Dave- vocals Gordon- drums Decky- bass Joe- guitar Owen- keyboards
"I’m like the man on the flying trapeze, I feel so close to the stars, but on the ground is where my feet belong." The world would be a very dull and grey place if we always obeyed our common sense. Like the man on the flying trapeze letting go will always involve that moment of panic when you wonder if you will be caught safely, or if you will plummet to the sawdust ring below.
For rubyhorse, leaving familiar Cork City, Ireland for unseen, brick-and-mortar Boston, Mass. was similar to letting go of the trapeze. The risk was huge. Swapping the support of friends and family for that of a distant, yet hospitable, relative called "Dinger," even more so. Yet, it was inviting and necessary. So they arrived in Boston and gave it hell, parlaying a combined $1,000 and a gig in the back room of an Irish pub into a rabid fan base and a record deal. The proverbial blood, sweat and tears of this journey is palpable on their justly titled rock chronicle, Rise.
Rewind to 1997, a meat factory on the outskirts of Cork City. Five nights a week, the band would gather in a small, damp room to craft their songs. Pieces of meatæchiefly, baconæwere flavored in adjacent rooms.
Lifting their name from a Wonderstuff song because it "would give you no preconceived notions and sounded like the name of a really big band," rubyhorse is rock in its most genuine form, infused with a zest for life and a message of hope. "Growing up, music was a very inherent part of our culture…and a celebration," says singer Dave. "And we always try to get that across in our music. For kids, for any age, life is hard enough as it is. It’s nice to find some music or any form of art that makes you feel good. We always try to get that feeling of being uplifted, especially in our live show. It’s all about giving a listener an escape. That’s what our music is about."
Jump back up to Boston. The rubyhorse philosophy spread rapidly and the back room gigæat an Irish pub called The Burrenæbecame an immensely popular Thursday night residency lasting 60 weeks. "The first week," says Gordon, "we had four or five people there. By the end of it, people were arriving in the afternoon to get in." The band released a CD (the now sold-out How Far Have You Come?), picked up three Boston Music Awards ("Best Live Band", "Best New Act "and "Best Male Vocalist") and embarked on three nationwide tours. But it would be fervent grapevining from the Burren shows that would bring rubyhorse a deal and enable them to create Rise.
Produced by Jay Joyce (Robert Bradley, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin) in his basement studio in Nashville, the record commences with an echoing declaration on the pulsing rocker "Happy In The Sunshine." The ensuing ten tunes, which range from exhilarating pop anthems ("Sparkle," "Into the Lavender," "Bitter," "Horseless") to earnest ballads ("Any Day Now," "Live Through This," "PunchDrunk") and danceable fare ("Evergreen"), affirm they are ready, and comfortable in any sonic context. In fact, rubyhorse’s innate ability to weave a perfect tune can be downright frightening.
Take, for instance, "Sparkle." Chiming guitars and a rhapsodic chorus propel what Owen calls "a song about hope," written to keep rubyhorse "up and buoyant" during one of their tougher times. "Regardless of how bad you think things are," he says, "there’s always a reason to see the day out."
"Any Day Now," waxes wistful and pleading over acoustic strumming and an orchestral wash; balladry done with sincerity and style. Decky recalls, "When we left Ireland, we couldn’t afford to get back for twelve months. ‘Any Day Now’ is about finding yourself in a situation that you feel like you’re drowning and looking to the ones you love for strength and resolve because they believe in you, even though many people have written you off."
Another triumph is "Into the Lavender," which warns the listener to be careful what you wish for, as it may not make you happy…. "Into the laaaaa-vender/she brings me down/when she’s around/under the seeeeet-ting sun/we burned away/we jumped the gun."
"Punchdrunk," rubyhorse’s anthem, comes with a resonant, humbling endorsement. The Floydian ballad, a tapestry of acoustic guitar, elegant strings and piano, features a gorgeous, simply stated slide part courtesy of the late George Harrison. Joe speaks of this with reverence: "We had recorded a demo version and it just felt there was something missing… some part. We tried various instruments and it just wasn’t right. We sent him a copy of the song through a mutual friend and we got a call back to say that he loved the song and that he’d love to play on it, so we sent the reels over to a studio in England and he put his part down. We were mixing in Miami when we received the tapes and it just blew us all away. He finished off the song. It was just a beautiful, beautiful part. It was the biggest honor that we’ve ever received and probably will ever receive."
It goes to a sense of duty; rubyhorse is five men with music and its baptismal power ingrained in their essences. They’re compelled to make music and do so with fire. Nothing is taken for granted; sincerity is held at a premium. This is what endeared them to growing crowds at The Burren and will attract new fans with the release of Rise. Explains Decky, "We write a message and we try to share that message with people. Our songs are about everyday simple things and they’re written with honesty and they’re performed with honesty. People can just relate to them and there’s nothing else in the world that can give us a fraction of the satisfaction we derive from that."
