Album Notes

What?

We're a mostly acoustic, hot fiddle swing band with string bass, lap steel, guitar and tenor banjo accompaniment much like the pioneer bandleaders Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies, Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers and the Tune Wranglers.

Our repertoire comes, as it did back then, from old-time fiddle breakdowns, tin pan alley ballads, hot jazz foxtrots, gut bucket blues, minstrel show routines and the requisite waltz. We seem to play quite a few Floyd Tillman numbers as well.

It's music for dancing foremost.

Why?

Well, why not? We feeling it's our duty to keep this great Texas musical tradition as living and as vibrant as we possibly can. Nobody here thinks they're going to make a big tub of money, but we sure do look forward to making good friends and having good times.

Initially inspired by a conversation after a recording session with Texas Swing legend musicians Deacon Anderson and Johnny Gimble, former Bad Livers founder Mark Rubin decided to form an ensemble true to the original roots of what is today called "Western Swing."

"Yeah, some guys would look at you (when you had a banjo in the band,) and think you were square. They just didn't understand anything about swing.." -Johnny

"With the banjo in there, the rhythm just sparkles!! -Deacon

*Theres an even better story, but we can't tell it publicly. Suffice it to say it involves alcohol and Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson.

Who?

The Ridgetop Syncopators comprise an aggregation of the finest local musicians from widely divergent backgrounds. There's over 125 years of show business experience in our ranks.

Led by Oklahoma native and Bad Livers founding member Mark Rubin the band regularly features Sean Orr on fiddle and vocals, Ricky Rees on string bass. George Carver on lap steel guitar and vocals with Mike Stinnett on Tenor Saxophone.