Interview with Craig Behrhorst of "Ruffians"

After the killer rerelease CD and LP, which have just been released by Hellion Records, it was sure, that I had to get hold of axeman Craig Behrhorst and ask him for the latest news from the camp of the US Power Metal legends Ruffians! Here is the interview!

1.) What happened after Ruffians' split in the late 80s? Have you and the other musicians continued playing in other bands and have you still had an eye on the metal scene or have you totally been absent from this all until now?

I played in a band Two Bit Thief, sort of Rn'R/Cow Punk thing, with Andy Andersen (Andy Boy) we did a couple of Albums on We Bite Records and toured California & Nevada. I also played with Davy Vain (Vain) for a while & did CD and a tour with them. Lot's of session work with Andy Boy. I currently have a band called Trouble Horse which is a Rock n' Roll thing. Rich Wilde was concentrating on some solo material as well as gigging around the Bay Area with a band called Kaptain Krunch. Luke Bowman had a band called Tofu Johnson & played drums on most of Andy Boy's Albums. Chris Atchison played in a band called Black Mariah and did some session work. Dan Moura did not play in any other bands after Ruffians. So most of us have keep up with the music thing, but are happy to be playing Metal together again.

2.) Even though the band was split up for such a long time, the fans have never lost the interest in your music. Your records became sought after collector's items and your MLP appeared in countless US Metal hitlists... what do you think, what was the special something that made Ruffians' music stand the test of time?

I'm not quite sure. I know what we did was honest. The band never followed any trends, we always played what felt right at the time. I guess the material was strong.

3.) And what is it like to know, that even after many, many years there are still people out there who care about your arts and keep the memory of Ruffians alive? Is there anything that you'd like to say especially to these true maniacs, that supported and followed Ruffians from the beginning on?

It feels great to know that we still have fans throughout the world, especially in Germany. Germany has always been supportive of the band. The first MLP was released on SPV. I feel privileged that the memory of the band & Carl is still alive to this day.. To the fans... Thanks for the support....See you at Bang Your Head Festival 2004!

4.) Now Ruffians are finally back! When did the idea about a reunion first arise in your mind, how long did it take you from that idea to the reunion and was there any initial event or happening, that can now be seen as the "trigger" for Ruffians' reunion?

Juergen Tschamler (Heavy Oder Was!? Magazine), which whom I have been in contact for some time, was instrumental in getting the band back together. He  had contacted me last October and asked us if we would be interested in doing a reunion for the Bang Your Head Festival. I talked with the members of the band and everyone was interested & then committed to getting together again to play.We have been rehearsing for the shows in Germany and things are going really well. We are excited about playing Germany for the first time, and play on playing a ripping set at the festival!

5.) What does the current Ruffians lineup look like? As we all know, Carl Albert can tragically not be on board anymore, so I wonder who'll do the vocals in Ruffians now? Will they be done by rich Wilde, who did a fantastic job on your '87 demo or have you recruited someone completely new? And what about the other positions? Are they taken by the original members?

Rich Wilde will be on Lead Vocals, he was the immediate replacement for Carl Albert. Myself (Guitar), Chris Atchison (Guitar) & Luke Bowman (Drums) will be the 3 original members. Eric Wong from Unjust & Piranha will be on Bass. Eric is a long time friend of the band.

6.) The first new sign of life was the re-release of your MLP on CD and LP through Germany's cult label Hellion Records. How have you got into contact with them and what made you decide, that they are the right ones for Ruffians?

Juergen Tschamler  put me into contact with Hellion. Hellion seemed to be the right label to work with. I like the idea of the two formats, both CD & Vinyl, being released at the same time.

7.) At least in my opinion they did an absolutely killer job with the CD and LP... tons of bonus tracks, updated artworks, super designs and outstanding quality vinyl's and discs!!! Truly awesome!!! Do you think so, too? Are you also satisfied with the result of the re-release or is there anything, that according to you could have been made better?

I have not seen the final product yet. But overall I am happy with the layouts & track selection. I commissioned Mark Devito the bands original artist to do all the design and layout for both releases. I think he did a great job. Jurgen Hegewald at Hellion was great about giving us control over the track selection and layout. You know it can be hard to dig up unreleased material, photo's, memorabilia, posters, etc...after all these years. I was fortunate to have saved so much memorabilia throughout the years. The live tracks on the CD were recorded at The Stone Nightclub in San Francisco September 28,1985.This is one of the only live shows that we ever recorded so it's all we really had to work with. I really wish we had recorded more of our live shows. The CD is dedicated to the memory of Carl Albert. The 4 unreleased tracks on the Collectors Vinyl were recorded in early '87 w/ Rich Wilde on Lead Vocals.

8.) Later this year you'll also set over to Germany and play your first European gig ever at the famous Bang your Head festival in Balingen! This will surely be an historic event for all fans of US Metal, so please let our readers know, what they can expect if they come to see your show... what have you planned to make this gig an unforgettable event for all the maniacs in the crowd?

We plan to stay true to our original sound and material. We will be playing songs off the original MLP as well as songs from the newly released live CD. We will also play some of the previously unreleased material off the Collectors Vinyl. We will add one of the first songs we ever wrote back in '83 called Running Blind. There will be no ballads!

9.) After you've played that gig, what comes next? A new album, a club tour, a DVD or anything completely different? As it would be a mess if Ruffians would disappear as fast as they've come back, please let us know what plans you have for the future.

Our plans are to concentrate on The Bang Your Head Festival & Warm-Up Club show at this time. We will regroup when we return to the States and possibly plan to record a few songs, one or two old ones that no one has ever heard, as well as one or two new ones sometime this Fall. You will hear from Ruffians again.

10.) Will you (or Hellion Records) also do some merchandise stuff? It would be great to have a Ruffians shirt or a jacket patch or something like this...

There should be a commemorative Ruffians T-Shirt for the event.

11.) Before we reach the end of this interview soon, I'd like to play some kinda little game with you... I name you some of my favorite US Power Metal bands from the 80s and you tell me, what comes to your mind when you read their names... probably you might even know some of them personally and
can tell us some nice, little stories or so...

- Villain: Sonora, California. Carl R.I.P.
- Warlord: Can't remember what the sound like? Had a big W in their logo?
- Gargoyle: Norte Dame
- Black Knight: Wasn't that a US TV show?
- Culprit: Seattle. right. I'm sure we played with them at Ruthies Inn in Berkeley, Ca. sometime in '84. Nice guys from what I remember.

12.) That's it... I hope you liked the questions and had some fun answering them... before we finally come to the famous last words, please tell the > fans, who are interested in Ruffians, where they can find more information about the band and how they can get into contact with you.

Check out our home site www.ruffians.org. Contact us at ruffiansband@yahoo.com!

13.) Okidoki, we're through... as said before, it's now time for your last words...

Ruffians would like to thank everyone for their support. See you at Bang
Your Head 2004! and oh,.....go buy the record.

by Tobi ... 2004