"In life, sometimes by chance, you meet a group of people that turn out to be life-long friends, and usually there's a common bond. Well, these are some of those friends, and we bonded through music.I first met Doug Kennedy, Billy Watkins, and Steve Walsh at a bluegrass festival in Arkansas during my college days. Since that time, there's been so many years of picking by campfires, playing each other new music, telling stories, and in general, just loving music. Since those days I've had the pleasure of picking with Larry Light, as well as being around his wonderful family. Doug Kennedy told me about this kid in Poplar Bluff, MO., that hadn't been playing the banjo too long, but was really showing a lot of promise. Since then, I've seen Alex Riffle grow from a young picker with promise, into an adult with a command of his instrument. Bobby Lewis lends his talents on the fiddle to this collection of songs that span the band members’ wide influences. The fun and great performances on this CD take me back to all the good times we've had through the years. Great guys, great pickers, and they love the music. That's what it's all about."- Richard Bailey - Grammy-nominated banjo player of The SteelDrivers - One of 68 banjo players featured in the book, Masters of the 5-String Banjo - Has recorded with such diverse artists as Al Green, George Jones, and Johnny Cash"Based upon the performances by Alex Riffle and his friends, I would have to conclude that the future of bluegrass music appears to be in very good hands." - Johnny Pearce -"Bluegrass Now Magazine" July 2006"When most teenage men have hobbies, they usually consist of playing sports and hanging out with friends after school. For Alex Riffle, his hobbies include playing the banjo, performing and hanging out with his friends who are attorneys. That is not what the usual teenager would do, but Alex is not like the usual teenager. In fact, Alex has an unusually amazing musical gift, and that gift has been worked on and tuned up with the help of two of Alex's friends, Steve Walsh and Doug Kennedy. After much practice and hard work, the three musicians have joined together to make up part of, what is now, one of the best bluegrass bands in Missouri, Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs.""Every band has some groups or musicians that are considered"influences". The Seldom Scene, based out of Washington D.C., was one of the biggest Bluegrass influences that Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs have had. Because of their overall sound and on-stage banter they would share, The Seldom Scene was one of the models that they molded themselves after. When you see The Stiff Riffs in concert, you will see how much fun they have playing music.""Just as their influences stretch out to other genres besides Bluegrass music, so does the band's playlist. They do some rock and country songs and give them the Bluegrass"feel". They have played songs by The Beatles, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, U2, Bruce Hornsby and The Byrds to name a few. Besides songs from these artists, the band is always listening for a song that they can turn to Bluegrass."- Excerpts from the Febuary 19, 2009 issue of"The Semo Times - Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs: Bringing Bluegrass Back"Alex Riffle is a 21-year-old banjo player from Poplar Bluff MO. who has been playing banjo for 8 years. Alex recorded his debut CD,"Pickin' Toward Perfection", at 13 years of age, after only one year of playing the banjo. Within the 8 years of Alex playing music, he has played music with such greats as John McCuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Pam Tillis, and many other great musicians. Alex has also played music at such venues as the World Famous Station Inn in Nashville, TN., the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, MO., Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO., and many others. He has also been featured on the Cumberland Highlanders T.V. show on the RFD network and X.M. Radio's Folk Channel 15 station. Alex has also performed at other events, including Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon's inauguration in 2009 and various other political fundraisers and has also opened up for bands and musicians including Dr. Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, the SteelDrivers, Kenny & Amanda Smith, and others. Alex is currently an undergraduate student at Saint Louis University pursuing a degree in biology.In 2006, Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs was formed. The group, along with Alex, consists of five other members, all of which have played music together for over 30 years straight. Doug Kennedy, an attorney in Poplar Bluff, plays the acoustic bass and sings lead and harmony vocals with the group. Steve Walsh, who is also an attorney in Poplar Bluff, plays the mandolin and fiddle along with singing lead vocals on most of the songs and singing harmony vocals. Bill Watkins, a school teacher from Bourbon MO., plays the acoustic guitar and sings lead and harmony vocals with the group. Larry Light, a carpenter from Sullivan, MO., plays lead acoustic guitar and sings harmony and some lead with the group. Larry is known by many as being one of the best flat-picking guitarists in the state of Missouri. Bobby Lewis is the excellent fiddle player for the group. Having grown up in The Bob Lewis Family band, Bobby is no stranger to bluegrass music, or his instrument.Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs have a highly diverse repertoire for a Missouri-based bluegrass band. The band plays and sings most classic bluegrass songs one can think of, including songs by Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, etc.. Along with the classics, the Alex Riffle Band also plays and sings classic rock, country, and pop tunes. The band plays songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, U2, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, Bruce Hornsby, Jackson Browne, the Marshall Tucker Band, the Band, and more. Alex Riffle & The Stiff Riffs is a bluegrass band that's an enjoyable band for both a bluegrass music-loving crowd and a crowd that has never heard bluegrass music before. In August of 2012, The Stiff RIffs went into Music Masters studio in St. Louis, MO. to record songs for their first album. The resulting album is entitled,"These Days", and includes 18 tracks, all of which were recorded live in the studio.