The Long Ryders
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| The Long Ryders | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Paisley Underground Alternative country |
| Years active | 1983–1987, 2004, 2009 |
| Label(s) | Zippo Records Demon Records Island Records PolyGram Records Prima Records |
| Associated acts | The Coal Porters |
| Website | The Long Ryders MySpace |
| Members | |
| Sid Griffin Stephen McCarthy Tom Stevens Greg Sowders |
|
| Former members | |
| Barry Shank Chris (Des) Brewer |
|
The Long Ryders are a band that were originally formed by several American musicians who were each multi-instrumentalists, strongly influenced by Gram Parsons and The Byrds, with country and punk rock influences. The band featured Sid Griffin, on guitar, autoharp, and bugle, Stephen McCarthy, guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, and banjo, Tom Stevens, as bassist, and Greg Sowders, playing drums and percussion. Although two members were transplants from the American South, they became a popular rock band, forming in Los Angeles in the early 1980s and originally associated with a movement called the Paisley Underground.[1] With a sound reminiscent of Gram Parsons, Buffalo Springfield and The Flying Burrito Brothers, but with a harder edge, they anticipated the alternative country music of the 1990s by a decade. Former Byrd Gene Clark added vocals to the song "Ivory Tower," on the 1984 Native Sons. The group disbanded in 1987, but reunited in 2004 for a brief European tour, including a performance at the Glastonbury Festival. After another long separation, the band reunited again playing their first Long Ryders live dates in the U.S in nearly 22 years beginning in January 9 and 10, 2009 at The Earl in Atlanta, Georgia. They continue to tour and make new music as of 2009.
The Long Ryders formed from the ashes of the Los Angeles band The Unclaimed. The founding members were Sid Griffin and bassist Barry Shank. Their initial studio release the EP "10-5-60" consisted of Griffin (a native of Kentucky), replacement bassist Chris (Des) Brewer from Australia, Stephen McCarthy (Richmond, VA) and Greg Sowders (Los Angeles, CA). Brewer was replaced after "10-5-60" by Tom Stevens (Elkhart, IN), thus forming the permanent lineup (Griffin, McCarthy, Sowders, Stevens) which would remain in place until their eventual breakup.
Apart from occasional Long Ryders activity, Griffin, who relocated to London, has kept busy as a solo artist and bandleader (The Coal Porters, Western Electric), and as a music journalist and critic. McCarthy, after a stint leading his own band, Walker Stories, returned home to Richmond, Virginia; he played in the indie supergroup Gutterball with Steve Wynn and fellow Richmondites Bryan Harvey and Johnny Hott of House of Freaks, and in 2003 began playing with The Jayhawks. Stevens returned to his native Indiana, earned a degree in computer science and continues to release solo albums. Additionally Sowders, who was married for a time to singer Lucinda Williams, went to work in music publishing.
Contents |
[edit] Albums
- 10-5-60 (1983)
- Native Sons (1984)
- State of Our Union (1985)
- Two-Fisted Tales (1987)
- Metallic B.O. (1989)
- BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1994)
- Anthology (1998)
- Three Minute Warnings: the Long Ryders Live in New York City (2003)
- The Best of the Long Ryders (2004)
- State Of Our Reunion (2004)
[edit] DVD
- Rockin' at the Roxy
- State of our reunion,live2004(2009)
[edit] References
- ^ Huey, Steve (2009 Macrovision Corporation). "The Long Ryders". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifixqe5ldde~T1. Retrieved on 2009-05-08.
