I think Rancid is my favorite band. They formed in Berkeley, California in 1991.
Don't know much about them. They're a punk band, yes?
Yeah Tim Armstrong, and Matt Freeman are probably the most well known members of it.
Hmm. Berkeley is a really cool town. Are the band members from there?
I think Tim is, Rancid remained signed to an independent record label and retained much of its original fan-base. So they never moved on to a big label.
That's great. Most bands ditch the independents once they become successful. How many members are in the band?
4 now but the second guitarist Frederiksen joined Rancid in 1993
Do they tour a lot? I'd love to see them - I used to go to punk concerts in the UK many years ago - saw the Ramones once.
series of live online-only albums, and has been featured on a number of compilation albums. The band has independently sold over four million records worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent punk rock groups of all time. The band rose to fame in 1994 with its second studio album, "Let's Go", featuring the single "Salvation". In the following year, Rancid released its highly successful album "...And Out Come the Wolves", which produced its best-known songs "Roots
played numerous shows with Los Angeles bands Fishbone and The Untouchables.
History Influence.
Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy has cited the Uptones as a key influence. His bandmates Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman were also influenced by the Uptones, having opened for them in their earlier band, Basic Radio. Michaels describes the Uptones' place in the underground Berkeley ska scene in an interview: 
There was a ska scene in Berkeley that most people don't know about, in the mid-80s, and it was like high school, really