lars frederiksen

Look back at some of the best Alternative Press covers in honor of issue 400

Four hundred issues after the very first book to carry our name ran off the printers back in 1985, we look back on 36 years of our favorite-ever AP covers, the stories they told and the secrets behind their creation. You can pick up an issue here, starring twenty one pilots. Read more: In issue […]

Lars Frederiksen announces U.S. tour in support of 'To Victory' EP

Rancid‘s Lars Frederiksen has announced a US solo tour set for 2022 in support of his recent EP, To Victory.  The singer and guitarist will begin his run March 29 in Scottsdale, Arizona and will wrap up April 29 in Garwood, New Jersey.  You can check out the full list of tour dates below. Read […]

Rancid's Lars Frederiksen on solo debut EP 'To Victory'

Lars Frederiksen is one of the most influential figures in American punk-rock history. Frederiksen has been the co-vocalist and guitarist for Bay Area punk legends Rancid for over 30 years. In addition, Frederiksen has also been a member of bands such as Lars Frederiksen And The Bastards, the Old Firm Casuals and many others. His […]

Rancid were absolutely crucial to the fusion of ska, reggae and punk rock

Berkeley’s Rancid, history’s most commercially successful street punk band, also have deep-running ska/rock steady/reggae roots. After all, both singer/guitarist Tim Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman got their start in 924 Gilman Street heroes Operation Ivy, who almost single-handedly invented ska-core. Don’t buy it? Listen to “Sound System” and you tell us. With such a pedigree, […]

10 times different artists collaborated to make inspiring music

September 1963: A young R&B combo called the Rolling Stones are rehearsing, preparing for a recording session. Their manager, former Beatles publicist Andrew Loog Oldham, was tearing his hair out. They were about to record their second single, a follow-up to their modestly successful remake of Chuck Berry’s “Come On.” But they had one problem: […]

1998’s top 15 punk albums simultaneously changed and preserved the form

Top 15 punk albums of 1998? You’d be forgiven for thinking that there weren’t any in the year the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal dominated the news. A quick perusal of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles of the year sees domination by several R&B (Destiny’s Child, Janet Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey) or hip-hop (Puff Daddy, Master P, […]

These 15 classic albums made 1996 a crucial year in punk history

1996: President Bill Clinton was squaring off against Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in a successful bid for a second term in the White House. On April 3, former math professor Ted Kaczynski was arrested in his remote Montana cabin, suspected (correctly, it turns out) to be American domestic terrorist the Unabomber. Conservative public policy bulwark […]

15 albums from 1995 that are a perfect gateway into the world of punk

In 1996, Your Punk Professor interviewed the Clash’s distinguished lead guitarist Mick Jones for a proposed Alternative Press piece on punk’s original guitar heroes. Though it remains unpublished, I asked in the course of it what he thought of Rancid. Jones waxed effusive, noting he’d met the Berkeley punk traditionalists in the course of a […]

15 punk albums that set up 1994 to be a year of major change for the genre

To consider Alternative Press’ list of 1994’s top 15 punk albums, one has to bear in mind two factors: Green Day’s Dookie was released Feb. 1. Kurt Cobain died by his own hand April 5. The alternative nation’s voice was suddenly, shockingly stilled. After three years of the most popular music being an agonized scream […]

15 punk albums from 1993 that embraced contrarianism over prefab rebellion

Alternative rock still dominated popular music in 1993. This obviously begged the question of just how “alternative” something was if it was now on a major label and on the radio. Not necessarily a bad thing. After all, we’d never have to hear Whitesnake again. Bottom end and distortion returned to rock record-making in a […]

10 underrated '90s lead singers who stepped in when another vocalist left

Replacing an original band member is never a fun experience, and there’s surely no role more difficult to fill than that of the lead singer. There have been exceptions to the rule, in the sense that the band went on to continue being successful (think Sammy Hagar in Van Halen), but there have also been […]

20 Virgos in the music scene celebrating their birthday season

It’s finally Virgo season! It’s time to celebrate some of the coolest Virgos, born from Aug. 23 to Sept. 22. Virgos are known for being organized, creative, efficient, independent and charitable. Virgos are earth signs, which means they are also grounded and well adjusted. In the music industry, it’s great to have a Virgo around […]