Sid Griffin

London based American Sid Griffin performs as the front-man of The Long Ryders and sometimes takes the same role in 'alt-bluegrass' band, The Coal Porters. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Sid is perhaps best known for his sideburns which he used to great effect as part of The Long Ryders, an LA based guitar band who were part of the so-called Paisley Undergound 'movement' in the mid-1980s. Once based in Hollywood, California our (unsung) hero moved to London in the 1990s and he resides there today.

Since then he has waged his career war on various fronts. With The Coal Porters, as a solo artist with three solo albums, as a Long Ryder, and with a 'country and eastern' act called Western Electric.  Away from actually making music Sid has continued his journalistic career writing for numerous projects, including the mainstream music press (Q, MOJO, Shindig!, Ugly Things, Baseball Digest, etc.), relatively frequent appearances on BBC radio and TV and has recenty had great success with his book on Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes "Million Dollar Bash".  He has also appeared regularly on BBC Radio 2 with Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie, where the breadth and depth of his musical knowledge knows no bounds.