The Long Ryders

Since their days in Los Angeles' paisley underground scene of the 1980s, the Long Ryders have pledged allegience to the sounds of the '60s, adding occasional psychedelic and garage rock influences to an approach that's primarily built on the twanging, roots-centric approach of early folk-rock and country-rock acts like the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers. With the exception of the Bangles, the Long Ryders were the paisley underground band who came closest to achieving mainstream success with their early albums -- 1984's Native Sons and 1985's State of Our Union -- hitting the charts in the U.K. and earning a sizable cult following in the United States while making their mark on college radio. The Long Ryders would later prove to be a major influence on the alt-country movement that rose up only a few years after the band split. In 2019 they released a new album, Psychedelic Country Soul, which revealed that their skills as songwriters and performers had faded little since the '80s, while 2023's September November was a contemplative effort recorded in the wake of the passing of bassist Tom Stevens. Named for an iconic Western from director Walter Hill, the Long Ryders were formed in 1981 by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Sid Griffin, who had left his native Kentucky to relocate to Southern California after he heard about L.A.'s punk and garage rock scenes. Griffin would soon join a garage punk band called the Unclaimed, but after jamming with drummer Greg Sowders, formerly with the Boxboys, and guitarist Steve Wynn, he saw an opportunity to make music that more closely matched his personal vision. The three placed an ad in a local paper looking for musicians interested in "folk-rock, Tex-Mex, soul, surf, psychedelic," and while Wynn soon dropped out to devote time to his own band the Dream Syndicate, the blurb did bring them lead guitarist Stephen McCarthy, and Griffin recruited bassist Barry Shank from the Unclaimed. Shank didn't last long in the Long Ryders' lineup, and by the time the group made their recorded debut with the 1983 EP 10-5-60, Des Brewer was the band's bassist. The EP emphasized the garage rock side of the Ryders' personality, but Brewer left the group not long after it was released, and with the addition of Indiana-born Tom Stevens, the definitive Long Ryders lineup was in place. In 1984, the band struck a deal with local indie label Frontier Records, and their country and folk-rock influences came to the forefront on their first full-length album, Native Sons, which was produced by Henry Lewy (who worked with the Flying Burrito Brothers) and featured guest vocals from former Byrd Gene Clark. Native Sons received strong reviews from critics, and fared especially well in the United Kingdom, where the group's take on American musical traditions, mixed with a progressive lyrical viewpoint, clicked with critics. Extensive touring in the U.S., Britain, and Europe helped make the Long Ryders one of the most successful independent bands of the day, and in 1985, their U.K. success helped them land a new deal with Island Records. Their first album for Island, State of Our Union, was a success at college and alternative radio in the U.S., while the single "Looking for Lewis and Clark" became a chart hit in England. Though the record's more insistent rock sound didn't please U.K. critics as much as Native Sons, the album pointed to big things for the group. In 1987, the Long Ryders released their third album, Two-Fisted Tales, produced by Ed Stasium. The LP's first single, a cover of NRBQ's "I Want You Bad," earned plenty of radio play, and U2 invited the band to open a string of American dates on their tour in support of The Joshua Tree. However, the Long Ryders' relentless touring schedule was wearing away at the group, and by the end of 1987, both Tom Stevens and Stephen McCarthy had left the band to pursue other interests. While Island offered Griffin and Sowders the opportunity to cut another album for the label, they declined in the interest of band unity and dissolved the Long Ryders. After the group's breakup, Griffin remained active in music, forming the band the Coal Porters and running his own record label, Prima Records, as well as distinguishing himself as a music writer, penning well-reviewed books on Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan. McCarthy went on to play with Gutterball, House of Freaks, and the Jayhawks, the latter one of the many bands who took inspiration from the Long Ryders. Sowders built a career in music publishing, while Stevens moved back to his native Indiana and earned a degree in computer science. In 2004, the Long Ryders staged a reunion tour that included an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival (one of these shows was documented on the live album State of Our Reunion), while the band played a handful of American dates in 2009. In late 2015, Cherry Red Records released a Long Ryders box set, Final Wild Songs, which included 10-5-60, Native Sons, State of Our Reunion, and Two-Fisted Tales in full, along with rare and unreleased tracks and a 1985 concert recorded in the Netherlands. To celebrate the box set's release, the Long Ryders announced they would be playing concert dates in the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. in 2016. Cherry Red teamed with the Long Ryders in 2018 to release expanded editions of State of Our Union and Two-Fisted Tales; each album had grown into a three-CD set with the addition of demos, outtakes, and live recordings. In 2017, the group got a most unexpected offer from an old friend. Larry Chatman was part of the Long Ryders' road crew in the '80s and had remained close with the former bandmembers. In the 2010s, Chatman was working as a personal assistant to West Coast rap icon Dr. Dre, and he was able to arrange for the Ryders to use Dre's state-of-the-art recording studio, Record One, for a week on the house. The group jumped at the chance, and in November 2017 they went into the studio with Ed Stasium (who had produced Two-Fisted Tales) and recorded a batch of fresh songs. The product of the Record One sessions, Psychedelic Country Soul, was released in February 2019, over 30 years after the last Long Ryders studio album. The subsequent tour would be the final one with the group's original lineup; bassist Tom Stevens died on January 24, 2021, at the age of 64. Shortly before Stevens' death, the group released a new track, "Down to the Well," and in 2022, the Long Ryders joined the lineup for the Outlaw Country Cruise, a week-long ocean voyage with performances by Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, X, Los Lobos, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and many more. That same year, the band began work on their first album since Stevens' passing, with Murray Hammond of the Old 97's playing bass on some tracks, while Stephen McCarthy added basslines on others. The album, September November, was issued by Cherry Red Records in March 2023; it included a song honoring their late comrade, "Tom Tom," as well as guest appearances from D.J. Bonebrake of X and former Coal Porters' violinist Kerenza Peacock. In January 2024, the Long Ryders issued an expanded and remastered edition of their first full-length album, 1984's Native Sons which, along with the complete original LP, included the 10-5-60 EP, a full disc of demos from the period, and a concert the group played in London in March 1985. The package was compiled by Tom Stevens, with the liner notes stating that it would "forever be his last Long Ryders project."
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