Devils Brigade is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed as a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

by Rancid bassist

Matt Freeman Matthew "McCall" Freeman (born Roger Matthew Freeman; April 23, 1966) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. 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 2000. In Devils Brigade Freeman performs a mix of punk rock and

psychobilly 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, ram ...

styles, singing lead

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and playing a

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

in contrast to the backing vocals and

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

he performs in Rancid. He was backed by his Rancid bandmates for

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

s released in 2003 and 2005, and recruited X drummer

DJ Bonebrake Donald J. Bonebrake (born December 8, 1955) is an American musician who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band the Eyes (also featuring Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's). He is best known as an original member of and drummer for punk ...

to play on Devils Brigade's eponymous debut album in 2010.

History

Devils Brigade was started in 2000 by

as a

from his regular band, Rancid, when he and longtime bandmate

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

began writing songs together in between Rancid tours. While Freeman plays the

electric bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and sc ...

and sings backing and occasional lead vocals in Rancid, Devils Brigade would feature him on lead vocals and playing a

, incorporating elements of

into his usual punk rock repertoire. Devils Brigade debuted with the song "Vampire Girl" on the 2002

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

Give 'Em the Boot III Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...

'', released by Armstrong's label

Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...

. Freeman was backed by Armstrong on guitar and their Rancid bandmate Brett Reed on drums for this track and two subsequent 12" singles—"Stalingrad" / "Psychos All Around Me" (2003) and "Vampire Girl" (2005)—both released through Rancid Records during downtime between Rancid tours. Following tours in support of Rancid's 2009 album ''

Let the Dominoes Fall ''Let the Dominoes Fall'' is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It is their first album of new material in nearly six years, following 2003's '' Indestructible'', and their first with drummer Branden Steineckert, wh ...

'', Freeman revived Devils Brigade to record a full-length album. It was originally envisioned as a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on an idea of Armstrong's for a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

about the construction of the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

, titled ''Half Way to Hell Club'' after the informal fraternity of nineteen steelworkers who were caught by safety netting strung below the construction site, saving them from what would have otherwise been fatal falls into the bay below. "We grew up in the East Bay looking at that bridge and it has always been a part of our lives", said Freeman. Six of the album's twelve tracks originated from this concept, while the remaining six were re-recorded tracks from the first Devils Brigade

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

. The album was recorded in early 2010 with Armstrong on guitar and drummer

of X and

The Knitters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, who had previously played with Freeman in

Auntie Christ Auntie Christ is a late-1990s punk rock band, containing Exene Cervenka and D.J. Bonebrake of the band X and Matt Freeman Matthew "McCall" Freeman (born Roger Matthew Freeman; April 23, 1966) is an American musician, singer and songwrite ...

, and includes contributions from Rancid member

Lars Frederiksen Lars Erik Frederiksen (born Lars Erik Dapello, August 30, 1971) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Rancid, as well as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and ...

. "It was a great vibe in the studio," said Freeman, "The record has a real live and loose vibe. Loose in a good way. Tim's guitar style blended really well with DJ and everything clicked very quickly." The album was released as '' Devils Brigade'' August 31, 2010 through Hellcat Records. Devils Brigade toured the United States supporting

Street Dogs Street Dogs were an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2002 by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan. The band disbanded in early 2020 after 17 years together. History In 1997, McColgan left Dropkick Murph ...

from August through October 2010. According to the ASCAP website, the band wrote a song titled ''I Can See The Ocean'', but it is unknown as to whether or not the song made the album under a different name or not.

Members

;Current members *

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2000–present) *

– guitars, vocals (2000–present) *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

vibraslap The vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent into a U-shape) connecting a wooden ball to a hollow box of wood with metal “teeth” inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes th ...

(2010–present) * Rob Milucky - guitar (2012-present) ;Former members * Brett Reed – drums (2000–2006) ;Touring members * Chris Arredondo - drums (2010-2011) * Rob Milucky - guitar (2010-2012)

Discography

* "Stalingrad" / "Psychos All Around Me" 12" single (2003) * "Vampire Girl" 12" single (2005) * '' Devils Brigade'' (2010)

Music videos

* "I'm Movin' Through" (2010)

References

External links

Devils Brigade
on Myspace *
Devils Brigade
at

{{Authority control American psychobilly musical groups Hellcat Records artists