Song of the Day: Tim Armstrong – Into Action

Tim Armstrong with Rancid, Masquerade, Atlanta 7/25/06
photo by Mack Williams

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole, is Into Action by Tim Armstrong from the 2007 album A Poet’s Life on Hellcat Records.

Tim Armstrong – Into Action (MP3)California native Tim Armstrong has been active in the punk scene for years, getting a start in Operation Ivy twenty years ago and moving from one project to the next: Dance Hall Crashers, Downfall, and most notably Rancid. Over the years, Armstrong has contributed to or even produced albums by a range of artists (though usually with a similar temperament), like NOFX, Bad Religion, Gwen Stefani, and Pink. Currently, Armstrong is still active with Rancid, occasionally records with Transplants (featuring the much-tattooed Travis Barker), and has produced two albums by Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, the project of his Rancid bandmate.On A Poet’s Life his first solo effort, released by his own label Hellcat Records, a subdivision of Epitaph, Armstrong is supported The Aggrolites, a young SoCal reggae-influenced band he also signed to his label, and who bring a wicked ska vibe that recall the early days of Two Tone and reach back even further to the classics of Trojan Records. “In Action” also features another young artist, Toronto’s Skye Sweetnam, whose too-young-to-be-a-rude-girl vocals provide an engaging counterpoint to Armstrong’s raw voice.Since its release, Armstrong has been releasing one track at a time of A Poet’s Life for free download on the Hellcat website and has posted videos for each song on Rancid’s MySpace page. While the video for “Into Action” is quite good, we favor the video for “Wake Up” because it was filmed right here in Seattle: