Allow me to introduce you to Rancid Eddie: a Melbourne-based quintet known for their ability to transform any mundane idea into a wildly silly and brilliant tune. Ever felt ferociously pissed off? Specifically at the woman in front of you in line at Starbucks? Rancid Eddie’s got you. Case in point, their song “F*ck That Lady With The Chai Latte” is a hilariously passionate rant placed over an epic chord progression. I can guarantee they will have you jamming out, windows down, cussing along.
Rancid Eddie is an absolute breath of fresh air. Not muddled by techno or autotune, their music is produced and performed by five guys playing guitar and absolutely belting at the top of their lungs. And let me tell you: it’s awesome. Their music successfully captures and encapsulates that nostalgic warm, fuzzy feeling of listening to live music and just…for lack of a better word, vibing.
In fact, you may have already heard them while scrolling through your TikTok For You Page. When they leaked their single “Dry” back in March, it pretty much broke the internet. It became a wildly popular audio on TikTok. People used their sound to make nostalgic montages of their summer, makeup videos, cooking tutorials, you name it. I actually came across these guys because I saw a video of someone saying they wanted “Dry” to be their WEDDING song. Yeah, they’re that good. However, the band has not officially released the tune. While they have given audiences the occasional teaser, and even put an epic music video on Youtube, the song has yet to be released onto streaming platforms. Let me just say, that decision alone… has also broken the internet. Rancid Eddie stans are extremely unhappy with the choice to abstain from dropping their single on Spotify or Apple Music. I dare you to check out these guys’ comments. Wild. I’m not sure what crack they put in that song, but whatever it is, it’s working. But, between you and I, I don’t think we have to worry for much longer. Wink wink.
Rancid Eddie comes from pretty humble origins. The cast of characters include Jess, Matt, Eddie, Ash and Andy. Having all grown up in the Southeast suburbs of Melbourne, these childhood friends pondered the idea of forming a band, but nothing seemed to come to fruition. However, as most good things are, Rancid Eddie was a happy accident. After a good old fashioned jam sesh at a party, the guys decided to give it another shot. The next day, they pulled out the guitars and drums and well, the rest was history.
Jess and Matt are the poets of the operation. While Rancid Eddie described their creative process as collaborative, they leave Jess and Matt to lay down the foundation. Ash says “We all have our own foot in the songwriting, but the basic structure of the songs is all done in Jess and Matt’s bedrooms.” Once there is a skeleton of a song, the guys throw around some ideas, each adding their own flare. You may hear Jess or Matt taking on lead vocals in a track or two, but for the most part all the guys join in and sing. Don’t sleep on Andy on the box drum either. Andy continues “Once we’ve got an idea going, we’re like yeah let’s do a TikTok and get in the backyard or wherever we can find and jam out.”
As for the name? The story behind the cool, edgy title “Rancid Eddie”? Full props goes to a band name generator. That’s right. Similar to Childish Gambino or Ghostface Killah, these guys left their band name to fate. Effortlessly cool, right?
While social media has been a great way for Rancid Eddie to produce more content and gain traction, it doesn’t allow for the band to do what they set out to do: play live music. Ash said: “There’s something about live music where it doesn’t really matter what the songs are about. It’s just that feeling that everything has been leading up to this moment. We’re all in this together, and everything’s so good right now.” With Australia in and out of lockdown, the band has had to continuously push back tour dates. “We’ve had two tours canceled now and we don’t know what’s going on. Everytime we go into a lockdown, we don’t know when the government’s going to open everything up again.” Andy said it best: “We all just want to be able to have a bunch of people listening to our music, getting along with the people around them and have a good fucking time.”
Although the pandemic has robbed us of the chance to see these goons live, we have the privilege to catch up with Rancid Eddie on socials. While “Dry” has yet to be released, they have a plethora of amazing bops already on streaming platforms, and even more that are on the way. They just released “Champagne” which you can check out on Spotify and Apple Music. Also check out their podcast called “Just For Us.” It’s a riot. Keep an eye out for new music and hopefully some shows soon!
