Matt Freeman
Celebrated Bay Area punk legend Matt Freeman of Rancid and Operation Ivy fame will release the long awaited, self-titled debut album for his side project Devils Brigade on August 30 via Hellcat Records.
Devils Brigade was conceived in 2000, when bassist Matt Freeman began writing songs with Tim Armstrong between Rancid tours. This led to a few EPs and some songs on Hellcat’s Give Em The Boot compilation, but the project was put on the back burner when Rancid began touring and recording again. Years went by and after Rancid took a break from touring on the Let The Dominoes Fall record, Matt got the itch to reactivate the project with a new studio album.
“The original concept for this record was going to be a musical,” says Freeman. “Tim had been kicking around an idea of doing a musical about the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. He had the title “Half Way To Hell Club.” This was based on the name for the bridge workers who fell off the bridge while it was being built and fell into the safety net that was between them and the ocean.
We grew up in the East Bay looking at that bridge and it has always been a part of our lives. Six of those songs ended up on the Devils Brigade record. The other songs were all original Devils Brigade songs from the first demo. We thought they were still good and we should record them again.”
In early 2010, Matt and Tim entered the studio with DJ Bonebrake from the influential punk group X and recorded twelve quick tempered songs featuring Matt’s signature, snarling vocals along with his snap, thumping upright bass, which shine through on roots driven punk tracks like “I’m Moving Through,” “Who’s Gonna Save Your Now” and “My Own Man Now.”
“It was a great vibe in the studio,” Matt adds. “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. We had a lot of fun making this record. I am going to take it out on the road whenever I can when Rancid is not doing anything.”
Devils Brigade Track Listing:
1. I’m Movin Through - 1:54
2. My Own Man Now - 1:56
3. Shakedown - 2:14
4. Bridge Of Gold (featuring Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen) - 2:21
5. Darlene - 2:02
6. Ride Harley - 3:29
7. Who’s Gonna Save You Now - 1:43
8. Desperate Times - 1:37
9. Vampire Girl - 2:15
10. Gentleman Of the Road (featuring Tim Armstrong) - 3:07
11. Protest Song - 3:04
12. Half Way To Hell - 2:37
Tagged in Rancid