The Long Ryders are: Sid Griffin guitar, harmonica, autoharp, bugle & vocals, Greg Sowders drums, percussion & song publishing, Tom Stevens bass, acoustic bass, computer genius & vocals and Stephen McCarthy main guitar, banjo, carpentry, mandolin, lap steel & vocals.
The Long Ryders were formed in late November 1982 out of the ashes of the Los Angeles punk scene. Kentucky born guitarist Sid Griffin left his band The Unclaimed after having bonded musically with former Boxboys drummer Greg Sowders at a jam session in a Mexican transvestite bar in Silverlake. The other guitar player was Steve Wynn but he left to form the Dream Syndicate whereupon Virginias Stephen McCarthy, a country music loving newcomer to L.A., stepped in after answering a Musicians Wanted ad in a local Korean newspaper.
The original bass player was Barry Shank but he quit to return to graduate school and was replaced by ex-pat Englishman Des Brewer. The band recorded and released an EP in 1983 produced by ex-Sparks guitarist and former Beach Boys engineer Earle Mankey called 10-5-60 and it was so well received they decided to tour. Des Brewer dropped out at this point and was replaced by Indianas Tom Stevens, a former candidate in the NASA astronaut space program in Houston.
Signed to hip indie label Frontier the band recorded their debut LP Native Sons with Henry Lewy producing. Lewy had worked with the Flying Burrito Brothers on their classic Gilded Palace Of Sin LP as well as with the Association, Barbara Streisand, Van Morrison and Lewy had enjoyed a long studio partnership with Joni Mitchell. Together the Long Ryders and Lewy came up with an album called a modern American classic by Melody Maker and soon found themselves on the cover of the New Musical Express as well as playing live on the BBCs Whistle Test TV show.
After touring the USA for much of 1984 Europe was theirs for the taking in March/April 1985. Sold out gig followed sold out gig and the band were second only to The Smiths in the alternative charts of the day. Signed to Island Records in early summer the band released the album State Of Our Union in September 1985 and soon found themselves number one in the College Radio/Alternative charts for four weeks running in their native land. Their single Looking For Lewis & Clark crashed into the charts and became their signature song.
The following year was spent consolidating their success. In America REM told them soon as we get through making the Replacements famous you guys are next!, in Spain they headlined a Barcelona festival to over 100,000 which was broadcast live on national radio, in Canada the Toronto Globe & Mail called them the best thing to happen to roots rock since The Band, in Italy they played eighteenth century opera houses and gave press conferences as if heads of state and in Great Britain The Long Ryders were considered like family to their fans and a breath of fresh air to the UK's rock critics.
After a spring tour to work out new songs The Long Ryders released Two-Fisted Tales in early summer 1987. Produced by Ramones/Smithereens whiz Ed Stasium, it gave them a radio turntable hit with I Want You Bad and the touring began again. U2 asked them to open shows on the North American wing of their Joshua Tree tour and the high life beckoned.
Alas it was not to be. Bassist Tom Stevens left the road to be with his young family in August and by Christmas Stephen McCarthy was gone as well. Island asked Messers. Griffin and Sowders for another album but without their old compadres their hearts were not in it and they foolishly if honorably declined.
Since then The Long Ryders have graced us with several reissues, the latest being The Best Of The Long Ryders (Prima Records Ltd.), released June 2004 and still selling, selling, selling quite well to fans both old and new.
Ask anyone in Wilco, the Black Crowes, the Jayhawks (who employ Stephen McCarthy) or Slobberbone and they will tell you: dont miss The Long Ryders on tour if they come to your town. Its been too long since the Earth rocked like this!
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The Long Ryders - Gunslinger Man
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The Long Ryders - I Want You Bad
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The Long Ryders - Looking For Lewis and Clark
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The Long Ryders - I Had a Dream
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The Long Ryders - State of My Union (live)
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The Long Ryders - Lights of Downtown
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The Long Ryders - I Had a Dream (Dingwall's, London 2004-06-30)
Sid Griffin's band The Coal Porters are playing the Royal Opera House tonight and tomorrow night, Nov 27 & 28, in Covent Garden, central London.
There are thirty tickets available to the public and we play bluegrass after the Fat Lady sings and takes off her Viking helmet.
Onstage 9:30pm for an hour, phone 020 7240 1200 www.roh.org.uk
Sunday November 29 the Coal Porters play the not-quite-as-posh (but just a proud) Half Moon pub in Herne Hill, south London, as part of the three day festival there.
Please do attend a gig if you are in the area. We sold out the famous London folk club The Magpie's Nest last Thursday night in Islington and it was simply a splendid night! So see you at either the Royal Opera House or The Half Moon this weekend...and thanks for all the jokes about the Marx Bros. in A Night At The Opera!
The Long Ryders two Island albums are now digitally available in the UK FOR THE FIRST TIME right now via Amazon.co.uk. These classic recordings (Looking For Lewis And Clark et al) will be uploaded onto iTunes UK any day now too.
Note these Long Ryders recordings are digitally available in the USA via Amazon and iTunes for all our pals in North America.
Sid Griffin does a book signing of his Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band & the Basement Tapes this very SATURDAY 3pm at the Book Tent sponsored by Alibis Bookstore in Belfast AND plays at 2pm SUNDAY in Belfast outside someplace ace on a groovy stage with the mighty Coal Porters as part of the Belfast Open House festival!!
The mighty Coal Porters (featuring ex-Long Ryder SID GRIFFIN) play for FREE this very Sunday...in a mere 32 hours at the south London palace known as the Horniman Museum!
See below!
Aug 30, 2009 3pm at The Horniman Museum
100 London Rd, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3PQ
Cost: free, free...FREE
ph: 020 8699 1872
onstage: 3pm on outdoor bandstand in rear museum
See a bearded Sid Griffin before his many Brazilian supermodel fans make him shave it off!
Ex- Long Ryder Sid Griffin is LIVE on the fab Mark Radcliffe Show this very Monday night August 24 on BBC Radio Two at 8pm UK time (noon L.A. time, methinks, 3pm NYC time) talking about Neil Young's recent box set.
So please listen if you are free. Easily heard via your computer.
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