Background and career
Roger Matthew Freeman, also known as Matt McCall, (born April 23, 1966) is an American musician best known as the bassist of punk rock band Rancid. After forming several bands with guitarist and vocalist Tim Armstrong in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including ska-punk pioneers Operation Ivy, he and Armstrong formed Rancid with drummer Brett Reed. The band's success helped revive mainstream interest in punk, and they have released ten albums since their formation. Freeman has several side projects as well, including Devil's Brigade, in which Freeman sings lead vocals and plays bass. Freeman's style is characterized by aggressive walking lines and fills, typically played on a Fender Precision Bass.
Freeman began playing the trumpet during his youth, and later moved on to the baritone horn, and played trombone for a year, along with playing in jazz band. At the age of five, Freeman met Tim Armstrong while playing Little League Baseball. They grew up a few blocks apart in Albany, California. Freeman and Armstrong formed bands many years later based on their shared love of bands such as the Clash and the Ramones. They both went to Albany High School.
With Freeman on bass, Rancid is known for combining "high-energy punk with the infectious, quick-time bounce of second-wave ska". Freeman plays a fast-paced style, characterized by "aggressive walking lines and monstrous flatpicked fills", as opposed to mostly playing root notes like many punk bass players. Freeman began playing music at the age of seven, taking lessons and learning to read sheet music while playing in his high school jazz band. The Who's Live at Leeds inspired him to take up the bass, and he credits the Specials with turning him on to ska. Some of Freeman’s influences include John Entwhisle (The Who), John Doe from X, Horace Panter from The Specials and Graham Maby. For his playing in Rancid and other bands, Guitar World dubbed him "one of punk's most iconic bassists", stating "Among punk-rock bass players, Freeman is a bit of an anomaly. His basswork on nascent punk anthems such as Maxwell Murder and the rolling ska grooves of Time Bomb set him far apart from the root-pounding horde."
Although Armstrong and Frederiksen are the principal singers in Rancid, Freeman has taken the lead vocal duties in a number of gritty sounding songs through the years, including the songs "Black and Blue", "Rigged on a Fix", "Black Derby Jacket", "Tenderloin" and, "L.A. River". He is known for possessing a deep and raspy singing voice. Freeman was also the primary co-lead vocal for the first Rancid album, before Frederiksen joined the band, with his role subsequently being reduced by choice.
Freeman's main bass is a 1977 Fender Precision Bass he purchased for $400 in 1984. He generally prefers his instruments to be "players", rather than collector's pieces, because such basses are cheaper and more worn-in. Freeman owns multiple basses made in the mid-1960s to the late-1970s, including a 1974 Precision Bass from 1974, another from 1966, a few 1977 Fender Jazz Bssses, Rickenbacker 4003, and a 1978 Music Man StingRay. When writing songs, Freeman and Armstrong typically use acoustic instruments; for this, Freeman favors a Guild B-50 acoustic bass. He plays through an Ampeg B-15N amplifier for practices, but as it "does not like pedals", he also uses a Fender Bassman 100T head with a 1x15 cabinet.
In May 1987, Freeman and Armstrong formed the band Operation Ivy. After Operation Ivy broke up in May 1989, they formed a new band, Downfall, which included all but one member of Operation Ivy and two additional members. Downfall recorded a 10-song album which has never been released, then broke up. Freeman and Armstrong next formed Generator, who played a number of shows, but are not known to have recorded anything. After that, Freeman played with the political punk band MDC for about a year.
