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 Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...

styles, singing lead vocals and playing a

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

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.

History

Devils Brigade was started in 2000 by Matt Freeman as a side project from his regular band, Rancid, when he and longtime bandmate

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

began writing songs together in between Rancid tours. While Freeman plays the electric bass guitar and sings backing and occasional lead vocals in Rancid, Devils Brigade would feature him on lead vocals and playing a double bass, incorporating elements of

into his usual

repertoire. Devils Brigade debuted with the song "Vampire Girl" on the 2002 compilation album '' Give 'Em the Boot III'', released by Armstrong's label Hellcat Records. 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'', 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 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 in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

, 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. The album was recorded in early 2010 with Armstrong on guitar and drummer DJ Bonebrake of X and The Knitters, who had previously played with Freeman in Auntie Christ, 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 is 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 but reunited again in 2024. History In 1997, McC ...

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 * Matt Freeman – lead vocals, double bass, guitars, bass guitar (2000–present) *

– guitars, vocals (2000–present) * DJ Bonebrake – drums, percussion,

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 the ba ...

(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 Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

*
Devils Brigade
at Hellcat Records {{Authority control American psychobilly musical groups Hellcat Records artists