''Riverdales'' is the eponymously titled debut studio album by the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based punk rock band the Riverdales. Formed after the break-up of

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago subur ...

, the band sought to write more Ramones-inspired music and the album was released on June 7, 1995, through

Lookout Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having ...

with the catalog number LK 120. The group supported the album by opening for Green Day on the initial US leg of the tour for their album '' Insomniac''. Riverdales experienced substantial success on the tour,Green Day and the Riverdales Mexican TV interview November 1995. Retrieved 2012-06-15 and the album became the group's best-selling release to date.

- ''

Thank You Very Little ''Thank You Very Little'' is a compilation by Screeching Weasel. It contains b-sides, rarities, and a live show. The title was taken from a line in the movie Caddyshack. Most of the second disc is taken from a show in Philadelphia from the band's ...

'' liner notes. Retrieved 2012-06-15 Shortly after the original release of ''Riverdales'', Foster got into a dispute with Lookout Records owner

Larry Livermore Lawrence Hayes (born October 28, 1947), better known by his stage name Larry Livermore, is an American singer, musician, record producer, and author, best known as the co-founder of Lookout Records. Biography In 1977, Hayes began to attend pun ...

and the Riverdales left the label and signed to Fat Mike's

Honest Don's Records Honest Don's Records was a subsidiary label based in San Francisco, California, set up along with Pink & Black Records by Fat Wreck Chords to release material by bands that didn't fit within the roster at Fat. The label ceased trading around 2 ...

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.

Background and recording

Shortly after the recording of

's seventh studio album ''

How to Make Enemies and Irritate People ''How to Make Enemies and Irritate People'' is the seventh studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Planned as the group's final album, it was released in August 1994 on CD, vinyl, and cassette through Lookout Records. ...

'' in June 1994, the group decided to break up and close down their post office box. During this time, guitarist John Jughead focused on writing and directing plays, while vocalist

Ben Weasel Benjamin Foster (born 1968), also known as Ben Weasel, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Early life Foster was born in 1968, and was raised in Prospect Heights, Ill ...

, bassist

Dan Vapid Dan Schafer (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Dan Vapid, is a punk rock musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is best known for his participation in Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, The Methadones, and vario ...

and drummer

Dan Panic Dan Sullivan, also known as Dan Panic or Danny Panic, is an American punk rock drummer from Chicago, Illinois. Career Dan Sullivan began his musical career with Ivy League, a quartet from Chicago's western suburbs who released one 7" EP in 19 ...

decided to form a more Ramones-influenced band. They named the band the Riverdales, after the fictional town in the '' Archie'' comics, and decided to perform under their birth names as opposed to the theme of using

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s in Screeching Weasel. ''Riverdales'' was recorded in January 1995 at Sonic Iguana Studios in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

, with producer and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Mass Giorgini Massimiliano Adelmo Giorgini (born 1968) is an American bassist and record producer who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom of the mid-'90s. Among these bands was Giorg ...

. Foster later called

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for ...

, vocalist-guitarist for the punk rock band Green Day, in February and asked him to mix the album. Although willing to do the job, Armstrong could not go to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

because his wife Adrienne was about to give birth to their son Joey. Schafer decided to travel to

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, and Armstrong mixed the album at The Catbox Studios. The album was

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

in April 1995 at Precision Mastering in Hollywood,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Release and reception

The album was released on June 7, 1995, through

with the catalog number LK 120. It received mostly positive reviews from

's fanbase and other punk rock fans. Foster stated that the band was "really happy with it" and that he thought the album "turned out great", saying that it had "nice, loud guitar". However, he would later admit that it was "inferior" to their next album '' Storm the Streets''. The success of the Riverdales on their tour with Green Day resulted in the album becoming the group's best-selling release. Despite positive reception, critic Mike DaRonco of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave ''Riverdales'' a mostly negative review, rating the album 2 out of 5 stars and calling the record "boring". DaRonco stated that the structures were "so simple that a three-year-old could learn them in a day" and that "one is better off just buying any other Screeching Weasel record." However, he praised the tracks "Back to You" and "I Think About You During the Commercials" as "catchy standouts".

Tour

Riverdales promoted the album by opening for Green Day on the tour in support of their fourth studio album '' Insomniac'', which began on August 27, 1995, at the Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands and ended on December 16, 1995, at the Memorial Coliseum in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. The group initially supported The Mr. T Experience at a few shows in June and July. Riverdales achieved substantial success on the tour, resulting in the album becoming the band's best-selling release to date. According to Foster, the band achieved huge success in South

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and got "booed a couple times" in cities such as

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. After the performance in Portland, Green Day continued the tour in Japan with The Mr. T Experience supporting for the remaining concerts. Green Day later canceled much of the European leg of the tour after a performance in Germany on March 27, 1996. Foster later admitted that doing the tour "destroyed the band" and "killed any semblance of friendship between the three and members, resulting in the band's break-up in 1997.

Re-releases

On October 10, 2006, Asian Man Records—who had re-issued most of Screeching Weasel's material—re-released ''Riverdales'' with new cover art and an additional 12 tracks. The bonus tracks include the previously unreleased album outtakes "Two-Headed Girl" and "I Won't Forget You", the b-sides "I'm a Vegetable" (from the "Fun Tonight" single) and "No Sense" (from the "Blood on the Ice" single), and 8 live tracks recorded at the Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands on August 27, 1995, opening for Green Day. ''Riverdales new cover art featured a grainy photograph of the

Chicago skyline The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (an exception being th ...

. Since 2010, it has been rumored that the album will be re-released by either

Recess Records Recess Records is an independent record label founded in 1988. Label founder Todd Congelliere (frontman for F.Y.P and Toys That Kill) initially made 100 cassettes of F.Y.P's songs and sold them at skateboard contests. Two years later, Congel ...

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990. The label has released mater ...

. However, no further information has been provided.

Track listing

Personnel

;Riverdales * Dan Schafer – bass, lead vocals * Ben Foster –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, lead vocals * Dan Sullivan – drums,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

;Additional performers * Rev. Nørb – guest vocals on "Fun Tonight" ;Production *

– producer,

– mixer *

– mastering * Anna Mullen –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riverdales (Album) 1995 debut albums Riverdales albums Lookout! Records albums Asian Man Records albums