The Life and Times of

    Ripchord originated in the fall of 1990 in Park Rapids Minnesota. Rich Lusti, lead singer, had recently moved to this small town from Buffalo Minnesota. A night of of fooling around with a few acoustic guitars around a campfire with his cousin Chris and friend Jed progressed into finding a local drummer and bass player and forming a band. The idea to use the name Ripcord came from Rich, later to be modified with the addition of the letter "h".
    Rotating through a couple of musicians, Ripchord found various places to play in the local area while it dedeveloped its early identity. A few years later, Steve Larson was added to the management scheme, and the band started to play a much wider area. This area had increased to most of Minnesota, North Dakota, and parts of Canada. Ripchord also opened for bands such as "The Guess Who", "The Byrds" and "Memory Dean" (seen on MTV) which proved to be very enjoyable experiences.
    Ripchord's first release/demo came in 1995 when they recorded Move at Berger Studios in Bemidji Minnesota. Using only three days to compleate the album, the band had its first tape. Ripchord then took a sabbatical to Florida, where they concentrated on songwriting. Having enjoyed the Florida atmosphere for a while and after someone stole their vehicle, ran it into a tree, and burned it, the band was ready to come back to the snowbanks of Moorhead Minnesota. The band now plans to record a CD soon, with some of the songs written in Florida, as well as some newer tracks.
    The band, to date, has accumulated a large sound system and light array with its earnings. The live show is the specialty of the band right now.

© 1999

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