Riff Randells Anne Marie Interview 2007

PUNK77-For the very few people who visit the site who are not likely to know, give us an explanation of your name.
ANNE MARIE-The name Riff Randells is taken from the name of the main character from the classic movie Rock 'N' Roll High School. Riff Randell is a giant Ramones fan in the film.

PUNK77-The Ramones are obviously a huge influence on you, they in turn were indebted to the great American girl groups of the sixties.Who were The Riff Randells listening to as they grew up?
ANNE MARIE-We listened to all sorts of music, Michael Jackson & the Jackson 5 was one of my favorites. The first concert I ever attended was the Jackson 5 "Victory Reunion Tour" when I was 5 years old. Kathy & I were also really into the Mini Pops....and singing along to those records, wishing we were one of them. Later on we discovered punk and decided we wanted to start a band.

PUNK77-I know you've gigged extensively all over North America but how often do you play on a regular basis?
ANNE MARIE-We haven't played that often recently because we have just been focusing on finishing our first full length album. Once this is out, then we hope to tour more extensively. We have quite a few shows booked in March (Alberta, Montreal, Toronto, New York etc).

PUNK77-How is the Vancouver music scene in relation to the rest of Canada?
ANNE MARIE-A problem with the Vancouver scene is that venues keep closing down, so there aren't many places to play. There also aren't many all-ages shows here, which is unfortunate for the kids.

PUNK77-Canadian music is highly thought of today thanks to the likes of The Arcade Fire, Hot Hot Heat, Metric and Wolf Parade breaking internationally in recent years. Any tips on who the next big thing will be?
ANNE MARIE-Who knows??? Could be anyone?

PUNK77-How difficult is it to break nationally in Canada? Do you have national radio stations for instance, or is it all local radio as in the USA? ANNE MARIE-Not very difficult. The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) is our national radio station and they have many shows that play independent punk/indie bands. We also have many college radio stations that play great music.

PUNK77-I see you're due to play The Radio Heartbeat Powerpop Festival at the end of March, it really looks fantastic and I must say that if I wasn't going to SXSW I'd be over there like a shot. Is there anybody else playing that you're particularly looking forward to seeing?
ANNE MARIE-The whole line-up is amazing, but we're especially looking forward to seeing Tina & The Total Babes. They've only ever played one show before so we're really excited to see them play. Also the Yum Yums, Pointed Sticks, Nikki Corvette....basically everyone!

PUNK77-Time to give yourselves a plug. What was your last recording and when and where is it available?
ANNE MARIE-Well....our new album is coming out on Dirtnap (CD) & Alien Snatch (vinyl) in the next few months...and we're really excited about this because it is our first full length album. Everything else we have put out (4 7"s, cdep, 10") are all unfortunately out print. There might still be some of our singles left that came out on the UK label No Dancing.

PUNK77-Hopefully you'll be playing in the UK soon. Any plans?
ANNE MARIE-As soon as our album is out we definitely plan to tour to the UK....as well as Europe, Japan...we want to go everywhere!!!!