Riddlin' Kids

Courtesy of Columbia Records

The Austin-based Riddlin' Kids put a Lone Star twist on pop-driven punk on their debut LP, Hurry Up and Wait (Aware/Columbia Records). The Kids are Clint Baker (vocals, guitar), Dustin Stroud (lefty guitar, vocals), Mark Johnson (bass) and Dave Keel (drums). The album was produced by Paul Ebersold... Read More

The Austin-based Riddlin' Kids put a Lone Star twist on pop-driven punk on their debut LP, Hurry Up and Wait (Aware/Columbia Records). The Kids are Clint Baker (vocals, guitar), Dustin Stroud (lefty guitar, vocals), Mark Johnson (bass) and Dave Keel (drums). The album was produced by Paul Ebersold (3 Doors Down) at Memphis' Ardent Studios. The band prefaced Hurry Up and Wait with the five-song EP, Any Day Now, which sold huge numbers off their merch table each night as the group played the support slot on the Crouching Fish/Hidden Finger tour (featuring Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish). The group's raucous live show brought in a whole crowd of new fans. "We are not a shtick band. We are all about songs, and when it comes to live performances, we play like it's the last show we'll ever do. We win people over because our music comes across as real," says Stroud. Founding members Baker and Stroud – who had met and become friends while working at the same pizza joint – quit their respective prior bands the same week and launched a fledgling group they first dubbed Igmo (derived from "Ignorant Motherf***er"). Inspired by their own hyped-up stage antics, they decided to re-christen the group with a name lifted from a drug used to treat hyperactive children – later deciding to modify the name to Riddlin' Kids. Following the name change, the band released their 500-copy limited-edition debut EP, What Does It Matter, on KYQ Records (who also loaned the guys a van to tour the East Coast). In the wake of the EP's release, they solidified their line-up by pulling seasoned rock drummer Dave Keel from his food service job and bassist Mark Johnson from his gig as a YMCA youth counselor. As momentum built, Riddlin' Kids gained prominence on the underground party-punk scene. Baker and Stroud – by then working at rival pizza joints – began working 50 hours a week to cover the $6000 recording budget for a new 5-song demo. It was songs from this demo that made the group a hit on KROX in Austin. Major support slots followed, as the fired-up foursome began sharing stages with acts like Staind, Newfound Glory, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Good Riddance, Fenix TX, the BossTones and the Ataris – in addition to performing at the Gravity Games and at local Warped Tour stops. As if that weren't enough, they also snagged a Best Alt Rock/Punk Band trophy at the 2001 Austin Music Awards.