Personnel
- Sid Griffin (guitar, vocals)
- Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Sid moved to Los
Angeles in 1977. After a brief flirtation with
punk in a band called Death Wish, he formed The
Unclaimed with Shelley Ganz. When he became
disillusioned with The Unclaimed, he advertised
for new band members and The Long Ryders were
formed.
- After The Long Ryders split, Sid formed The Coal
Porters and eventually moved to England where he
has continued to make music with The Coal
Porters, plus issuing a solo album and new
material under the band name Western Electric.
- Stephen McCarthy (guitar, vocals)
- Native of Virginia, Stephen was more used to
playing in country bands than rock'n'roll, but he
quickly established himself at the heart of The
Long Ryders following Steve Wynn's early
departure.
- Since the split, Stephen has been sadly quiet,
though he continues to appear on Gutterball
releases with Steve Wynn, where he adds the odd
song-writing credit. Hopes that he will release a
solo album currently remain just that.
- Greg Sowders (drums, percussion)
- The only native of Los Angeles, Greg had played
with LA ska band The Box Boys. Meeting Sid
through a mutual friend, he became the drumming
powerhouse behind The Long Ryders.
- Despite being in the original version of The Coal
Porters, Greg has now quit drumming and works in
the music publishing industry, though he has
helped Sid out on various Coal Porters recordings
and the odd US show.
- Tom Stevens (bass, vocals)
- Coming from Ilkhart, Indiana, Tom had played in
local bands before moving to California. He had a
solo mini-album called Points Of View released
before applying for the vacant job of bass player
in The Long Ryders.
- Returning to Indiana after the break up of The
Long Ryders, Tom has continued to produce solo
albums and has played and recorded with Chris
Cacavas and Jack Waterson.
-
- Other band members included:
- Barry Shanks (original bassist having
left The Unclaimed with Sid)
- Des Brewer (replaced Shanks before the
band recorded 10-5-60)
- Don McCall (short-lived replacement for
Des Brewer before Tom Stevens joined)
- Larry Chapman (touring bassist after
Stevens left the band in mid-1987)
- ....talk about having a problem retaining
a bass player!
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