Though the grooves of Rose City Band’s Garden Party go down easy, when he was coming of age in Wallingford, Connecticut in the 1980s, Ripley Johnson defined himself by what he hated. “Being an adolescent you’re just against everything, so we were against all of the synth pop and ’80s haircuts,” says Johnson. “Everything was neon and there were yuppies and Reagan.”
Category: Rose City Band
Rose City Band :: Transmissions
It’s a bonus episode for you as we head into the weekend. Today on the show we’re joined by Ripley Johnson of Moon Duo, Wooden Shjips, and most recently, Rose City Band, on punk minimalism, psychedelia, & the perfect rock & roll song.
Rose City Band :: Earth Trip
Wooden Shjips / Moon Duo mastermind Ripley Johnson has knocked out three Rose City Band LPs in as many years — and they just seem to be getting better, as Johnson refines and perfects his approach.
Rose City Band :: The AD Interview
Ripley Johnson has carved out a niche in psychedelic drone and motorik repetition, helming Wooden Shjips, the long-running experiment in lysergic primitivism, and Moon Duo, likewise mind-expanding but slanted towards electronics. But a lifelong affection for classic rock and country and a newly reawakened appreciation for the seasons led him recently to form the new Rose City Band. A mostly solo endeavor despite the name, Rose City Band’s sophomore lp, Summerlong, employs lap steel and mandolin as well as the usual rock band instruments to create a warm, buoyant, sunny Saturday morning vibe.