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Interview... Frederiksen of October 1998 |
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Although many punk fans claim that Rancid, with their explosive blend of reggae ska punk, are just not punk anymore, most critics could care less. They still consider Rancid one of the legends of early punk, in the ranks with legendary bands such as The Clash and Sex Pistols. Despite being courted by numerous major record companies, Rancid remain with the indie-punk label Epitaph, or rather “with the people who gave us our first break.” In Europe, the band played a couple of shows as surprise guests for their peers Bad Religion and won the hearts of the few punk fans who weren’t yet familiar with their energized show and songs. In the quiet of the afternoon, when bands usually only warm up for the headliners, Rancid turned the mosh pit into a bubbling witch cauldron. When NY Rock’s Gabriella met up with the band, Lars Frederiksen, guitarist and co-vocalist, was on interview duty... |
| _.NYROCK: | It’s truly unusual for a band to stick with an indie label when they are courted by basically every major record company... |
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____.LARS: |
Brett [Gurewitz] gave us our first break and he and the guys from Epitaph supported us and did everything for us that was possible. It would have been damned ungrateful to go with the biggest bidder. I have to admit that we discussed the option. Of course we did, but Brett gave us our first break. He told us he loves our sound and that was the main reason for us. Looking back, I don’t really want to imagine what it would have been like -- or what it would be like -- to be signed with a major label. If you just take And Come The Wolves, I don’t think that would have been possible with a major. I’m sure it would have been a completely different album. |
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_.NYROCK: |
In what respect? |
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____.LARS: |
The beauty of being signed with Epitaph is that we have complete artistic freedom. We don’t have to compromise. We can record our albums. We can record any album we want to record. We do everything there. We have complete control over our, um, product. I think product is the right term that is used in the biz. For a major company, an album and a band will always be a product. Epitaph is not a major company. We’re a band. We’re part of Epitaph and that really makes a big difference. |
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_.NYROCK: |
How far do you have control over your albums? |
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____.LARS: |
In every respect possible. We record the kind of album we want to record. We pick the artwork for the album. We decide on the single releases. We pick the studio, the people we’re going to work with, the booking, the people who’ll go on tour with us. It’s all our own decision. Nobody tries to interfere. Nobody tells us what to do. We have every opportunity. |
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_.NYROCK: |
That’s really different from the way it generally works. |
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____.LARS: |
Of course it is. See major label bands get told from some manager what they have to do or what they’re not supposed to do. It’s not a musical decision. It has nothing to do with art anymore. It becomes a management decision and I don’t think we could live with that. Another aspect is that we’ve got a chance to give something back to the scene who supported us in the beginning. We’re helping bands to record albums and Tim founded Hellcat Records, where a lot of great new bands have the chance to release albums. For us it’s kind of an obligation. We’ve got the chance to help new bands, so, of course, we have to do it. |
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_.NYROCK: |
Is that a way for you to enjoy your success? |
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____.LARS: |
It’s definitely more enjoyable than living in Beverly Hills and lazing around, you know, spending your days on the pool and such. That’s not our style. |
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_.NYROCK: |
What do you think about the punk scene and all of the confrontations: who is punk and who isn’t punk? I think in no other scene is all that so much of an issue. |
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____.LARS: |
You’re right. That’s what I call the kiddie punk approach. You know there are countless rumors and we get accused of not really being punk anymore and all the mags and fanzines have the self-righteous approach, just like they’re the ones who invented punk. Big fucking deal, we don’t give a shit about it. Why should we? To add some unnecessary complication in our lives? Who needs it? Dealing with the press is a double edged knife. You know, if you believe their euphoria and you get a high, if it pushes you, then a couple of stupid rumors get you down. So the best thing is to ignore it all, because nobody can really take it for a long time. Our motto is: Don’t give a fuck and do what you wanna do. That’s the only way to handle it. OK, maybe we have a ’tude but hell, it’s that attitude that helps us to keep our sanity. |
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_.NYROCK: |
It seems insane that punk fans always have that "more punk than thou" approach... |
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____.LARS: |
Ha ha ha, you got that right! It all boils down to the question who was a punk first, before anybody else, who saw the Germs in ’78 and MC5 in ’69. |
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_.NYROCK: |
So? Did you see the Germs in ’78? |
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____.LARS: |
Of course not. In ’78 I was 7 years of age and had a Kiss poster over my bed. I think it’s really crazy. There are people out there who act like they were born with a punk hairdo, like they were born with green hair and their first words were "Oi!" I don’t think it matters when you got it as long as you got it -- Mick Jones said that and he was right. |
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_.NYROCK: |
You guys have known each other for a pretty long time, haven’t you? |
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____.LARS: |
That’s true but hey, we’re friends. Our attitude, the music and the friendship glues us together. I think the friendship is the most important part, even more important than the music. |
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_.NYROCK: |
Life Won’t Wait seems to be your best album so far... |
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____.LARS: |
I agree, and it was the first album where we really invested a lot of time. Life Won’t Wait is almost something like a tape collection. We started with a recording session in early ’96 when we came back from Australia and Japan and recorded a couple of songs. Something In The World was born then. The whole album was recorded in sections, usually 3-week sections. We were in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Jamaica and New York. We always tried to get the special vibes of the place. Altogether we spent around 3 months in studios and recorded 36 songs, 22 made it on the album and the rest will be released as B-sides or on compilations. |
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_.NYROCK: |
That’s pretty unusual, spending so much time in the studio... |
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____.LARS: |
Maybe, but most of the songs were first-take recordings, which is pretty good. It gives it the right punk rock feeling. |
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_.NYROCK: |
You and Tim [Armstrong - guitar/vocals] produced the new album and you two really seem to look into the production side of things... |
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____.LARS: |
Tim and I produced the debut album of Union 13 for Epitaph, and I produced the Dropkick Murphy’s and Tim the Gadjits for his Hellcat label.... |
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_.NYROCK: |
And the latest album of the band The Business... |
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____.LARS: |
Right. But they are all fave bands of Tim’s, and of course my fave bands too. In my humble opinion they are the best American bands these days. As I mentioned before, we’re not punk-yuppies who’ve become reclusive. |
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_.NYROCK: |
I’ve heard that you hate CDs. Is that true? |
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____.LARS: |
I don’t really hate CDs. I just don’t like them. I prefer vinyls. We all do. I don’t even own a CD, but because we are vinyl fans we make sure that every Rancid album is also available on vinyl. Here in Europe you seem to have far more vinyls than in America. In America, records are really dying out and a lot of people don’t even own a record player anymore. That’s something I always do in Europe. I go to record stores and second-hand record stores and try to find a lot of vinyls. |
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_.NYROCK: |
You were part of the legendary UK Subs, how did that happen? |
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____.LARS: |
That’s a pretty funny story. The first record I ever bought was a UK Subs album and they were my favorite punk band… |
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_.NYROCK: |
What about the Kiss poster in your bedroom when you were seven? |
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____.LARS: |
That was only a poster. Now I’m talking about albums, ha ha ha, serious business. Anyway, with one of my former bands we were supporting the UK Subs and I ended up having a beer with Charlie Harper. He told me that they’re looking for a guitarist. So I joked and said that I’d like to be their guitarist. The next day he called me and asked where the hell I am. "Why are you not in Oakland? We’ve got a gig here!" An hour later I was there. Charlie was like a father to me. I still like him and I visit him whenever I’m in England. |
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_.NYROCK: |
Rancid seems to be a band who tours an awful lot. It’s great for the fans but I imagine that it can be quite a strain... |
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____.LARS: |
Of course it’s a strain, but still, it’s fun, a lot of fun. We’re driving around. We’re playing our songs to a different audience every night. It’s fun but it takes its toll so from time to time you just have to take time off. |
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_.NYROCK: |
How long do you think you can go on? Retirement ever crossed your mind? |
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____.LARS: |
You’re kidding, right? I think I’ll always be a punk. I need that. Playing music, having wild hairstyles, preferably multicolored... ha ha ha. In case I should ever lose my hair I can always become a skinhead. |
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