Ruffians were born out of friendship and the mutual musical interests of its founding members Craig Behrhorst (Guitar), Luke Bowman (Drums) and Chris Atchison (Guitar).
The band debuted at the famed San Francisco punk rock venue the Mabuhay Gardens in December ’83. Soon after, the band changed their line-up and recruited long time friend Dan Moura on bass and vocal legend Carl Albert.
With the dual guitar sound of Craig and Chris along with Luke’s powerhouse drumming, Carl’s powerful and melodic vocals had given the band the sound they had been looking for. Ruffians then hit the Bay Area club circuit with a bang! Ruffians played many shows throughout their carer securing support slots for bands such as UFO, Alice Cooper, Dokken, Queensryche, Saxon, Y&T and Slayer.
In January 1985 Ruffians entered Studio D in Sausalito, California to lay down tracks for their debut album. Released in May on Victory Records in the North America, SPV/Steamhammer Records in Europe & FEMS Records in Japan the album was quickly picked up by over 200 College Radio Stations in the United States as well as charting in Europe and Japan. The album received great reviews from the international and domestic press, and the band’s fan base grew much larger.
“Run For Cover†was released on a Restless Record’s Compilation; “Eastern Front-Live at Ruthie’s Inn†and “Wasteland†was featured in Cannon Films American Ninja II, a cable TV classic to this day.
Despite all this, Carl felt the need to leave the band at the close of 1985.
With Carl’s departure, Ruffians were faced again with finding a front man to take the helm. After auditioning over 50 vocalists they found the perfect match in Alaska native Rich Wilde who joined the band in early 1986.
Rich’s powerful voice and solid song writing skills assisted Ruffians in their efforts to maintain momentum. In 1987 the band went back into the studio this time with Rich on vocals and the result was a new 4-Track release featuring “Do or Die,†“Unchained,†“Through Your Eyes,†and “Only The Strong Survive. These tracks appeared on various compilations and were well received by the Heavy Metal Press.
In early 1989 the band split up, but the fans and supporters remained to this day, making a Ruffians reunion a reality when the band was invited to play Germany’s legendary Bang Your Head Festival in June of 2004. Hellion Records re-released the bands original 1985 album on CD with live bonus tracks as well as a Limited Edition Collector’s Vinyl with previously unreleased tracks to coincide with the bands 2004 reunion shows. This would be the bands first ever time playing overseas. Ruffians were received with rave reviews and had realized that their worldwide cult status was still alive and well 15 years later!
Ruffians double disc “There & Back†was released in 2005 on OSM Records and the band hit Europe once again last fall playing 8 shows in 5 countries. All shows received great reviews with the last show of the tour being Germany’s Keep It True Festival. The band proved once again to be one of the highlights of the Festival.
Ruffians long awaited release “Desert of Tears†was released throughout Europe on Metal Heaven records last October & OSM Records in the US last January. The album has received rave reviews worldwide and the band most recently toured Europe once again last Fall in support of their latest release.
Ruffians will release a live album later this year along with a DVD of the band’s history. Be sure to catch the band on tour!
Ruffians "Darkest Of Light" Live from Bang Your Head Festival Germany 2004
Ruffians "Do or Die" Live Europe 2005