Biography
California punk group Tiger Army has refined its psychobilly songs since the middle of the 1990s through repeated performances across the Bay Area. Fronted by vocalist Kearney Nick Jones, better known as Nick 13, the band cultivated a dedicated audience by fusing hardcore punk, propulsive alt-rock, and unrestrained rockabilly. Although its sensational visual style draws heavily from vintage horror films, comic books, and postwar popular culture, releases such as the self-titled 1999 debut and 2016’s V •••– also reveal broad admiration for rock pioneers Roy Orbison and Joe Meek alongside the foundational punk of the Misfits and the New York Dolls. Separately, Nick 13 explored his affinity for Americana and country music on the self-titled solo album issued in 2011.
Nick 13 established Tiger Army during 1996 in Berkeley, California, where the group rapidly attracted listeners by performing at all-ages events held at the historic 924 Gilman Street club. Following an early EP, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong noticed the band and placed it on his Hellcat Records imprint. Two years afterward, Nick 13, AFI drummer Adam Carson, and Quakes bassist Rob Peltier entered the studio to cut the self-titled debut that appeared in December 1999. By the close of that year Geoff Kresge had joined on standup bass. With the lineup stabilizing, Tiger Army released Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite in 2001. Later the same year Fred Hell entered on drums, enabling the band to tour its second album as a complete unit. Shared bills with Dropkick Murphys, Reverend Horton Heat, and the Damned ensued, along with Hellcat’s inaugural Punks vs. Psychos package and a 2002 appearance on the Warped Tour.
While preparing their third record in spring 2003, Hell sustained four gunshot wounds during an attempted robbery at a friend’s apartment. Although he endured injuries to the back, chest, and head, he could not perform in the studio; drum technician Mike Fasano filled the role temporarily, yet Hell attended every session. He rejoined for a brief summer tour with Rancid, and the psychobilly-driven Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise arrived in June 2004. After another Warped Tour, Kresge departed and was succeeded by former Cosmic Voodoo and Calavera member Jeff Roffredo. Drummer James Meza was subsequently added before the band supported Social Distortion. Portions of 2005 were spent in Europe and Australia, after which the group headlined its own U.S. dates.
Recording sessions with producer Jerry Finn began in 2006, yielding the stylistically varied and commercially oriented Music from Regions Beyond in 2007. Nearly two years of touring followed, during which Kresge returned to the lineup. Octoberflame, a festival the band created in Southern California, capped 2008. The next year Nick 13 initiated a solo career, issuing his self-titled debut on Sugar Hill Records in 2011 and thereby reducing Tiger Army’s output for a period. The ensemble resurfaced in 2016 with its fifth studio album, the ’60s-inflected V •••–. Activity resumed in 2019 with Retrofuture, an album reflecting the eccentric production techniques of cult figure Joe Meek.
Nick 13 established Tiger Army during 1996 in Berkeley, California, where the group rapidly attracted listeners by performing at all-ages events held at the historic 924 Gilman Street club. Following an early EP, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong noticed the band and placed it on his Hellcat Records imprint. Two years afterward, Nick 13, AFI drummer Adam Carson, and Quakes bassist Rob Peltier entered the studio to cut the self-titled debut that appeared in December 1999. By the close of that year Geoff Kresge had joined on standup bass. With the lineup stabilizing, Tiger Army released Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite in 2001. Later the same year Fred Hell entered on drums, enabling the band to tour its second album as a complete unit. Shared bills with Dropkick Murphys, Reverend Horton Heat, and the Damned ensued, along with Hellcat’s inaugural Punks vs. Psychos package and a 2002 appearance on the Warped Tour.
While preparing their third record in spring 2003, Hell sustained four gunshot wounds during an attempted robbery at a friend’s apartment. Although he endured injuries to the back, chest, and head, he could not perform in the studio; drum technician Mike Fasano filled the role temporarily, yet Hell attended every session. He rejoined for a brief summer tour with Rancid, and the psychobilly-driven Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise arrived in June 2004. After another Warped Tour, Kresge departed and was succeeded by former Cosmic Voodoo and Calavera member Jeff Roffredo. Drummer James Meza was subsequently added before the band supported Social Distortion. Portions of 2005 were spent in Europe and Australia, after which the group headlined its own U.S. dates.
Recording sessions with producer Jerry Finn began in 2006, yielding the stylistically varied and commercially oriented Music from Regions Beyond in 2007. Nearly two years of touring followed, during which Kresge returned to the lineup. Octoberflame, a festival the band created in Southern California, capped 2008. The next year Nick 13 initiated a solo career, issuing his self-titled debut on Sugar Hill Records in 2011 and thereby reducing Tiger Army’s output for a period. The ensemble resurfaced in 2016 with its fifth studio album, the ’60s-inflected V •••–. Activity resumed in 2019 with Retrofuture, an album reflecting the eccentric production techniques of cult figure Joe Meek.
Albums
Retrofuture
2019
V•••-
2016
Music From Regions Beyond
2007
III: Ghost Tigers Rise
2004
Early Years EP
2002
II: Power Of Moonlite
2001
Tiger Army
1999
Singles
