... And Out Came the Wolves.

Berkeley, California 

Just when conservatives thought the punk revival consisted only of dyed hair, mo-hawks, tattoos, and body piercing, Rancid comes out of Berkeley, California, with a big loud boo-ya in lyrical content to remind everyone just what it's all about. And along the road from its early 1990s roots in the East Bay, the band has managed to find its way to "new-music" format stations and MTV.

Rancid's breakthrough hit "Time Bomb," from their third album ... And Out Come The Wolves (Epitaph), is a ska-influenced number that is reminiscent of the Specials. And like the Specials, you find yourself skanking up a storm to the energetic and bouncy feel of Time Bomb, only to be blown away by the lyrics: ,

"He's back in the hole/where they got him living like a rat/But he's smarter than that/nine lives like a cat/Take him to the youth authority home/The first thing you learn is you got to make it in this world alone."

Ah, the spirit of punk is alive and well in the souls and soles and sounds of twenty-nine-year-old vocalist-guitarist Tim Armstrong (who literally spits his lyrics), bassist Matt Freeman, also twenty-nine, drummer Brett Reed, twenty-three, and guitarist-vocalist Lars Frederiksen, twenty-three. Because of its hard-edged sound, and the relevant urban grittiness of its music, the band often finds itself compared to the Clash.

"I think the attitude and spirit may be similar, and Rancid and the Clash may have similar working-class upbringings, but that's where it ends," said Armstrong in a recent interview with Spin magazine.

Rancid's beginnings can be traced to 1991 and the famed East Bay punk club, 924 Gilman Street.

The club became a home away from home for members of the band, and for the punkers in the East and South Bay region. The sentiments for the club and the music could be summed up in an earlier release, "Radio," and its chorus: "I got the music, I got a place to go."

"It's such a cliche to say that music saves lives, but for me it really is true," Frederiksen said in an interview in Rolling Stone. "Two years ago I was shooting dope and drinking myself to death. I wouldn't be here today if these guys hadn't become my family."

Rancid built a large following among punkers and hungry record-company people looking to sign the next big act. Legend has it that the band nearly signed with Epic, but decided to hook up with Epitaph, a Los Angeles-based indie label. Members of the band said that no matter who they signed with, Rancid was going kdto do its own thing.