Good Riddance/Only Crime Frontman Russ Rankin To Release Debut Solo Album Through Paper + Plastick Records
Paper + Plastick Records is extremely excited to announce today that it will be releasing the first solo full-length record from Good Riddance/Only Crime frontman Russ Rankin. Rankin’s debut will be titled Farewell Catalonia and it will be released on May 29.
The album was recorded over the course of February 2012 at Buzzbomb Sound Labs (Orange, CA) with engineer Paul Miner. Most of the tracks feature a blend of acoustic and electric guitar with some keys, strings and minimal percussion added as well.
“Recording a solo album is completely different than recording with a band. I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses both as a songwriter and a guitar player,” Rankin says. “Watching these songs, which had gestated purely from myself with no collaboration, develop and grow has been an incredible experience.”
Farewell Catalonia is a series of fleshed-out, whole-sounding songs, and a debut that retains Rankin’s punk roots while showing a different side of him on a musical plane.
A new song from the record, along with album art and other details, will be released in the coming weeks.
Contact Thomas Nassiff at exit384media@gmail.com with any press requests, including interview requests for Rankin.
More about Russ Rankin:
Best known as the vocalist for seminal California hardcore punk band Good Riddance, Russ Rankin’s lyrics helped to shape and influence many of today’s most popular bands and artists. During the halcyon days of melodic hardcore from the mid 1990s until the early 2000s Good Riddance released seven full length albums and an EP on San Francisco’s Fat Wreck Chords while gaining a reputation as one of the hardest working, most intense bands around, touring the world dozens of times.
In 2003, Rankin began putting together a new group featuring musicians he’d met while touring and recording with Good Riddance, and in 2004, Only Crime was born. Melding aesthetics of it’s members’ previous groups (Descendents, ALL, Bane, Hagfish & Good Riddance) with elements of jazz and pioneering hard rock, Only Crime quickly became an oasis for punk and hardcore fans who wanted some substance with their style. Only Crime continues to tour periodically and is currently finishing its 3rd studio album.
Rankin has also proven to be a prolific writer, holding down a monthly column in AMP Magazine since 2002 as well as contributing op/eds to such periodicals as Alternative Press and Razorcake, among dozens of others. He has also written liner notes and been featured in several books written about the hardcore genre.
By February of 2011, Rankin found himself with several songs and no suitable outlet for them. Taking the lead of many of his former frontman colleagues, he began pursuing a solo delivery of this new material without an accompanying band. Longtime friend Tony Sly offered him a support slot on several solo shows and it wasn’t long before Rankin was comfortable with his performance and the reviews were glowing.
After sending out demos of his new material, it didn’t take long for Paper + Plastick Records owner Vinnie Fiorello to become interested in releasing Rankin’s debut album. Paper + Plastick had successfully released Dave Hause previously and saw an opportunity to promote a known artist in a different milieu while bolstering its own roster.
Rankin’s songs are different in that they aren’t acoustic or country. They are catchy rock songs mostly dealing with politics or relationships, much like the subject matter of so many Good Riddance tunes. Fans of Rankin’s rough melodic delivery and thought-provoking lyrics will not be disappointed by this new outlet and brand new listeners may be compelled to check out some Only Crime or Good Riddance.
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