Ripmen

History

The Ripmen came together in the mid-1990s, formed by three schoolmates—Kubi, Rakow, and Wachi—who had no real bond outside of sharing a classroom. Psychobilly music pulled them in, and they kept crossing paths at concerts and festivals in the early 1990s, where they often discussed starting a band. The first lineup had Wachi on drums, Rakow on guitar, and Kubi also on guitar. In early 1999, Kubi picked up a double bass and started slapping it. About six months later, they had their first set and played their first gig at a friend's wedding, calling themselves "The Ripmen," though they used other names for later shows. In October 1999, Wachi died after falling from a skyscraper. Just two months later, they placed a newspaper ad and found a new drummer, Gordian, who joined in early 2000. He quickly learned their songs, and together they wrote many new ones—this was when the band truly took off. In April 2000, they went to Octosound Studio in Berlin to record a five-track demo called "With Love From Beyond." The demo got a strong response, and they sent it to Crazy Love Records, landing their first record deal. Their debut album, Party With the Dead, came out in summer 2001 and nearly sold out. They played shows with major psychobilly acts like Mad Sin, Demented Are Go!, Frenzy, Long Tall Texans, Gorilla, Nekromantix, and The Meteors. Their second album, Terror of the Beagle Boys, was released in mid-2004. They promoted it with many shows, including a US tour that hit Los Angeles and San Francisco. After a quiet period, the Ripmen signed with Wolverine Records and put out a mini album in April 2007.