Go to The Ripperz’s MySpace page and you’ll be greeted by five words: “There’s just too much passion.”

“You’ve gotta live with passion—everyone’s gotta live for something,” singer-guitarist Chris Sawatzky, 26, explained over a beer at The Toad last Saturday. “There’s just a lot of passion between the three of us that we like to share with the audience.”

Sawatzky and his bandmates—bassist Mark Wiebe and drummer Travis Warkentin, both 25—have been sharing their passion with local audiences for the past three years.

The group got its start over eight years ago, though, as a six-piece metal act. Problem was, only half the band showed up for practice on a regular basis. So, that half of the band decided a new project was in order: a three-piece punk act where attracting members of the opposite sex took precedence over musical proficiency.

“We wanted to play shows that had girls at them, so we figured metal wasn’t necessarily the best way to go,” Wiebe said. “It worked.”

Indeed, all three are now married. The band took a five-year break when Sawatzky and his wife moved to Vancouver so she could go to school. When they returned to Winnipeg in 2007, the band reformed, this time with a new sound.

“ We’re hardcore kids in a rock band.

Mark Wiebe, The Ripperz bassist

“I had been writing all kinds of songs—some super gospely, some metal, just all over the board,” Sawatzky said.

People weren’t into it at first—especially those who had known them as Blink 182 wannabes.

“It was like, we’re not going to be 17 for the rest of our lives,” Wiebe said.

“Even though I promised we would be,” Sawatzky said with a smile. “Talk to Bryan Adams—you can’t do it.”

Since those first few gigs in 2007, the band has settled on a sound that’s somewhere between Southern-fried bar rock and the Hot Live Guys. Musical proficiency still isn’t the point though, Sawatzky said.

“I would love to write amazing songs, but I’m not going to get hung up on it,” he said. “What comes out, comes out.”

Sawatzky added that one of the main reasons The Ripperz recorded the self-titled CD it released last year was so that people would know the songs and be able to sing along when they came to shows.

The penchant for sing-alongs was influenced by hardcore music. When they were in high school the three would drive to Winnipeg on Sundays from their home in Landmark to see all-ages hardcore shows featuring Figure Four and Officer Down.

“We’re hardcore kids in a rock band,” Wiebe said.

“That’s why I love sing-alongs—all that passion at hardcore shows,” Sawatzky added.

There’s that word again—passion. If you’re interested in being a part of it, the band is playing at The Zoo on Saturday, Jan. 30. They plan to tour out west again in April, and hopefully record an EP as well before the 2009 is over.

“We’re already playing one new song live,” Sawatzky said with a smile, “and people are already singing along.”

See The Ripperz Friday, Jan. 30 at The Zoo. Visit www.myspace.com/theripperz

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)