Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California.[1] The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13.[2][3] The band has released six studio albums and four EPs.
History
Tiger Army played their first show at the famous 924 Gilman Street venue in Berkeley, California, on March 29, 1996.[4] The band's sound drew from early punk, rock n' roll and rockabilly, as well as dark English pop. Their first official release was a self-titled vinyl recordEP, now referred to as the Temptation EP. The record was released by Chapter 11 Records. This EP caught the attention of Tim Armstrong of Rancid; he was also co-owner of Hellcat Records. Armstrong signed the band.
Tiger Army recorded their first full-length, the self-titled Tiger Army, in January 1999. It was released that October. Stand-up bassist Joel Day left Tiger Army before the band was signed, so the Quakes stand-up bassist Rob Peltier was hired to play on the album. Drummer Adam Carson of AFI, who had been helping out the band live, played on the record, as well. The band then embarked on a California mini-tour promoting the album in 1999. In 2000, Nick 13 asked former AFI bassist Geoff Kresge, one of his former bandmates from Influence 13, to join Tiger Army. Ex-Samhain drummer London May came on board as well.
Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite followed in 2001. Fred Hell replaced London May shortly after the recording. The band toured with TSOL, The Damned, Dropkick Murphys and others in support of the record and went to Europe and Japan for the first time on the album as well. The band's friend and drum tech, Mike Fasano, played on the next Tiger Army album, Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise, when Hell was unable to record or tour behind the album. Nick 13 announced a new lineup for Tiger Army, featuring drummer James Meza and stand-up bassist, Jeff Roffredo, formerly of Los Angeles psychobilly bands Cosmic Voodoo, Calavera, and The Rezurex in 2004. This lineup supported Social Distortion on an extensive US tour.
In the spring of 2005, the band headlined a string of five sold-out shows at the Hollywood House Of Blues. The following year, the band sold out four nights at the Anaheim House of Blues. They also hit the road with Morrissey and AFI, performing several headlining tours around the world.
Nick 13 performing at a Warped Tour.
Tiger Army made major festival appearances across the US and Europe in support of their fourth album, titled Music from Regions Beyond. The album was released on June 5, 2007[5] and was produced by Jerry Finn.[6] "Forever Fades Away" went to No. 1 on Los Angeles rock station KROQ FM,[citation needed] which Tiger Army performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live![7] and at radio festivals like "BFD".[citation needed]The New York Times called the album "one of the year's best punk albums".[8]
Geoff Kresge returned to Tiger Army in early 2008 and joined Nick 13 and drummer James Meza on tours of the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe.[citation needed] The band launched a multi-night festival, Octoberflame, in Southern California in 2008, concluding two years of touring behind Music from Regions Beyond. Nick launched a solo project focused on Americana/country music in 2009, making his first live solo appearance at the Stagecoach Festival in 2010 in Indio, California.[citation needed] Tiger Army continued to appear at Octoberflame each year, as well as in cities like Las Vegas, San Diego, Tempe, Costa Mesa and the MusInk Festival. On June 7, 2011, Nick 13 released his solo album on Sugar Hill Records. Tiger Army has been less active while 13 has built his solo career in the Americana world.[citation needed]
Tiger Army played their largest standalone headlining show to date at the Orange County Fair in 2011. In March/April 2012, the band performed two shows in Southern California and one in Las Vegas dubbed "Spring Forward." Octoberflame V followed with six shows in five cities.[9] In December 2012, Tiger Army announced "Spring Forward 2013," which took place in March 2013 in San Diego, Ventura, CA and Las Vegas.[10] The band played a radio show in Arizona around the same time.
Octoberflame VI took place in October 25 and 26, 2013 at City National Grove of Anaheim.[11] The two back-to-back shows were advertised as Tiger Army's last shows of 2013.[12] The Octoberflame events have become known for varied set lists that explore deep cuts and cover songs, special guests and diverse support acts running the gamut of rock, alt-rock, punk, hardcore, psychobilly, industrial, rockabilly and more.
In February 2014, Geoff Kresge announced he would be leaving Tiger Army via a lengthy statement on his Facebook page.[13]
In June 2014, Nick 13 announced that writing for a new Tiger Army album was underway via the band's Facebook page.[14] After announcing that live performances including the annual Octoberflame dates would be on hold for 2014 to focus on preparing for the album,[15] the return of Octoberflame (VII) for 2015 was announced in June,[16] with tickets sold out by early July.[17] Beginning with the 2015 Octoberflame shows, which showcased material from the Ghost Tigers Rise album, drummer Mike Fasano rejoined the band on a full-time basis.[18] Tiger Army released their fifth studio album, V •••–, on May 20, 2016, on Luna Tone Records/Rise Records.[19]
On June 22, 2018, the band released a three-song EP, Dark Paradise, which featured covers of Lana Del Rey's "Dark Paradise" and the Chantays' instrumental "Pipeline."
Tiger Army's sixth full-length studio album, Retrofuture, was released on September 13, 2019, on Luna Tone Records/Rise Records.[20] The following month, the band played two sold-out shows at the Wiltern in Los Angeles for Octoberflame X; supporting acts included Brian Fallon (formerly of the Gaslight Anthem), the Delta Bombers, Wayne Hancock, and 8 Kalacas.
