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"Go on - beat it! We've got bankers coming, and
we don't want no riff raff around here..."
from the movie "Oscar" (1991)
Oh, God ...
Riff Raff ...
Some of the memories from that
band ...
We were all so young, and wild,
and crazy then ...
I remember that I was barely out
of high school when one of my friends
drove me out to North Carver to audition
as their singer.
I liked what I heard right away, and
I guess that they did too
because right then and there I was
in the band.
They did want to play quite a bit
of stuff that I didn't like,
and I wanted to do stuff that they didn't
want to play -
but somehow everything worked out and
we stayed together
for close to three years, playing out
constantly -
predominately throughout the South Shore
and the Cape Cod areas.
I remember our first gig ...
We'd somehow "assigned" Curt Frazetti - a friend of ours - to promote us.
What happened next was unbelieveable.
Within a week or two, he came back to
us and told us that we were
playing at Roseland Ballroom in Taunton
- actually back here in
my neck of the woods - and that it
would be us,
another excellent local band called
"Paradox" -
and Steppenwolf.
(for you younger - and older - folks,
Steppenwolf reached incredible
popularity in the late 60's/ early 70's - not the least of which came from
their doing a good part of the "Easy Rider" soundtrack - they
were incredibly popular with the "biker crowd," with me, and with most of
my friends - so, this was like REALLY KEWL ... "Born To Be Wild,"
"Magic Carpet Ride," and "The Pusher"
were among their hits)
When that night came, I was so nervous
it was incredible.
Sure - I'd already been playing out
in front of people for a while,
but it was always off to the side and
at least somewhat
"hidden" behind the keyboards.
The audience that night was like
a thousand or 1200 people, if I remember correctly.
Many people there knew me - from school
or elsewhere ...
It's always seemed to be more nerve-wracking
to perform in front of
friends than it is to be in front of
strangers.
And this time, I would be right in
the front of the stage, opening the entire night.
A "lead frontman vocalist" all of a
sudden.
I remember standing behind the columns
of the PA system
and thinking "oh, God - I can't go
out there ..." actually,
right up until the last second.
Then we were announced and all ran
out there.
I grabbed the mike and said "good evening"
(or whatever exactly it was I had said)
to the cheering crowd -
and the PA was just so powerful and
clean sounding
that I instantly felt like a "rock god."
That feeling was a first, too.
The band slashed out the opening
chords of "Love Gun" by 
...
It was awesome.
I guess we gave quite a good impression,
because I heard about this particular
concert for several years afterward,
and from that night onward - until we
finally split up a few years later -
we performed constantly and always drew
enough to pack the house.
"Riff Raff," I'd daresay, became
more or less of a "household word"
during those years. People KNEW who
we were.
When we'd go out together - as a band
- people would often approach us ...
Being in Riff Raff was an awesome
experience -
one that I won't likely ever forget
in this life.
I definitely consider it to have
been one of the highlights of my musical career.
Al Tavers
Dighton, Massachusetts
March 3rd, 1999
I would later join up with the Ford
twins again - in the late 80's - for a reformed version of The R.A.F. --
a band which they formed immediately
after Riff Raff, and with which they'd also had local success.
Hmmm ... took a little jaunt to the old
stomping grounds this afternoon (04/27/2004)
and "discovered" that the new place is called the
"Casa Loma," too ...
This friend of our band's - from like almost THREE
DECADES AGO, now -
found this page, and we have been writing back and
forth.
It's been an incredible experience.
He just asked me the other day if I remembered the
band "Southbound,"
and was telling me that they are STILL around.
Imagine my surprise when my friend and I saw this sign (above) today...
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circa 1977 - 1980
Cover Tune Samples:
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on ... 
or on ... 
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and
... |
Riff Raff
1977 - 1980
North Carver, Massachusetts
Greg Ford - lead guitars
Doug Ford - rhythm and lead guitars/ vocals
Bobby Geloran - bass/ vocals *
Ricky Quirk - drums/ vocals
Al Tavers - lead vocals/ synthesizers *
=================================================================
* toward "the end," Bobby married and
quit Riff Raff - he was
replaced by Steve Lovely. When
Al quit (some time after this)
he was replaced by Steve Tush.
The band briefly continued
with the name "Riff Raff," later
changing it to "The RAF"
=================================================================
STAGE CREW:
Bobby Soderbom - soundman
LouAnne Jones - lighting/ clothing
Diane Ford - clothing
Shirley Geloran - clothing/ make-up/ jewelry,
accessories
Danny Allie - artist
Kevin Quirk - T-shirts/ merchandise/ security
Eddie Quirk - security
=================================================================
Classification: Hard Rock and Popular Rock -
Covers and Originals
=================================================================
Most Memorable Songs:
easily "She's So Young" (written by Al/ Greg/ Doug/
Rick/ Bobby)
also "Take A Chance" (written by Al/ Greg/ Doug)
and "Love In The Moonlight"
(written by Al/ Greg/ Doug)
Most Memorable Moments: MANY - Skinny-dipping
with some of the setup
crew
and "groupies" in Robin's Pond behind the Casa Loma; when
members
of the Hell's Angels, Sidewinders, Bold Ones, and other
motorcycle
"gangs" were going to beat the shit out of a guy at
their
"Gathering of the Clans" cookout at Watson's Pond in
Taunton
because he kept harassing Al on stage; being the house
band
for weeks on end at the White Sands; "ousting" the house band
"Southern
Comfort" (who we did really like, incidentally) from
the
Casa Loma when we just about started playing out; perhaps
best
of all though was when the Riot Control showed up at a party
in
Plymouth with full riot regalia: dogs, riot masks & clubs,
guns,
paddy wagon, the whole nine yards; When the owner of the
White
Sands, Bob (God rest his soul) used to yell, "OK people -
motel
time...!" at the end of every night; "Muth" (Greg and
Doug's
mother - God rest her soul) always coming to see the band
and
in general being very supportive of our endeavor; going to
the
"Angel" concert together
(Orpheum Theater, Boston, March 12th,
1978
w/ The Godz); going to the "Little Feat" concert; some
guy
heckling
Al at the Casa Loma saying, "I like your shirt, cutie ..."
To look and sound like no other local band, pretty much. In other words,
to
be "something different and fresh." Yes - we did some "standard" stuff
which
all or most of the local club/ concert bands were doing, but we kept
deliberately
striving to do material which others were NOT performing.
Primary Influences and Inspirations:
Rainbow, Deep Purple, The Beatles, The Stones, Black Sabbath, Queen, Aerosmith,
The
Eagles, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf, Angel, Foreigner,
Foghat,
Bob Seger, Kiss, and others ...
set
list - cover tunes
(what I remember of them, anyhow ...)
Song
Lyrics and Samples
originals
She's So Young"
"Take A Chance"
"Love
In The Moonlight"
covers
"Tie Your Mother Down" -
Queen
"Immigrant Song" - Led Zeppelin
Check out the site of a friend of ours' from that
era ...
Dick Boba
Multimedia Productions
Houston, TX, USA
.
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...For a more PERSONAL PROFILE of Al's life, click here... Darien3's (Al's) Home Page 
... Also has a lot more music links ... And be sure to check
these out, too ... Jackal Enterprises
You are currently on the Riff Raff pages - in the 70's Area of Al's Bio Pages
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and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
May you be hung on a cross in the blazing sunshine
and your flesh
be picked clean from your bones by ravenous vultures
and ravens ...
And, alas - may the ever-present JACKAL lick up the scraps ...
Sometimes those jackals love to lick - we've heard
that they're really good lickers ...
