Ruth

Their debut, Secondhand Dreaming, placed Ruth on the map. It’s Anorak, however, that will blow you away. The sophomore offering of the Tooth & Nail pop/rock act not only avoids the proverbial slump but elevates the Washington act to impressive leves that evoke comparisons to early Switchfoot.

In our Soul-Audio exclusive with Dustin Ruth, the frontman tells us about losing their time with Aaron Sprinkle, taking a chance on a new producer, and why he’s been watching Star Trek documentaries with Emery.

Soul-Audio: I’ve had to review both the debut and this latest album for various magazines and I have to say that while the first one really was a solid first entry, this last one seems such a progression in every way. Did you feel that in the studio?

Dustin Ruth: Well, first of all, I really appreciate you saying that obviously. I definitely, as a band and for myself, we really felt it was a good step in the right direction. It is a step ahead in every way, as you said. We love Secondhand Dreaming and it was fun but this is something we’re really proud of. We spent a lot more time and a lot more effort. When I wrote all these songs, it was more strategic in terms of what we chose. Of course, you always wonder if others will feel the same way or whether it’s ‘Oh, that’s nothing like the old one.’ But it’s good to hear that.

SA: How do you approach that in the studio to get that different? You guys didn’t use Aaron Sprinkle as much…

Ruth: He ended up doing four songs.

SA: Oh he did?

Ruth: Yeah, he ended up redoing three we had previously done with Chris Keene and a lot of that was very minor changes on his part. A lot of it was very influenced by Keene and the band but he did a good job of making some changes. He’s a very good engineer, so it brought some new life to the songs he engineered. But you’re right, it was a big change. Had we done the whole project with Aaron, I think it would have been a completely different project.

When we did this with Chris… we had met him on the Emery tour because he’s in a band called Surrogate and they were there. I just loved his music a lot and feel he did a great job on their stuff. He inspired me, you could say. It was one of those CDs I put in that when I listened to it, I just wanted to pick up a guitar and play. So I really, really wanted to work with him on some point and on something. I just never expected it to be that soon.

So when we were going to go in with Aaron, we had a scheduled time to do it, but they signed Copeland at that time - it was this big top secret thing they signed Copeland and the agreement was that they would be in the studio with Aaron for the same months that we had already scheduled. Because we had already taken that time off to record and Aaron was busy and we couldn’t push it back because of festivals. We offered the idea of working with Keene and the label didn’t really like that at first because he’s not, in their eyes, a producer and the music he does is so indie sounding that it’s a niche sound. But we offered to do two songs out of our own pockets to see what they’d say and they liked it.

They gave us a budget to do the rest of the album, so we did. We went to Aaron to redo three of the songs they felt might be really strong and we did one song with Aaron for fun called “Rolling With The Punches.” We did that just to have one with a fresh outlook on it.

SA: I wondered about the name Anorak.

Ruth: I was on Emery’s bus one night while they were in Portland. They were watching Trekkies 1 and 2 on their bus and those are documentaries about people obsessed with Star Trek. They hit these conventions and it’s funny and entertaining to watch. They’re nice people and if that’s their hobby, then that’s their hobby. We’re watching that and Trekkies 2 is outside of the U.S. They go to the U.K. and they’re outside this convention and they ask a guy not even involved in the convention what he thinks of these Trekkies walking in. He called them Anoraks. The host of the documentary asks what that meant and he said, ‘Outcasts.’ I went to look it up because it was interesting and I’d never heard that word before.

There’s a British slang definition which that guy was using which is somebody who is deeply invested in knowing a lot about something and nobody else really cares about it. So Bigfoot could be something that some people are invested in that others could care less about. Or Star Trek. Or Jesus. Or God. So we thought it would be a cool title because some of the truths that we feel God gives us or that we’re inspired by are sometimes slightly about the mysteries of who God is.

We can sometimes as a band feel like Anoraks amongst our peer bands that we love and we respect. I don’t know if they would care to listen to the lyrics of our songs or care what they’re about. And sometimes you run into churches not wanting you to be that honest. They want you to sing about Jesus but not about how we fail or how we’re broken.

SA: I’ve seen a few Switchfoot comparisons about you guys and I’ve even made them myself. What do you make of that?

Ruth: You’re not going to offend me at all. I hear a lot of stuff like that.

SA: How much do you look to those guys?

Ruth: Pre-touring with them, I had a lot of curiosity about what they were like and wondered how genuine they were. I figured as a songwriter hearing their work, I figured they were going to be really cool and nice and easy to talk to. I also figured they would stretch me as a person and they totally did. There were so many times we’d be talking about something and they would come out of nowhere with this thought that always twisted what I grew up thinking and they were right. There were some things that stretched me and that was amazing. So I really respect those guys. They walk a fine line. They’ve had people in church throw stones at them and people from the secular market as well and they keep walking forward. Now they’re still doing it, so I really admire them.

As far as their sound and style, they have influenced my life a lot. They were used in that early tour to change my perspective and help me have courage. I could say so much about them. Musically, I became a Switchfoot fan around the same time that 2.5 million people did on Learning to Breathe or whatever the big one was. I listened to that a bunch. One band they always reminded me of is Third Eye Blind, which I was a huge fan of them in high school. Whenever I hear Switchfoot, it’s their own thing but I do hear a lot of Third Eye Blind there.

So I think we have those similarities in that we both love that band or that there are other bands that we love. I definitely take it as a compliment for people to compare us to them because they are great. I would say the most Switchfoot sounding song is “Who I Was and Who I Am” but at the same time, when we wrote that, we were listening a lot to the Foo Fighters new record, so there are things on there that remind me of them as well.

SA: Tangibly what’s happening for the band?

Ruth: We’re doing a show here on Monday and then we head out on tour and the first show is in West Virginia or something. I never pay attention just because you get to the point where you’ve done it so much that it’s pointless to stress out about the details or worry. I just roll with it now. But we play mostly in the Northeast which is great because that’s a place we haven’t spent as much time. We’re going to Portland, Maine and doing stuff in upper New York and some of the areas we haven’t played a lot. That’s cool because that will wrap up the U.S.

We’re doing this stuff with DecembeRadio and they’re a Southern rock band. They’re great guys and amazing decisions, so that will be a lot of fun. We’re excited to be with them. As far as gearing up for more touring, there are a few dates in the spring and then we’re doing the festivals. So we’re just starting to tour hard now and there are a couple tours on the horizon as possibilities but those change in a heartbeat so I can’t comment on those.

• www.ruththeband.com
• www.myspace.com/ruthrock

↓ 2 comments

#1 Patty Long on October 27th, 2008 at 5:13 pm

I love Anorak! Hearts on Sleeves is one of the best songs ever, second only to pure concept which is lyrically beautiful, and the melody doesn’t suck either.lol

#2 Matt on October 28th, 2008 at 2:40 am

I agree. I loved the album!

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