Ridel High are a mid 1990s American power pop band formed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

by lead singer and songwriter

Kevin Ridel Kevin Ridel is an American musician and songwriter most notable for being the lead singer and primary songwriter of '90s power pop band Ridel High (A&M Records) and 2000s alternative rock band AM Radio (Elektra Records). Early life and influence ...

. Kevin Ridel was the lead singer for Avant Garde which featured

Rivers Cuomo Rivers Cuomo ( ; born June 13, 1970) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer. Cuomo was raised in a number of Buddhist communities in the Northeast U.S. until the age of 10, wh ...

of Weezer. Ridel High was named in tribute to both singer/bassist

and the school featured in the movie ''Grease''. The band were a big part of the 1990s LA Scene playing with such LA bands as

That Dog That Dog (styled as that dog.) is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1992 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band originally consisted of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her s ...

Chopper One ''Chopper One'' is a short-lived ABC action-crime television series in early 1974, depicting the activities of a fictional California police helicopter team. The program was produced by television powerhouse Spelling-Goldberg Productions. The s ...

, Supersport 2000, Size 14,

Summercamp Summercamp is an alternative rock quartet from Santa Barbara, California, United States, where, in 1987, vocalist/guitarists Tim Cullen and Sean McCue met in high school. Another fellow student, bass guitarist Misha Feldmann, joined soon after; a ...

, and Silver Jet. The band formed in 1995 out of the ashes of Kevin Ridel's former band Lunchbox. Lunchbox songs such as "Winona Ryder" and "As If The Sky Were On Fire" went on to become Ridel High songs. Ridel High's first album was ''Hi-Scores'', which was produced by

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which ca ...

singer

Joey Cape Randal Joseph Cape (born November 16, 1966) is an American singer and musician. Active since 1989, Cape is best known as the frontman of the California punk rock band Lagwagon. Cape released his first solo album, ''Bridge'', in 2008. His secon ...

and released by independent label My Records in 1997. In 1998, Ridel High signed to major label A&M Records, who reissued and retitled ''Hi-Scores'' as ''Emotional Rollercoaster''. The album's only single was "Self Destructive," whose music video was directed by Devo member Gerald Casale. Coincidentally, Ridel High covered the Devo song "Blockhead" for the 1997 tribute album ''We are Not Devo''. After the band split in 1999, they self released ''Recycle Bin'', which featured previously unreleased songs and songs that were recorded for their third album. Some of these songs such as "Winona Ryder" and "As If The Sky Were On Fire" had started out as Lunchbox songs, the band Kevin Ridel started before Ridel High were formed.

1999–2013

Kevin Ridel went on to form Peel in 1999 with Steve LeRoy on guitar (later Matt Fuller) and Joe Higgins (

AM Radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...

) on drums who released one album titled
Blindside
produced by Face to Face singer Trever Keith, Peel were active until 2001. In 2001, Kevin Ridel then formed

, who were briefly managed by

. The band released their fifth album ''Shine'' in 2013, Steve Coulter joined

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

, and Steve LeRoy took a hiatus from the music industry but continued to live and work in the LA area.

Reformation in 2013

As of 2013, Ridel High reformed with a new lineup featuring original members Kevin Ridel on lead vocals and Steve Coulter on drums, joined by new additions Justin Fisher (Shufflepuck, Psoma, Nerf Herder,

The Rentals The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp. Sharp has been the only consistent member since the group's inception. The band's best selling single is "Friends of P" (1995). The Rentals released two albums, ''Return of t ...

) on bass, Marko DeSantis (

Sugarcult Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Airin Older (bass guitar, backing vocals), Marko DeSantis (lead guitar), and Kenny Living ...

, Bad Astronaut) on guitar, and Matt Fuller (AM Radio, Plastiscene, Bow Wow Wow) on guitar. The band played their first show in over 15 years at Aveson June Jubilee in Alta Dena, California, June 2, 2013. In 2014, the band played the annual Boozacarooza Cruise, which featured bands such as Nerf Herder and Fizzy Bangers. The band also started a SoundCloud page to coincide with their reformation posting rare B sides and Demos.

Discography

''Hi-Scores'' - 1997 My Records / ''Emotional Rollercoaster'' – 1998 A&M Records

Track listing

''Recycle Bin'' - 1999 Self Released

*1. intro 0:08 *2. Winona Ryder 3:26 *3. Blue 3:02 *4. Goodbye Nate 3:44 *5. Mindblower 1:35 *6. Devil Angel 4:40 *7. Motorboat 2:55 *8. Breaking Up 2:50 *9. Pivot 3:13 *10. Second Skin 5:36 *11. Go getter 2:05 *12. #1 3:47 *13. You Are Mine 4:11 *14. Defenseless 2:28 *15. Coming of Age 2:01 *16. Headliner 3:01 *17. Look at me Now 3:23 *18. Battleship Gray 3:37 *19. Robot (live) 2:44 *20. interview (N0ise Pollution) 4:26 *21. message from Michino and Yoko 0:08

Singles

Mouthful of You b/w Winona Ryder - 1995 on Morpheus Records

*A. Mouthful Of You – 3:57 *B. Wynona Ryder – 3:49

Self Destructive - 1998 on A&M Records Promo CD

*1. Self Destructive (LP Version) – 3:05 *2. Blue – 3:02 *3. Winona Ryder – 3:26

Unreleased songs

*The One You Reach For – 2:52 *Firecracker – 2:48 *Taking The Fall – 3:31

Other appearances

*"Blockhead" (Devo Cover) – ''We are Not Devo'' 1997 tribute compilation album *"Shake Me" (Cinderella Cover) – ''Mëtal Rüles - A Tribute to the Bad Hair Days'' 1998 compilation album *"Facelift" – ''Happy Meals Volume 2: The Perfect Marriage'' - 2001 compilation album

Personnel

;Band members ;1995-1999 lineup *

– bass, lead vocals *

Steve Coulter Steve Coulter is a team owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.Covitz, Randy (2003) "NASCAR trucks season preview: Rookie Kvapil moves in to championship truck", ''Kansas City Star'', 2003-02-16 His team, Xpress Motorsports, won the Truck Ser ...

– drums, percussion *Steve LeRoy – guitar, backing vocals ;2013 – current lineup *

– lead vocals *

– drums, percussion * Justin Fisher – bass, backing vocals *Matt Fuller - guitar * Marko DeSantis - guitar

External links

Ridel High Official Facebook Page run by Kevin RidelRidel High Soundcloud page - BSIDES AND DEMOS

References

{{Authority control 1995 establishments in California American power pop groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Los Angeles