Tim Armstrong (Rancid)

What is Tim Armstrong's Net Worth?

Tim Armstrong is a musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has a net worth of $8 million. Tim Armstrong is best known as the co-founder and frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. He was previously a member of the ska punk band Operation Ivy with his Rancid co-founder Matt Freeman. Among his many other musical endeavors, Armstrong is the co-founder of the label Hellcat Records and the frontman of the rap rock supergroup Transplants.

Early Life and Education

Not to be confused with Tim Armstrong the former CEO of AOL, the musician Tim Armstrong was born on November 25, 1965 in Albany, California. He has an older brother named Jeff. As a teenager, Armstrong attended Albany High School with his childhood friend Matt Freeman, whom he had lived just a few blocks away from growing up.

First Bands

Armstrong's first major band was Basic Radio, which was founded in 1985 in Berkeley, California and included his childhood friend Matt Freeman. In 1987, Armstrong and Freeman joined Jesse Michaels and Dave Mello to form the ska punk band Operation Ivy, named after the eponymous series of nuclear weapons tests in the early 1950s. Operation Ivy released its debut EP, "Hectic," in 1988. That was followed by its first and only studio album, "Energy," in 1989. The band broke up after that, although an EP entitled "Plea for Peace" was later released in 1992.

In 1989, Armstrong and Freeman founded a new ska punk band called Dance Hall Crashers. However, they stayed with the band only briefly before forming another ska punk group, Downfall, with their former Operation Ivy bandmate Dave Mello. Downfall played at some parties and released a few songs before splitting up in early 1990. Not long after that, Armstrong began struggling with depression and alcoholism, and became homeless.

Rancid

In 1991, Armstrong and Matt Freeman founded the punk rock band Rancid. They soon added the former's roommate, Brett Reed, on drums. Rancid went on to release its self-titled debut EP in 1992. That was followed by the band's self-titled debut studio album in 1993. After that, guitarist Lars Frederiksen joined Rancid and helped record the band's second studio album, "Let's Go." Released in 1994, the album launched the hit song "Salvation." Rancid had its biggest commercial success with its next album, 1995's "…And Out Come the Wolves," which debuted at number 45 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit singles "Roots Radicals," "Time Bomb," and "Ruby Solo." The album was certified gold by the RIAA in early 1996. Rancid released its fourth studio album, "Life Won't Wait," in 1998; it reached number 35 on the Billboard 200. In 2000, the group released another self-titled album, and then went on hiatus. Rancid returned in 2003 with the album "Indestructible," which launched the hit song "Fall Back Down." The band subsequently took another hiatus.

Following the departure of drummer Brett Reed and the addition of Branden Steineckert, Rancid released its seventh studio album, "Let the Dominoes Fall," in mid-2009. The album achieved the band's highest placement on the Billboard 200 yet, at number 11. It would be a little over five years before the group released its next album, "…Honor is All We Know," which reached number 20 on the Billboard 200. In 2017, the band released "Trouble Maker." Following a six-year gap, Rancid released its tenth studio album, "Tomorrow Never Comes," in 2023. The album was the band's shortest to date, at just under 29 minutes in length. Ultimately, since its inception in the early 1990s, Rancid has sold over four million records worldwide, making it one of the most commercially successful punk rock bands in history.

Transplants

In 1999, Armstrong and rapper Rob Aston formed the rap rock supergroup Transplants. Over time, the group added such artists as Rancid's Matt Freeman and Lars Frederiksen, the Slackers' Vic Ruggiero, and Blink-182's Travis Barker. Transplants released a self-titled studio album in 2002 before briefly disbanding. The band eventually reunited to record its second album, "Haunted Cities," which came out in 2005. After a longer hiatus, Transplants released the album "In a Warzone" in 2013. That was followed by the EP "Take Cover" in 2017.

Other Musical Projects

Armstrong embarked on a solo recording career in 2007 with his debut solo album "A Poet's Life." In 2012, he began releasing music under the pseudonym Tim Timebomb. Later, in 2021, he formed the punk rock supergroup the Crew, and in 2023 he formed the band DOOM Regulator. Beyond his own recordings, Armstrong has produced and co-written works for various other artists, including Pink, Danny Diablo, Skye Sweetnam, Joe Walsh, and Adil Omar. For producing and co-writing Pink's 2003 song "Trouble," Armstrong won a Grammy Award. He also won a Grammy as the producer of Jimmy Cliff's 2012 reggae album "Rebirth."

Personal Life

In 1997, Armstrong married Australian singer-songwriter and musician Brody Dalle; he was 32 and she was 18. The pair divorced in 2003 after Armstrong saw a photo of Dalle kissing singer-songwriter and musician Josh Homme in an issue of Rolling Stone magazine.