Born Ruffians - The Next Link in the Evolutionary Chain of Pop?
“We are the next link in the evolutionary chain of contemporary pop music, mixing drums, bass, and electric guitar, an almost unheard of combination, with bits of harmonium, piano and plenty of ‘hootin and hollerin’ to create a sound we call ‘the best we could come up with!’” their MySpace exclaims... in an age where bands fade as fast as they download, Born Ruffians might actually stand a chance.
It’s my first interview and Luke Lalonde couldn’t have been a nicer person to start me off. Hailing from Midland, Ontario, Lalonde and his 2 musical comrades Mitch DeRosier and Steve Hamelin form the energetic trio Born Ruffians. Having reviewed their album, I was familiar with their poppy debut album ‘Red, White and Blue’, the follow up to their 2006 EP ‘Hummingbird’.
Their EP Lalonde says was a rushed effort in 2006, so when RWB was recorded in May 2007 they wanted to get it perfect. The songs on the album are a collection of songs written between the 2 records, mixed in 2 weeks was which was “hectic” but well worth it.
Starting when they were 15-16 years old in high school down in small town Midland, Lalonde and Hamelin decided to apply their music class knowledge and recruited Lalonde’s cousin DeRosier. Beginning with covers, then around 16 Lalonde began writing his own songs. “We would just play covers for a year or so then later, about 16 or 17, i started writing some stuff and we began working on it”. After graduating, the boys decided to head to big town Toronto where things began to take off. “When we moved to Toronto i guess that’s when things started happening, we played more shows, we got a manager and signed with a label” – Warp in fact, their debut produced by New Yorker, Rusty Santos.
“When we began playing, it was around the beginning of the explosion of new bands like The Strokes” they listened to bands from The Hives to The Doors and The Beatles and to Talking Heads. Referring to his unique vocals, he says “i like to use my voice as an instrument, if I’m busy playing keyboard or guitar, i like my voice to fill the sound”. I stand by that there’s a little bit of Alec Ounsworth in there from CYHSY. He concedes that there may be a similarity but in terms of influence, that isn’t the case saying David Byrne, if anyone, had some influence over his vocal style.
The interview was only days after the completion of their North American tour with Cadence Weapon, and the bands growth in popularity was not lost on them. Despite the gradual build Lalonde still found it “overwhelming and surprising” that “Born Ruffians” had reached so many. Hopefully their recent spot on UK show ‘Skins’ will help in reaching some more international fans, in particular, females “i always thought of us as more of a guy band”. The boys have a fairly good connection with their fans (this may be due to them still being in the early stages) because they are so damn likeable. They even read their MySpace comments and messages. Including mine – cue swoon.
This gradual rise is in stark contrast to the instant fame the internet is providing to bands all over the world. Vampire Weekend in particular, come to mind. I draw the comparison because they both seem to have come from nowhere, both undoubtedly write some catchy songs and are clearly still young. But Lalonde is quick to dismiss any instant rise “i feel we have earned it”, having been playing for over 5 years and done their fair share of shows, they’ve had time to master live performance unlike their Vampire cohorts. “We played a couple of shows with them and we thought ‘hey these guys have some pretty catchy songs’ but they didn’t sound tight”. I’m glad that these Ruffians have had a chance to iron out some of those proverbial wrinkles because they have the potential to make some noise in the industry. Plans are in progress but nothing has been decided on the boys heading south, but hopefully we’ll get a taste around “January 2009” (BDO anyone?). They’re witty smart and energetic, and i happen to agree with Lalonde when he says their “best record is yet to come”.
