Good Riddance is an American punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, then disbanded after releasing a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. They reformed in 2012 and released an eighth studio album, Peace in Our Time, in 2015. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup includes guitarist Luke Pabich, bassist Chuck Platt, and drummer Sean "SC" Sellers. Their sound is influenced by the hardcore punk scene and the band was known for their combination of fast punk with catchy melodies. Lyrical themes vary from political protests and critical analyses of American society to personal struggles and alienation.
Only Crime is an American melodic hardcore group formed by Good Riddance singer Russ Rankin and Bane guitarist Aaron Dalbec in 2003. The band plays melodic but hard-hitting punk rock that borrows heavily from early-1980s hardcore bands such as Black Flag.
For God and Country is the debut album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released February 7, 1995 through Fat Wreck Chords.
A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion is the second album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released June 4, 1996, through Fat Wreck Chords. It was the band's first album with drummer Sean Sellers, replacing Rich McDermott who had left the group. The album includes two cover songs, of The Kinks' "Come Dancing" and Government Issue's "Hall of Fame", the latter included as a hidden track. "Last Believer" was titled after an episode of the 1991 PBS documentary series on President Lyndon B. Johnson; the song had previously been released on the band's debut EP Gidget in 1993 and was re-recorded for A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion.
Operation Phoenix is the fourth album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 4, 1999 through Fat Wreck Chords. It marked a change in recording location and production team for the band: their previous three albums had been recorded in San Francisco with producer and recording engineer Ryan Greene, but for Operation Phoenix the band traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado to record at The Blasting Room with Jason Livermore and Descendents/All members Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton. This marked the beginning of a long-term working relationship: Good Riddance would record all of their studio material at The Blasting Room using the same production team until 2003, when the band slipped into inactivity and singer Russ Rankin started Only Crime with Stevenson. Stevenson and Livermore would return to record and produce Good Riddance's final studio album My Republic in 2006, which was recorded in San Francisco. Rankin later commented that working with The Blasting Room team was a major turning point in recording for the band:
We did our first three albums with Ryan Greene and Ryan Greene is a great engineer and a really great guy and we learned a lot about being prepared to record ... his studio know-how was top-notch, his demeanor was top-notch, and we learned a lot, but when we decided we wanted a change, and we went to the Blasting Room, it was like...so different ... they knew what we were trying to do ... Also, the way they recorded...it was completely out of the ordinary...we'd been through the culture where you'd lay down the drums first, then you lay down the bass, then you lay down the guitars, and then you do the vocals...and we get to the Blasting Room and once the drums were done it was like, all bets are off, Chuck [Platt, bassist] would go in for a couple hours, then I would go in, then Luke [Pabich, guitarist] would go in, and we'd just be chipping away at these songs ... it was definitely a new approach for us anyway, we'd never done anything like that before...so I think that those guys really brought out the best in us, they challenged us, but they also, I think, had a really innate sense of knowing what we were trying to get done.
The Phenomenon of Craving is an EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 23, 2000 through Fat Wreck Chords. A portion of the proceeds from this album benefit the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, CA. Their drummer Sean Sellers had left the band in early 1999, so Dave Raun of Lagwagon drummed on the EP and on several tours with the band. A full-time replacement would be found in Kid Dynamite's Dave Wagenschutz, who joined the band for their fifth album Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit the following year.
Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit is the fifth album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released July 10, 2001 through Fat Wreck Chords. It was their only release ever to chart, reaching #32 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. It marked the debut of drummer Dave Wagenschutz with the band; their longtime drummer Sean Sellers had left in early 1999, and Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun had filled in on the 2000 EP The Phenomenon of Craving and on several tours until Wagenschutz, formerly of Kid Dynamite, joined Good Riddance full-time.
Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection is the sixth studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 20, 2003 through Fat Wreck Chords. Like their previous two studio albums it was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado with the production team of Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. It was their last album with drummer Dave Wagenschutz; following his departure the band slipped into a period of inactivity during which singer Russ Rankin formed Only Crime with Stevenson. Good Riddance would return in 2006 for My Republic with drummer Sean Sellers, who had previously been in the band from 1996 to 1999.
My Republic is the seventh studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released June 27, 2006 through Fat Wreck Chords. It marked the band's return from an almost three-year period of inactivity, during which singer and primary songwriter Russ Rankin had been active in his new band Only Crime while guitarist Luke Pabich had started a side project called Outlie. It also marked the return of drummer Sean Sellers to Good Riddance, replacing Dave Wagenschutz who had played on the band's two previous albums Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit (2001) and Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection (2003). Sellers had previously been a member of Good Riddance from 1996 to 1999, playing on A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion (1996), Ballads from the Revolution (1998), and Operation Phoenix (1999), and had played with Pabich in Outlie during Good Riddance's hiatus.
Russ Rankin is an American musician, record producer, hockey scout and writer from Santa Cruz, California. He is best known as the singer for the punk rock bands Good Riddance and Only Crime.
Capricorn One: Singles & Rarities is a compilation album by the Santa Cruz, California-based punk rock band Good Riddance, released through Fat Wreck Chords July 6, 2010, three years after the band's breakup. The tracks on the album span 1993 to 2006 and include songs from Good Riddance's Gidget and Decoy EPs and their split releases with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign, as well as three tracks from Fat Wreck Chords compilations and six previously unreleased demo tracks. All of the tracks were digitally remastered by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room. The compilation is titled after the 1978 film Capricorn One, about a Mars landing hoax. The album's liner notes include Rankin's lyrics and comments on each song.
The discography of Good Riddance, a Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band, consists of eight studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, eight EPs, one video album, and five music videos.
Gidget is the debut EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released in 1993 through Austin, Texas record label Little Deputy Records. The EP is titled after the fictional character Gidget, and the cover image is of actress Sally Field as the character from the Gidget television series of 1965–1966. Singer Russ Rankin later recalled "that recording was from our first demo tape. Little Deputy basically took four songs from that demo tape and pressed 'em". It was the band's only recording with bassist Devin Quinn, who according to Rankin was "a disciple of Pete [Rypins] from Crimpshrine and Matt [Freeman] from Operation Ivy and you can hear all his runs and counter melodies in ['Not So Bad']." "Last Believer" was titled after an episode of the 1991 PBS documentary series on President Lyndon B. Johnson; the song was re-recorded for the band's 1996 album A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion.
Decoy is an EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance. It was released August 26, 1995 through Fat Wreck Chords, six months after their debut album For God and Country, which included the EP's title track, "Decoy". The first two tracks on the EP, "United Cigar" and "12 Year Circus", are taken from the album, while "Free" was previously unreleased. Singer Russ Rankin later remarked that he had written "Free" "as a vehicle with which to lyrically attack two of my favorite targets: pro-lifers and cops. I remember enjoying this song when we played it at shows and it was one of our most requested live songs for a little while after For God and Country came out and a whole slew of new fans bought the Decoy 7-inch after picking up the full length." Decoy was Good Riddance's final release with drummer Rich McDermott, who left the band and was replaced by Sean Sellers.
Good Riddance / Reliance is a split EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based punk rock bands Good Riddance and Reliance, released in 1996 through the Austin, Texas label Little Deputy Records. Good Riddance's tracks were two of seven that had been demoed for their second album A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion but had been left off the record; they were recorded in a separate session from the album, with Andy Ernst at Art of Ears, and used on split EPs with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign over the following year.
Ignite / Good Riddance is a split EP by the hardcore punk bands Ignite and Good Riddance, released in 1996 through Revelation Records. Good Riddance's tracks were two of seven that had been demoed for their second album A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion but had been left off the record; they were recorded in a separate session from the album, with Andy Ernst at Art of Ears, and used on split EPs with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign over the following year.
Good Riddance / Ill Repute is a split EP by the hardcore punk bands Good Riddance and Ill Repute, released in 1996 through It's Alive Records. Good Riddance's tracks were two of seven that had been demoed for their second album A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion but had been left off the record; they were recorded in a separate session from the album, with Andy Ernst at Art of Ears, and used on split EPs with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign over the following year.
Good Riddance / Ensign is a split EP by the hardcore punk bands Good Riddance and the Ensign, released in 1997 through Orphaned Records. Good Riddance's "What We Have" was one of seven songs that had been demoed for their second album A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion but had been left off the record; they were recorded in a separate session from the album, with Andy Ernst at Art of Ears, and used on split EPs with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign over the following year. Their second track, "Salt", also appeared on their third album Ballads from the Revolution in 1998.
Peace in Our Time is the eighth studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released April 21, 2015 through Fat Wreck Chords. It is the band's first studio album since their 2007 breakup and 2012 reunion.
Thoughts and Prayers is the ninth studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released July 19, 2019 through Fat Wreck Chords. It is the band's second studio album since their 2007 breakup and 2012 reunion. Unlike previous albums which featured some musical writing contribution from Luke Pabich and Chuck Platt, Thoughts and Prayers was solely written by frontman Russ Rankin.
