When lars was 20 years old he moved to Boston and joined the band UK SUBS. Lars have by that time been a alcohol and drug addict for about three years. He got the boot for uk subs because they couldnt get along with Lars and his "problems".

Short after Lars started to play in a local punk band called CAJONES but they too found out his incompetence impossible to deal with. He´d always showed up drunk and so, that´s the reason for him being kicked off the band.

Eventually lars put together a band called SLIP wich in 1992 scored a local gig with RANCID at the oft-fabled Gilman Street Project. Lars talked to tim armstrong after the gig and they switched phone numbers and kept in contact. Sometime after that night SLIP was going to do a gig in L.A. Ten minutes before they were going on the stage their bass player calls lars up and says his quitting the band because he fallen in love and was going to move to Sacramento. Same night tim calls lars and ask him to join RANCID and lars say FUCK YEAH!

The reason lars didnt sing on the first RANCID record is because he have been in the band for a short time and he thought the guys have been working hard with the album and it was their thing.