Long Ryders

Discography – Press Photos – Reviews – Lyrics/Chords

The Long Ryders are an American rock ‘n roll band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. They are often credited as founders of the alt-country movement and are the recent recipients of the Americana Music Association UK’s “International Trailblazer Award”.

The band’s three founding members Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy and Greg Sowders continue to tour the world and and on March 10th, 2023 release the long awaited follow up to 2019’s acclaimed #1 UK Americana album, Psychedelic Country Soul.

The new album is called September November and is released by Cherry Red Records worldwide. Produced by Ed Stasium at his state-of-the-art studio in California the album stretches The Long Ryders envelope musically and contains two heartfelt musical tributes to their late bass player, the great Tom Stevens.

The band’s highly original roots rock recipe blends the punk rock spirit of the Ramones, the soul of Merle Haggard, the cosmic country of Gram Parsons and beautiful jangle of The Byrds into their own uniquely American musical experience. There is nothing quite like the Long Ryders live, not back then and certainly not now. Go see them for the musical ride of your life. Be part of rock ‘n’ roll history and write your own chapter at one of their shows. Get there early and hang on tight.

Critics rave about their last album Psychedelic Country Soul:

“The record sounds fantastic” – LA Times
“Psychedelic Country Soul puts them right back at the top of a world they helped create” – MOJO ★★★★ 4/5
“A significant resurgence…a glorious tunefest” – Country Music Magazine ★★★★ 4/5
“Simultaneously joyous and rueful…it’s great to have them back” – Shindig! Magazine ★★★★ 4/5
“Brimming with melodic alt-country rock tinged classics.” – Daily Express ★★★★
“Crisp, melodic and controlled” – UNCUT Magazine ★★★★★★★

Visit The Long Ryders website – www.thelongryders.com

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Full Biography

The Long Ryders were formed Thanksgiving 1981 in west Los Angeles, California. Kentucky born guitarist Sid Griffin left his sixties punk band The Unclaimed after having bonded musically with former Boxboys drummer Greg Sowders at a jam session in the notorious ON Klub in Silverlake. The other guitar player was Steve Wynn but he left to form the Dream Syndicate whereupon Virginia’s Stephen McCarthy, a country music lover new to L.A., stepped in after answering a “Musician’s Wanted” ad in a local Korean free 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 who owned two budgies. This lineup recorded and released an EP in 1983 produced by ex-Sparks guitarist/former Beach Boys engineer Earle Mankey called 10-5-60 and it was so well received they decided to tour the USA. Des Brewer dropped out at this point to continue his career as a longshoreman in San Pedro and was replaced by Indiana’s Tom Stevens, a former candidate in the NASA “Right Stuff” space program in Houston.

Signed to (then) hip indie label Frontier the band recorded their debut LP Native Sons with the late, great 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 and Van Morrison. Lewy had enjoyed a long, fruitful 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 BBC’s 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. (They remain second to the Smiths even now.) 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 Daily 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 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 left to write musicials. 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. (Griffin and Sowders will happily make Island that album now if they are still interested. Call us!)

Since then The Long Ryders have graced us with several reissues, the latest being The Very Best Of The Long Ryders (Prima Records Ltd.), released June 2004 and still selling quite well while October 2008 saw the release of Live 2004: State Of Our Reunion, a nineteen track reprise of the Ryders legendary reunion tour.

In 2014 the Long Ryders played their first L.A. show in 27 years, the Earle Mankey Appreciation Concert. A short run of five dates in Spain followed in December of that year.

On January 22, 2016, Cherry Red Records in London released a four CD box set of The Long Ryders. Called Final Wild Songs it was the lead (and rave) review in both Mojo and Uncut. The band played a triumphant four country European tour in spring 2016 and a tour of the east coast of the USA followed in Nov 2016.

In 2019 Cherry Red Records released the first new Long Ryders album in over thirty years, Psychedelic Country Soul. (In the USA the album is released by Omnivore.) The album features eleven brand new Ryder originals alongside a cover of Tom Petty’s great song, “Walls.” Garnering positive reviews across the board Psychedelic Country Soul reached Number One in both the Official UK Americana Chart and Amazon UK’s Alt-Country/Americana Chart!

On Saturday 23rd January 2021 our brother Tom Stevens died at his home in Indiana.
We ask you all to keep Tom, his loving wife Elaine, Sarah, Zach and James in your thoughts. Tom loved you all so much. Play his beautiful song “Let it Fly” and be grateful for the time we all had together.
We are.

Sid wrote a remembrance of Tom for Shindig Magazine, read it in full here.

In 2022 The Long Ryders were pleased and proud to receive the International Trailblazer Award, an award presented to an “International artist, duo or group that has taken an exceptional path, inspiring others in the Americana genre” from the Americana Music Association UK.

While all the band were unable to be there in person due to the Covid related cancellation of the full awards show. Sid stepped up to accept the award in person from the great Nick Stewart and both Greg and Stephen beamed their thanks into the show… View the acceptance speech at this link.

Ask anyone in Wilco, the Black Crows, the Jayhawks (who employed Stephen McCarthy on their final albums and tours) or Slobberbone and they will tell you: don’t miss The Long Ryders if they come to your town. It’s been too long since the stars in the sky shone brightly on rockin’ music such as this!

The Long Ryders proudly and exclusively use D’Addario strings.