Formed in 1999, the project consists of Tim Armstrong (Rancid) on guitar and vocals, "Skinhead Rob" Aston on vocals, Travis Barker on drums and Kevin "Sweatshop" Bivona on bass. As of 2017, the band has released three studio albums, one EP, one remix album, and five singles. Their latest release was October 13, 2017.
Turn It Around! is a punk rock compilation album by Maximumrocknroll. Originally released as two 7-inch records in October 1987, it served as a benefit to raise money for the Berkeley, California DIY punk scene. The compilation featured the first appearances of many bands who would later become well known outside of the scene, including Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine and Isocracy. Due to the poor sound quality of the original 7-inch version, Turn It Around! was reissued by Very Small Records in September 1991 as one LP. However, the compilation is currently out of print and has never seen a CD release.
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.
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