In 1998 there were the four of us. We were invited to play at a benefit concert in Rheine, Germany with a audience of 200 people. Soon after that we had several gigs in the surroundings of our home town, Rotterdam.
We were filmed and interviewed on two local television stations in mid-December 1999. In April 2000 we were Dee Dee Ramone's supporting act. After winning the Koninginneslag 2000 competition, which qualified us for the finals at Koninginnedag, Radio Spijkenisse broadcasted the interview with The Riplets in De Hemel van de Rock 'n Roll. We also played at the Heel Erg Punk 3 with the four of us. After playing in the open air at Schefferspop, Jeanette left the band.
In the summer of 2000 Allison, Janneke and Valesca practiced as a trio. New songs were composed in no time and the feeling was right. After a few gigs we knew the new line up made sense. The Riplets played November 24th at the Heel Erg Punk release party. Two guys from The Music Channel (a site with music of several band) interviewed and filmed The Riplets that night. We played in Belgium several times. Another television appearance: The Riplets played 'Clean up my room' at a national tv show and weared funny wigs to be sure of some privacy afterwards.
Because a new year was on its way, The Riplets decided to record a 7" at Gea's place (January 2001). No more frustrated fans, friends and family. The Our Engine Is Running 7" contains three songs: I've got nothing, Our engine is running, and on the b side: Porn in the USA. There were more recordings. You can find these other songs on compilation cd's. The 7" has been released on Riplet Records. It's a fact: The Riplets are funny, cute, smart but not pretentious and self-willed! Even Joe Queer wants to be on Riplet Records... We played with a lot of cool bands that whole year (Dead Moon, The Donnas, The Sahara Hotnights, Mummy the Peepshow, Groovie Ghoulies) We did several interviews and some of them you'll find on the internet...
The Riplets toured autumn 2001 with Travoltas www.travoltas.com in the Netherlands for seven weeks. We enjoyed every second and learned a lot. After touring we wrote new songs for the 'Rock 'n Roll Beat' cd. We played a lot with our friends from Sidekickbob and Mondo Bizarro. We could play new songs on stage every weekend! We could not go to Denmark 'cause otherwise The Riplets would get in trouble with school.
The Veronica tv guide of week 19, 2002, contained an interview with The Sahara Hotnights, The Donnas and The Riplets about 'girlpower'. We played with Di-Rect at a party for students and there was a big crowd, most of them were girls.
June 2002 Janneke Riplet finished her study at the Willem de Kooning Academy. For her final exams she filmed a short movie featuring Simon Vinkenoog and a music video for The Riplets. It's a music video for the song 'Riplets Rock 'n Roll Beat' about The Riplets on their way to a show. Check out the music video stations and this site (sooner or later) to watch our first music video!
After a break during the summer holidays The Riplets searched the streets for a new Riplet. We asked Nathalie (a.k.a. Honey Lovebux), the organ player of T.H.O.D., to join The Riplets. Our first show with the four of us was in Belgium. We had a great time and guess what? A new Riplet was born.
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