Riverdales

The Riverdales were an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois made up of Screeching Weasel members. Bassist Dan Vapid (Dan Schafer) and guitarist Ben Weasel (Ben Foster) are heavily influenced by the Ramones' sound and both serve as front-men, sharing lead vocals for the band. The Riverdales' original run lasted from 1994-1997. They reformed in 2003 to record their third studio album, and then parted ways until they once again reformed in 2008 and released a fourth studio album in July, 2009. The band's fifth studio album, Tarantula, was released digitally on June 8, 2010 and on CD and vinyl on June 22, 2010. The band broke up in March 2011 after a fight that broke out during a Screeching Weasel performance.

History

Named after the small town of Riverdale from the Archie Comics, the Riverdales formed in 1994. The founding members, Josh Bell, Matt Jewett, Ben Foster (guitar), Dan Schafer (bass), and Dan Sullivan (drums) were all former members of Screeching Weasel which had broken up earlier that year. Unlike Screeching Weasel, the members of the Riverdales were credited under their real names. They released their self-titled debut studio album in June 1995 on Lookout! Records. It was produced by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Squirtgun's Mass Giorgini. They toured extensively that year as the opening act for the Mr. T Experience, and then for Green Day. Playing off this synergy, the Riverdales supported Green Day's Insomniac tour in 1995. Also that year, the band's song "Back to You" appeared in the film Angus. Despite the reforming of Screeching Weasel in 1996, the Riverdales did not disband until after recording their second studio album, Storm the Streets in 1997 and only reforming briefly in 2003 to record their third studio album, Phase 3.

Riverdales (album)

Riverdales is the eponymously-titled debut studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band the Riverdales. Formed after the break-up of Screeching Weasel, the band sought to write more Ramones-inspired music and the album was released on June 7, 1995 through Lookout Records with the catalog number LK 120. The group supported the album by opening for Green Day for the initial US leg of their Insomniac tour. Riverdales experienced substantial success on the tour, and the album became the group's best-selling release to date.

Shortly after the original release of Riverdales, Foster got into a dispute with Lookout Records owner Larry Livermore and the Riverdales left the label and signed to Fat Mike's Honest Don's Records for their next album Storm the Streets (1997). Despite this, Riverdales remained in print on Lookout until 2005, when the group removed their catalog from the label, alongside many other artists. The album was re-released on October 10, 2006 by Asian Man Records with new cover art and 12 bonus tracks.