The Ripcordz, too stupid to quit

27 years of hard-core and still running strong.

The Ripcordz, Canada's longest surviving punk band, are once again bringing anarchy to the masses during The Last Spike Tour, including a stop hosted by Go Cat Productions at Algoma University's Speakeasy on Sunday, August 5.

A DIY band on every level, the Ripcordz conceptualize, design and produce all their records, merch and marketing materials, maintaining a zen-like state of self-sufficiencey.

Is this the secret to their longevity?

"Well, we very carefully did not become very successful at any point in time, which is kinda funny," front man, Paul Gott told me in 2006. "I guess when we first started the band, we figured somebody would give us a million dollars and that would be it and we would all quit our day jobs...well, I guess they were our night jobs. Well, that didn't happen and we just sort of at some point in time got into a groove. We liked making music. We liked playing music and we liked touring.

"We'd been passed on the popularity scale by a million bands in the 26 years we've been around and none of those bands are still around. Ya know, they're sort of a flavour of the month. They get the big contract, they do the big tour, they put out the next big album and it's not as popular, the record company s**ts all over them and they feel really bad, they go back to the same venue and they have half the number of people and they quit. And we've been slowly getting bigger and bigger and bigger over the years, ya know. We're just persistent. We're just too stupid to stop."

Too stupid to stop or smart enough to not burn out.

However you look at it, the Ripcordz' legacy is the result of almost three decades of hard work and the ability to make friends no matter the situation.

Having Lars Frederiksen, the guitar player and vocalist from Rancid, refer to your band as "Canada's best punk band" also goes a long way.

"They were in this crappy little van touring up from California and we were in this crappy little van touring from Montreal and we met up in Vancouver," recalled Gott. "We played a couple of shows with them.

"The next year was a year when we were all busy in our jobs and couldn't get away. Rancid actually phoned us up and asked us to be on their cross Canada tour. We said we couldn't, which might be one of those legendarily stupid things that people do. We really couldn't. There were all sorts of reasons why it was actually the right decision to make. Although in retrospect, it might not be the right decision to make."

While Rancid will not be joining the Ripcordz on this current tour, Rockets Away, the side project of bass player Alex, will supply a tasty dose of pop punk as the opening act.

Also joining the mayhem at the Speakeasy on August 5 are locals, Fitswitch and No Arrow.

Admission to this licensed all-ages event is $10 and the doors open at 7 p.m.

Go Cat Productions

The Ripcordz

Rockets Away

Fitswitch

No Arrow

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