Something Rancid this way comes

(Credit: Rob Naples)

“We ain’t got no boss!”

Tim Armstrong is positively giddy. His band, Rancid, has just returned with its first new album in six years, the back-to-punk-basics “Let the Dominoes Fall” (out June 2 on Epitaph Records). And the group just launched a co-headlining tour with upstarts Rise Against—an interesting move, considering that Rancid has headlined its own tours for the last several years without new music.

But as Armstong points out, Rancid plays by its own rules. The frontman did it as a member of the ska/punk legends Operation Ivy back in the ‘80s, and he took that anything-goes spirit to Rancid a decade later, helping the group land several radio and MTV hits without the benefit of a commercial sound or a big label (the group famously turned down a record deal with Madonna’s label Maverick).
We spoke with Armstrong and his Rancid cohort Lars Frederiksen about staying punk, working with Pink and why mom is most hardcore of them all.

You’ve done a lot of tours in the last few years, but no new record. Was there a setback of some sort?
Tim Armstrong: Well, as you said, we toured a lot. We had some personal stuff—side projects like the Bastards and the Transplants. We stayed busy. But Rancid has always been about friendship and family first. There was no outside pressure to have a new record. The great thing about us is we can just tour without an album. We can do these amazing little tours, where we play five nights at a small club in New York. We just love to get up and get down!

Tim, you were collaborating with some non-punk artists for awhile [Pink, Cypress Hill and many others]. How did that go? Is that something you’d continue?
TA: I just love playing music. It’s what I do. I mean, I love punk—I discovered the Ramones in the ‘70s when I was a little guy and became addicted to it—but I appreciate other artists, especially if they feel like I do, that there are no boundaries.
Lars Frederiksen: I think punk rock makes you open-minded. There’s no rulebook in punk.

You talk about the lack of rules for music, but is there something that couldn’t be a Rancid song?
LF: It’s kind of what’s in front of us. If we’re working on a Bastards record, everything goes into that. If it’s Rancid, it all goes into that.
TA: A lot of those Bastards songs could have been Rancid songs. So could the Transplants songs. But Rancid has a sound—our bassist, Matt Freeman, takes everything to the next level. And when we’re all together in Rancid, writing songs together—we get together in the studio, we’re in, I guess you’d say, a circle…
LF: Chicken coop!
TA: Yeah, in a chicken coop! We’re all just together in one little room, and everyone throws out an idea. In that environment, there are no wrong ideas, no editing. It’s a trust we all have together.

So you guys don’t fight, ever?
TA: We don’t fight…sometimes it’s just a glance. If something’s going down I’ll glance at Freeman, go “You all right, bro?” And he’ll growl back, “Grrrr, I’m all right.” That’s it.

A lot of classic California punk bands—you guys, Green Day, the Offspring and blink-182—are returning to the spotlight at the same time. What’s going on?
LF: There’s probably something in the water.
TA: We’re friends with those bands, so we’re stoked. They make great music. Actually, we just saw blink play Leno. It’s great to see [blink-182/Transplants drummer] Travis Barker playing again…and playing punk music.

Why is your new record/comeback a co-headlining tour with Rise Against?
TA: They’re a great band, and they asked us to do it. They’re treating us good. And I like what they’ve got to say.

I remember during your last album [2003’s “Indestructible”] you were touting newer bands like Simple Plan and Good Charlotte. You even had some of those guys in your videos. Are there new bands now that you like?
TA: Sure. See, Joe Strummer embraced us early on—he actually ended up doing some albums for my label [Hellcat Records]. The Ramones, GBH, the Business, the Exploited…these were our heroes, and they were cool to us when we started. So we do the same—we help out newer bands. We love the Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs, Civet…a lot of these bands we discover on the street level. And with Civet, I signed them!

You did a record with NOFX years ago where you covered their songs and they covered yours. Would you do that again?
TA: Yeah, with the Dropkick Murphys. That’s already in the works.

Do you have a favorite place to play?
LF: We love Montreal, Boston, Chicago, Miami…it’s like zoos in those cities when we play. 
TA: New York is crazy; it’s the kind of place we can play five nights in a row. The Bay Area is our home, that’s great. Actually, my mom comes to the shows when we’re back here; she brings like an entourage of 30 people.

Your mom digs you guys?
TA: She’s always been supportive of the punk rock. Back when I was in Operation Ivy, I didn’t invite her to shows, but this was when Gilman Streeet scene was exploding, and she knew it was time to do my thing. My parents are very blue-collar, and they always appreciated what I did. Dad’s a Korean War vet—he doesn’t always get it, but he’s supportive. Mom digs in deeper—she’ll know about the new Offspring song or Gwen Stefani’s new perfume before I do!

I notice you guys are on Twitter now. Do you like tweeting?
TA: Somewhat, I guess. What do you think of Twitter?

Eh...
TA: [Laughs] Yeah. I really only read what [Epitaph label head] Brett Gurewitz writes, anyway.