Melding rockabilly, retro-country, and blues styles into a rollicking dance-friendly cocktail, the Riptones are one of the more traditionally oriented bands on Chicago's wild-and-wooly alt-country scene. Led by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jeb Bonansinga, the band formed in 1990, with Bonansinga joined by his brother Tod Bonansinga on vocals and rub board, Earl Carter on bass, Andon T. Davis on guitar, and Tom Harmon on drums. After several years of steady gigging around Chicago and building up a loyal following, the group recorded their first self-released album, Cool Hand, in 1994; the same year, a track by the Riptones appeared on the compilation Insurgent Country, Vol. 1: For a Life of Sin, the first release from the influential Bloodshot Records label.
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