Rancid's Tim Armstrong Announces 'Tim Timebomb's RockNRoll Theater'
Iconic musician and GRAMMY®Award winning producer Tim Armstrong today announced his creation of a new and original series entitled Tim Timebomb's RockNRoll Theater. The debut episode will premier exclusively on VEVO, the world's leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform, on October 21, 2011 with a trailer airing beginning on October 3, 2011.
"Doing a show centered on musical theatre isn't really a stretch for me," says Armstrong. "For 25 years I've been making music and collaborating with friends, been involved in hundreds of videos, and it's really just a direct extension of my world." Armstrong adds, "VEVO is the perfect partner to premiere the show because their platform is extensive and will bring lots of eyeballs to our show."
"We are so thrilled Tim is bringing his passion project to VEVO," said Scott Reich, VP, Original Content and Programming at VEVO. "This is a big moment for both Tim and VEVO, as his RockNRoll Theater is the first time we've featured a character driven narrative. Tim has assembled a true cast of characters that could only come from rock 'n' roll. We can't wait to bring the tales of Tim Timebomb to VEVO fans!"
Homage to the classic American Musicals, Tim Timebomb's RockNRoll Theater will center on Armstrong as today's punk rock Rod Serling, leading and narrating suspenseful episodes with a variety of special guest actors and musicians. Each episode will feature extensive song and dance numbers with hard-hitting rock musical songs and rousing dance numbers all wrapped in a dark edge all written by Armstrong.
"I'll play music til the day I die, and this takes everything in an exciting new direction," Armstrong adds. "I love collaborating with other artists and all I want to do is continue to make these episodes. That's the spirit of the project."
The pilot episode of Tim Timebomb's RockNRoll Theater entitled "Dante," will bring the 14th Century epic poem, Dante's Inferno, roaring into the 21th Century with a new take on greed and corporate corruption. The episode stars AFI frontman Davey Havok, guitarist and vocalist Lars Frederiksen of Rancid, and actor Robert David Hall known for his extensive work on CSI.
Tim Timebomb's RockNRoll Theater marks the first scripted piece of original programming featured on VEVO, enriching the platform's catalogue of 45,000 premium music videos, live performances and popular original series such as GO Shows (impromptu live performances held in venues meaningful to the featured artists like The Airborne Toxic Event, Kid Cudi and Florence + The Machine), Stylized (a series exploring how music and fashion mutually inspire) and ASK:REPLY (a live chat interview series).
Armstrong teamed up with longtime collaborator David Robertson who has also produced work for Eminem, Metallica, Britney Spears, and Madonna, to produce the series. Director Kevin Kerslake, best known for his work in forging the visual identity of the MTV generation through his work with Nirvana, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid, directed and shot the pilot episode. Michael Rooney known for his multiple MTV Video Music awards for choreography, including Spike Jonze's Fatboy Slim video for the song "Praise You" starring Christopher Walken, will choreograph the show. Mary Vernieu (Black Swan, Sin City, The Wrestler) will cast the series.
Future episodes to come...