Riverboat Gamblers
| The Riverboat Gamblers | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Denton, Texas, USA |
| Genres | Punk rock, pop punk, rock and roll |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Beatville, Gearhead, Volcom Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Chop-Sakis, High Tension Wires, The Marked Men, Clovis Mitchell, Broken Gold, Ghostknife |
| Website | www.theriverboatgamblers.com |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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The Riverboat Gamblers is a punk rock band originally from Denton, Texas but now residing in Austin, Texas. They are currently signed to Volcom Entertainment.
History
In 1997, former Blanks member Pat Lillard ("Spider Stewart") (Bass), formed The Riverboat Gamblers with Fadi el-Assad ("Freddy Castro") (Lead Guitar), and Mike Wiebe ("Rookie Sensation") (vocals) formerly of Kid Chaos. Lillard's original intention was to emulate Virginia rockers The Candy Snatchers in direct contrast to the popular emo music at the time, The Riverboat Gamblers' premiere show featured over-the-top songs relating to drinking and of course, gambling, tongue planted firmly in cheek. The Riverboat Gamblers continued to play house parties and shows throughout Denton and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The Gamblers burst out of the Denton college scene in September 2001 on the back of their self-released 7" single "Jenna (Is A No Show)" Both 2001's self-titled release and 2003's Something to Crow About were produced by Texas punk rocker Tim Kerr (Big Boys, Lord High Fixers).
After the warm reception of Something to Crow About, the band soon relocated from Denton, Texas to Austin, Texas. The band first received attention from major record labels after their energetic and rowdy showcase at the 2003 South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas, but the band ultimately signed with indie label Gearhead Records. In 2005 they were signed to Volcom Entertainment and performed a stint on the 2005 Warped Tour, where the band was often noticed for its deranged live shows. The silliness of some of the earlier material has given way to a more complex breadth of material about America's maligned. They opened for Rancid and Rise Against in the summer of 2009. They have also appeared on the soundtracks to the videogames Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ("Hey! Hey! Hey!"), Madden NFL 07 ("On Again Off Again"), Skate 2 ("Uh Oh!"), Rock Band 3 ("Don't Bury Me... I'm Still Not Dead"), FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, ATV Offroad Fury 4 ("True Crime") and Need for Speed: Most Wanted ("Blue Ghosts"). In 2010 they performed on the Vans Warped Tour in the United States and the Eastpak Antidote Tour in Europe. In a direct retaliation towards the "Chucks"(Van's Warped tour)the 'RBG' and 'Dead To Me' went on tour with 'Off With Their Heads' and a local band for each show through most of 2011 before returning to the studio to finish the '2012: soundtrack to the end of the world', as described on their website. The new album, "The Wolf You Feed" was released on May 22. Prior to its release, the whole album was available for streaming on the band's website. In conjunction with the album's release, the Gamblers played a club show at 2012's edition of Punk Rock Bowling.
Band members
- Mike Wiebe ("Teko Buller" or "Wookie Sensation") - vocals
- Fadi el-Assad ("Freddy Castro") - Lead Guitar
- Ian McDougall - Guitar
- Rob Marchant - Bass
- Ian Walling - Drums
Previous members have included bassist Pat Lillard ("Spider"), guitarist Jeremy Diaz ("Smokey"), guitarist Colin Jones ("Colin Ambulance"), drummer Chris Adams ("Tuffy McKeller"), drummer Luke Abbey, drummer Jesse Hamilton ("Jesse 3X") and drummer Sam Keir ("About That"). Jeremy Diaz was the first to leave due to legal troubles in his home of Fort Worth. Clayton Mills, who also recorded their first demo, filled in for Jeremy for a short time as rhythm guitar. At a number of shows Mills also came on stage to form a 6-piece, 3-guitar band.
Discography
Studio Albums
- The Riverboat Gamblers (Beatville/Vilebeat Records) (2001)
- Something to Crow About (Gearhead Records) (2003)
- Backsides (Beatville/Vilebeat Records) (2004)
- To the Confusion of Our Enemies (Volcom Entertainment/No Idea) (2006)
- Underneath the Owl (Volcom Entertainment) (2009)
- The Wolf You Feed (Volcom Entertainment) (2012)
Compilations
- Purplish Rain SPIN RECORDS PRESENTS Compilation "Lets Go Crazy" (2009)
- Chemical X DVD Music Video Compilation (Geykido Comet Records)
EPs, Splits, and Singles
- Mean Motormachine/Jenna (Is a No Show) 7" (self-released) (2001)
- That's Entertainment! Split 7" w/ Electric Eel Shock (Gearhead Records) (2004)
- A Tribute To The Big Boys Split 7" w/Throw Rag (Date Shake Records)
- Riverboat Gamblers/Generators 7" (Pirates Press)
- Keep Me From Drinking/No Fair' B-sides 7" (Volcom Entertainment)
- "Knowledge" an Operation Ivy song covered with Radio Havanna,Jim Lindberg(ex-pennywise) & The Black Pacific on iTunes. 100% of the proceeds from the song are going to Skate-aid, which uses the sport to help kids in high conflict areas. (2011)
- The Ol' Smash and Grab - EP (one sided 12') (2011)
- Smash/Grab EP (Paper + Plastic) (2011)
External links
- The Riverboat Gamblers official home page
- The Riverboat Gamblers MP3s, Tour Dates, Discography
- The Riverboat Gamblers official MySpace page
- The Riverboat Gamblers fan page on Facebook
- Plots & Schemes 2006 Tour with Dead To Me
- CrashCam Films (CrashCam Films home page) - filmmaker Bob Ray's Austin, Texas based production company that created music videos for The Riverboat Gamblers' songs "What's What"
- The Riverboat Gambler's Interview and Live Footage