Rancid

After the well respected, Berkeley, California-based ska punk band Operation Ivy broke up in 1989, two of the group's members along with two other musicians, formed Rancid. Opting to ditch the two-tone tendencies of ska, in favor of a more straightforward punk rock sound, Rancid was partly responsible for bringing punk back into the mainstream spotlight during the 1990s. Other bands that helped accomplish this resurrection of punk--like Green Day and The Offspring--ended up falling in line with and into the beds of large record companies, but Rancid managed to stay true to its roots and remain with an independent label and not sell out like so many of the band's contemporaries did. Over Rancid's continued evolution as a band over the decades, the group has experienced a number of rises and falls in popularity, although, because the band has led an uncompromising existence, it has firmly solidified a strong bond between the group and its die hard fans.