Rancid

Members of Rancid, like many other bands that have been recording for a while, have been involved in a few side projects. Recently, he has played with John Sebastian and the J-Band, a jug band including Fritz Richmond from the Even Dozen Jug Band, Yank Rachell, an original jug-band leader, and Geoff Muldaur. They have sold over 1 million records. In the '70s, Sebastian had a hit with the theme song to the Welcome Back, Kotter TV show, which found new life decades later when a sample from it became the hook for rapper Mase's 2004 hit "Welcome Back". Their songs and albums are based on hard times ("7 Years Down," "Hyena"), world issues ("Rigged On A Fix"), old friends ("Old Friend," "GGF"), and love ("She's Automatic", "Corazon de Oro"). The Lovin' Spoonful became part of the American response to the British Invasion and was noted for such folk-flavored hits as "Jug Band Music", "Do You Believe in Magic," "Summer In the City," "Daydream," "Nashville Cats," "Did You Ever have to Make Up Your Mind," "Six O'Clock," and "Younger Girl." The chart-topping band were originally to perform on the TV show that became The Monkees and also gained an added bit of publicity when Butler replaced Jim Rado in the role of Claude for a sold-out four-month run with the Broadway production of the rock musical Hair. Many long-time fans were disappointed that Rancid, who had long resisted major-label allure and gained much fame and respect because of it, signed with Warner Brothers Records. The band also featured popular drummer-vocalist Joseph Campbell Butler.

Rancid's self-titled 2000 album was released on Hellcat Records, and their 2003 record, Indestructible, was released by Hellcat Records and Warner Brothers Records. Sebastian was joined by Zal Yanovsky in the Spoonful, which was named after a Mississippi John Hurt song. In fact, after the success of ...And Out Come the Wolves, the band was pursued by several major labels, including Madonna's Maverick Records; Rancid chose to stick with Epitaph despite the tempting offers. He came up through the Even Dozen Jug Band and the Mugwumps, which split to form the Lovin' Spoonful and the Mamas and Papas. They have 6 full albums, the first 4 of which were released through an independent label, Epitaph Records, along with many 7" vinyls and singles. He grew up surrounded by music and musicians, including Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie and hearing such players as Leadbelly and Mississippi John Hurt in his own neighborhood. Rancid were very popular throughout the 1990s, and the band constantly toured from 1993 through 1998. His father, also named John Sebastian, was a noted classical harmonica player and his mother was a radio script writer.

Among mainstream audiences, Rancid is best-known for 1995's "Ruby Soho" and "Time Bomb" off ...And Out Come the Wolves. Sebastian was born in Greenwich Village in New York City. The music style blends punk and hardcore with ska and reggae. He is best known as a founder of the Lovin' Spoonful, a band named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tim Armstrong and Lars Fredriksen both sing lead vocals and play lead guitar, while Matt Freeman sings backing vocals and plays bass and Brett Reed plays drums. John Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American songwriter and harmonica player. Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong are ex-members of Operation Ivy.

Rancid is a band that originated in Berkeley, California from the ashes of Operation Ivy, a punk/ska band founded in 1987. Brett Reed hasn't done any work for side project bands. He was replaced by the current bassist Brent Harding as of early 2005. Matt Freeman joins Social Distortion by taking filling for the previous bassist John Maurer.

Lars Fredriksen has a side band Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards (currently released their second LP in 2004). Tim Armstrong plays with Travis Barker and Skinhead Rob in the Transplants.