The first time I heard Ridel High was on a compilation I was obsessed with back in ’96: Happy Meals (A Smorgasbord Of My Favorite Songs) on Lagwagon frontman Joey Cape’s My Records. Ridel High provided the second track, the extremely addictive and hooky Self-Destructive. Three decades later, the song still soars.

So when the band reached out about premiering the video for Motorboat, a recently unearthed demo from their final recording sessions, I didn’t hesitate. This is a band that deserves way more recognition than they got.

For those unfamiliar, Ridel High (Kevin Ridel (vocals/bass), Steve LeRoy (guitar/backing vocals), and Steve Coulter (drums/backing vocals)) only released one full-length album. The LA trio was part of the Generation Blue geek rock scene, and tored through SoCal venues with a high-energy sound that was equal parts sweet melody and crunchy distortion. Joey Cape signed them to My Records and produced their 1997 debut Hi Scores, which A&M Records later rebranded as Emotional Rollercoaster. They toured with Weezer during the Pinkerton era, but when A&M dropped them, the wheels came off.

Before calling it quits in 1998, they recorded one last session. Among those final demos was Motorboat, dating back to 1995. The song sat in the vault for over two decades before being remastered for the new B-Sides + Demos EP. Steve Coulter calls it the Ridel High song he’s revisited most over the years, and it’s easy to hear why: it captures everything great about the band’s sound in three minutes of irresistible alt pop-punk perfection. On a side note, Kevin Ridel originally wrote Motorboat with “parumpumpums” instead of “badabadas” and accidentally misspelled “rudder” as “rutter,” which, as he notes, would have taken the song in a very different direction.

What a blast to hear this song. And there are 4 more on the B-Sides + Demos EP which is out now on most streaming platforms. Catch Ridel High and Summercamp opening for Nerf Herder’s 30 Years of Golf Shirt show at The Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara on April 18, 2026.

Watch the video for Motorboat below:

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp