ruby bones

Jersey Rock Video of the Week: Ruby Bones "Gone Gone Gone"

Indie Rockers Ruby Bones bounce back and forth between New Jersey and Brooklyn, rocking the area clubs and honing their energetic and catchy sound.  After releasing their debut album, the group has continued to perform and produce music videos at a fast pace that should no doubt earn them much attention on the local scene.

Ruby Bones’ self-titled debut album hit #7 on the Billboard Heatseekers Mid Atlantic Chart in 2017.  It is a great effort, definitely worthy of the acclaim.  You can score a copy of Ruby Bone’s eponymous album at rubybonesband.com.

Ruby Bone’s video for “Heart Of Darkness” was featured on Jersey Rock back in April.  Since then the band has released a lyric video for “You I Want” as well as this week’s Jersey Rock Video of the Week “Gone, Gone, Gone.” The video follows a couple, played by Ryan Christian & Natalie Stevens, as they go through the trials and tribulations of love.  It was directed by Ben Janocha and produced by Pretty Sound Loud.  It is well-executed, beautifully shot, and features an impressive number of scenes that go a long way to convey a story.

 
 

Don’t miss Ruby Bones at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch on Thursday 2/8.  They’re on the bill with Corevalay and Dinosaur Eyelids that night for 95.9 The Rat and Yuengling Shore Point Distributing’s Jersey Rock Showcase.  Doors are at 7pm.  It is 21+.  Admission is FREE. All in attendance will be able to enjoy $3 Yuengling specials all night long.  More info HERE.

Gone Gone Gone Video Premiere at Vents Magazine

 
 

via Vents Magazine

Keeping up with the excitement on this cloudy Monday, we got the exciting new video for the infectious single by Ruby Bones for their single “Gone, Gone, Gone”. The video was directed by Ben Janocha https://prettysoundloud.com/ and features actors Ryan Christian and Natalie Stevens in a quite experimental love video that plays with a quick montage and colors as well as other elements.

Ruby Bones Release Debut Album Featuring Catchy 'Chemical'

via Oh-Es-Tee

Chris Nova (vocalist/guitarist), James Janocha (drums), South African import FC Spies (bass), and Denis Daley (sax) are the New Jersey/Brooklyn outfit that makes up the catchy and raucous band Ruby Bones that describes themselves as “Bruce Springsteen on cocaine after a few drags off a helium balloon.” From their self-titled debut album which is riddled with existentialism, is a love song sandwiched between titled, Chemical.

An energetic intro bounces into short punches of gritty guitars and dynamic vocals that wail for a love so engulfing and animalistic that you can’t bear to be anywhere near it. It sweeps through the current of earthly bodies. It brands you and shakes your foundation with seismographic desire and lust. Your weaknesses ebb and flow like a drunken sailor while you plead for this divine creature to control the white flame of their chemical.

Ruby Bones’ album is available through Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Jersey Rock Band of the Week: Ruby Bones

via WRAT

Rocking Punk Island on Randall’s Island in New York on 6/18!

Ruby Bones released their debut, self-titled album in May and have not looked back since.  Hitting number 7 on the Billboard Heatseeker Middle Atlantic Chart, the disc is a strong effort, indicative of a bright future for the New Jersey indie Rock trio.

 Score a copy of Ruby Bones Eponymous album HERE.

 The video for the lead single “Heart of Darkness” was featured as the Jersey Rock Video of the Week back in April.  It’s a fun nod to “Weekend At Bernies,” perfectly blending dark and light tones.  Check out the video feature HERE.

Tune to Jersey Rock on 95.9 The Rat at 11:30 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Singer/Guitarist Chris Nova and Drummer James Janocha will call in to the show as we do cuts from their CD and talk about their upcoming performance in NYC.

 Don’t miss Ruby Bones on June 18, as they rock Punk Island at Randall’s Island in New York.  Its a FREE, all day, all ages festival, featuring a slew of Punk bands across 7 stages.  More info HERE.

 Learn more about the band at rubybonesband.com

 Check out their debut video for “Heart Of Darkness”:

 
 

Interview with MusicBox Pete

 
 

via MusicBox Pete

Kicking things off with an interview with New Jersey based indie rockers Ruby Bones. These upstarts have been getting a lot of notice lately with the release of their self titled debut LP that is equal parts indie and punk slammed into one to create a indelible and satisfying blend that you'll definitely want to have on repeat for some time to get the full brunt of. The trio of James Janocha, FC Spies, and Chris Nova were awesome enough to sit down and talk about their musical origins, how James's time in Twin Berlin laid the foundation, their experiences playing live in NYC, plus we go behind the recording of their debut album and creating the awesome music video for "Heart of Darkness" as well. Here is the transcript from our hilarious chat:
 
Give us your names and roles in the band?
 
Chris Nova - Vocals, Guitar
FC Spies - Bass, Vocals
James Janocha - Drums
 
How did Ruby Bones originate and how did you all meet?
 
James: Chris was in love with me for a while and when he finally asked me out, I said yes.
 
Chris: Kinda true. I was a big fan of James’s last band Twin Berlin and covered them on a blog I ran for a bit. When I was looking for a new drummer he was the first on my list. FC was a buddy from bartending shifts at work, and we just clicked immediately. He said he played guitar and I asked him to play bass. He reluctantly said yes and we’re all the better for it.
 
What were the bands that most inspired you to be musicians and how do they shape the sound of the group today?
 
James: There was never a particular band that inspired me to be a musician. I grew up in a musical family. My dad was one of 10 kids and almost all of them play an instrument. I think it was just ingrained in me. For a band that left an impact on me, like most drummers, it was Rush. I can remember the day I walked into my drum lesson when I was around 12 years old or so. I was finally starting to read music at a decent level and my teacher brought in the drum transcriptions for Neil Peart. He put on Tom Sawyer and my music life changed. From that moment on I grew into more progressive and metal. While these influences might not be prevalent on the record, I think if you heard Chris' initial demos, where the tracks were more folk inspired, you may see them shine through a little more.
 
Chris: You all ruined my cool folk songs. Father John Misty would cry. Then he’d probably write a minute long song about it and say something smug. I’ll answer this in the next question, haha.
 
Where do you usually draw inspiration from to write your music, how does the creative process usually work when it comes to writing songs?
 
Chris: I draw inspiration from pop culture, books, and movies, but it’s mostly other musicians. For this record I was really into Ezra Furman, the Walkmen, Spoon, and Desaparecidos. Songs, for me, usually start with strumming random chords and singing random or pre-planned phrases over them until something fits. Then it’s adding to that sketch by replaying it 200 times, hopefully building and arriving at a finished song. Then there’s the 200 times of playing it with slight variations until it feels its absolute best. After that, it’s learning the song with the band and adapting it until it feels perfect. Good songs take time; that’s the secret.
 
When a live set takes place, give us a sense of what the setting is like plus the energy and vibe of the people in the crowd and is there a real magic that takes shape?
 
James: It's the Garden on a Saturday night. Sold out. Fans lined up around the corner trying to score tickets from a scalper. We strike the first chord. The place erupts. It's beautiful chaos as they sing note for note every last word. Then we wake up and remember that we're a new band and it's a process that (while we've all been in previous bands) has to start over from the beginning again. I think the honest answer is that we lose ourselves. Chris has to connect with them, but I just like to zone out. It's a fun time, though. A little dancey, a little punky.
 
Chris: For me, playing a live show is one-third of the reason for the term ‘sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.’ All three invoke another state of mind; one where you need to be hyper focused, analyze every conscious decision, and simultaneously allow a bunch of things to run on autopilot. The playing and singing is usually automatic, while the rest of my brain is focused on the audience, the band, and how we’re being perceived. Afterward, I can never quite remember all the details and am usually too sweaty for my own good.
 
An open-minded crowd is always nice, but the goal is to get to a crowd who’s expecting you and knows exactly why they’re there and what you can bring to the table. Basements have always been the most intimate and rewarding experiences as far as I’m concerned.
 
FC: I get stage fright, drink a beer and forget to sing... but this has evolved into a loud, in your face, fun, fast, electric and entertaining show that we can crank out anywhere.
 
Take us behind the recording of your upcoming self-titled effort and what the process was like?
 
James: You ever start a project and then something pops up and so you pivot and then you pivot again and then you get new ideas flying at you and by the end of the project it turns out totally different than you initially anticipated, but in a weird way, where everything you had dreamed it could be was right there all along?
 
I think we ended up tracking this record in 5-10 different locations across New Jersey and New York City enlisting the help of some amazing friends who were more than willing to donate their time to the project. This all wouldn’t have been possible without them.
 
Chris: It was long and arduous and I’d prefer for the whole thing to be shorter in the future. But the result of it all is something we’re happy with, so unfortunately all that time was well spent. :D
 
What was your favorite song from the effort that really stands out?
 
James: The first single, "Heart of Darkness." When that song was written and we started learning it, I think there was that "Aha!" moment where we all looked at each other and realized that there was something here.
 
Chris: “Heart of Darkness” was definitely the Aha moment, but my favorite is a toss up between the swanky “Blackest Ice” and the Pixies-esque “Gone Gone Gone.” Both were me trying new things from a song-writing perspective that really paid off in different ways.
 
FC: Each of them has in some way been my favorite but now it's settled and 'no fun' wins.
 
Let's go behind the shooting for the "Heart of Darkness" video, loved the concept and the 'Weekend at Bernie's" homage to it! What was shooting the video like?
 
James: I honestly can't do that day any justice. It sort of reflects the recording of the album in a weird way. We went into the day with one idea, got to Chris' Winter Lake House and when we got ready to shoot we came to the conclusion that our initial plan wasn't happening. So an afternoon of grilling and having some beers, we looked around and decided to make the most of what we had. "Weekend at Bernie's" was definitely on our minds, but the creation felt very organic.
 
We had boats pulling up to us on the dock asking us to play them some tunes. And as a little piece of random trivia/pop-up video factoid - there's actually a piece of memorabilia from a fairly well known music video that appears in ours. See if you can figure it out.
 
FC: We got to kill Chris and dump his body in a lake. That's all I have to say about that.
 
How can people find out more about you online?
 
We are everywhere you want to be
http://RubyBonesBand.com
http://Facebook.com/RubyBonesBand
http://Instagram.com/RubyBonesBand
 
Lastly, where do you see Ruby Bones moving forward?
 
James: If I know Chris, which I don't. He's already written the next five albums and they're probably in a plethora of genres that FC and I will undoubtedly change during the process.
 
In the short term, I'm just excited to get these songs out there, play some shows, make some new friends and if people are enjoying the music, then we've done our job.
 
Chris: Who is this James guy? Haha. Well I have at least two records written at this point, but wanna try writing with the band on some unfinished ideas to see if any magic can happen. My goal is to make varied records in a few different genres, but we’ll see. Bombay Bicycle Club have a career arc that I’d like to imitate in a few ways.
 
FC: I see us moving forward to Studio at Webster hall on May 27th. Come party!
 
Thanks once again to James, FC, and Chris for being so witty and charming in doing this interview! You really begin to gain a sense of their personalities and what they're like in person just by hearing them banter about silly stuff, and it makes the guys all the more appealing and that much more visible to the concertgoer when they spot them on stage during a concert. Please check out Ruby Bones at the aforementioned links above.

Babel Review: Ruby Bones

 
 

via Babel Reviews

Rating: B+

Buy the album now at http://rubybones.bandcamp.com.

Ruby Bones - Ruby BonesIt’s tough out there for a guitar-based band, with the charts seemingly allergic to any artist that puts a little riffage front and center. New Jersey-based indie rockers Ruby Bones take that as a dare on their self-titled debut album. Not only is this a proudly guitar-heavy record, they’re mixed so high you can’t even hope to ignore them. But the band isn’t just here to batter you into the ground. While they certainly fit the contemporary indie-punk mold of Cloud Nothings, Japandroids, and White Lung, Ruby Bones set themselves apart through the sheer quantity and quality of the hooks crafted by lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Chris Nova. Oh, and a little sax-a-ma-phone.

Ruby Bones, the album, kicks off with the indisputable one-two-three punch of “Bad Bad Blood,” “Heart of Darkness,” and “You I Want.” Nova steals a page from Lady Gaga’s playbook on the intro track, expertly employing repetition to reach “Poker Face” levels of pre-chorus catchiness (“oh m-m-m-my, my bad bad blood”). Meanwhile, bassist FC Spies and drummer James Janocha know just when to bottle up and when to explode, creating tension with Nova’s guitar that primes the song’s chorus for maximum impact. Lead singles “Heart of Darkness” and “You I Want” keep the ball rolling in fine form, each boasting the kind of monster chorus alternative-rock radio used to go gaga over in the days before Twenty One Pilots.

And then, the band lets its Jersey show in the best way possible, bringing in Denis Daley to lay down some fat sax on “Blackest Ice” and “No Fun.” While Daley serves a largely supporting role on the former, lending it flourishes of Springsteen-esque classic rock before grabbing a Big Man-style solo, he takes center stage on “No Fun” with a sax lead seemingly inspired by the iconic riff of Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.” He shows up again to bolster one of Nova’s best vocal hooks on “Into the Night,” sinking in his own claws with a lead that gives the hard-charging pre-verse instrumental a satisfying lift. “Hard to Move” rounds out the album’s sax section, and this four-piece lineup is a good look for the band. It’ll be interesting to see where they take things on album #2.

Ruby Bones’ lone weak point comes in “Gone Gone Gone,” which coasts a bit on Pixies-inspired “oohs” and “aahs.” There’s also a turn of phrase in the chorus that could use some smoothing out (“And in the darkness we will take, we will take off all our clothes”). But it’s sandwiched between “Chemical” and “Into the Night,” two of the album’s better tracks, so it’s easy to forgive. “Reaper” then siphons some of White Lung’s breathless forward velocity in the album’s penultimate slot, and with its anthemic “whoa-oh-oh” outro, it’s tempting to wish the record ended then and there. But alas, it’s a nitpick that would have denied the world the excellent “You’re Still Here,” which anchors itself on a killer bassline from Spies. Think of it as an especially great bonus track, and you’ll have the best of both worlds.

In the end, Ruby Bones is a fantastic debut that comes as a breath of fresh air in today’s music scene. The band blasts out short, loud, catchy rock tunes with huge guitars and absolutely no apologies or pretension, resulting in an album that would sound equally great in a dingy basement, blasting from speakers on the beach, or being shouted back at the stage in a giant arena. Let’s all hope the winds of change blow fiercely through the industry sooner rather than later, because Ruby Bones has the potential to do some serious damage once they get their foot in the door.

Standout Tracks
“Bad Bad Blood”
“You I Want”
“Into the Night”

Ruby Bones Share Stream of Their Self-Titled Debut (PopMatter Premiere)

via PopMatters

When Chris Nova was in the exuberant pop-rock outfit Boxed Wine, him and the rest of the gang had a pretty novel way of getting their music out to people: giving all of it away for free. 
  
Indeed, dropping a full-length, two EPs, and two meaty dance-ready singles is a hell of a way to get attention, but Nova’s muse was more than just pastel-colored party favors. Along with drummer James Janocha, and bassist FC Spies, Nova soon formed a much more rock-oriented outfit called Ruby Bones, which put the guitars and the grit front and center, but without sacrificing any of Nova’s clear melodic gifts.

“The long and short of it is that I’m always writing and had a ton of extra songs laying around gathering dust,” Nova said prior to premiering the band’s eponymous debut exclusively on PopMatters. “At the same time, I wanted to put together another band that played something a bit more ‘rock n roll’ than the more contemporary sound of Boxed Wine.”

“When I say ‘rock ‘n’ roll,’ for me it represents the idea of timelessness,” he continues. “What bands are timeless? It’s a subjective and oh so easily pretentious question, but in my opinion it’s artists like the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, the Strokes, the Thermals, Bruce Springsteen, Ezra Furman, Spoon, and the Walkmen. Groups who own their sound and exude a classic cool. Obviously there’s many more examples and arguments to be had about it, but as a songwriter those are the bands that I admire most. Their influence is definitely on the album in bits and pieces.

“My goal has always been to be in a band that could take from different eras and make something that seemed like it could be from any of them. If not on this record then on future ones. This one might have ended up being way heavier than I imagined it to be, but in retrospect that’s pretty cool. It’s good that it’s heavy but still not overly macho in a ‘hard rock’ sense. These are folk songs that got electrocuted and ground into the dirt a few times, and I know they’re probably better for it.

When asked to pick out a favorite moment on the debut, Nova giddily declares that “The song I’m most excited about is probably ‘Gone Gone Gone’. It’s got a longer structure, an extended outro that’s a blast to play live, and a feel/sound that reminds me of The Pixies. That one was a surprise, and recording the backups revealed that our bassist FC Spies only belts vocals like a 1977 English punk rocker. We still can’t figure out why, but it works wonders.”

You Need To Know Ruby Bones

 
 

via The Corner Type

Chris Nova, vocals and guitarist of Ruby Bones, told The Corner Type all about their upcoming album. To get the backstory of how the band met, Chris said, “I’d known James for a while from being a fan of his previous band Twin Berlin (who are great, btw), and I knew he could give the songs the energy they needed. He continued, “Thankfully he was looking for a new band as well, having recently relocated to Hoboken.” He said, “FC was a friend from work who I spent some time bartending with before learning he played the guitar.” Chris asked FC if he was interested in playing “bass in a band that liked to party.” The rest is history.

When the band was trying to come up with a name, Chris said, “Every band name you could think of has been taken at this point by some random kid with a laptop and guitar (myself included), so it’s hard to come up with something unique.” He continued, “I wanted to name the project something vaguely folky and not too weird. Something that sounded like it could be a band’s name (i.e. Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, Beach Slang, Arctic Death).”

Chris told us that even though they are just starting out, people already think they are “a girl singer-songwriter named Ruby.” He said, “What’s great about band names is that they don’t matter at all once the band catches any kind of name recognition.” He continued, “Once you’re known to be good or known at all, the name falls out the window. Though it certainly doesn’t hurt to have an easy name starting off.” We love the name Ruby Bones, but we love their music even more! With this new album, they will definitely be known.

In three days, May 12, 2017, Ruby Bones’ new album is going to be released to the public! You can pre-order it now here. Chris said, “Topically, the record is inspired by the general concept of death, but only because I got tired of hearing/writing love songs.” He continued, “So for me it became this idea of creating a record about entropy, while simultaneously having it burst with energy.” He said, “I also tried to make the lyrics fit the feel of the songs and still be poppy enough to get stuck in your head. They’re overall a bit darker and might cary more weight, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying the music.”

One of the songs on this new album is “Heart of Darkness.” Scroll to the bottom to listen to it and watch the video! Ironically enough, Chris said that this is probably his favorite song on the album. He said, “To me it sounds like the mission statement of this album.” He continued, “It’s simple, fast powerful, and has a big yet not overbearing hook. It’s all the things I look for in songs I enjoy.” We have to agree and we definitely love this song!

When writing new songs, Chris said, “I get inspiration mostly from my favorite bands and then whatever I’m listening to at the moment.” He continued, “Artists like The Walkmen, The Thermals, Conor Oberst and The Strokes all write fantastic pop songs that aren’t obviously pop songs, and for this record I took most inspiration from that world.”

Outside of music, Chris said, “My new hobby seems to be moving.” He continued, “At the moment I’m moving a house-worth of useless garbage for the second time in the last nine months.” He said, “It’s exhausting, but we have an adorable dog named Bacon that makes it all worth it.” Follow Bacon on Instagram @bacogram!

Ruby Bones has such a good, unique sound that will get stuck in your head all day (in a good way). Follow them on Twitter @RubyBones. Don’t forget about their new album coming out on May 12th!

You Need to Know: Ruby Bones

 
 

via The Corner Type

Chris Nova, vocals and guitarist of Ruby Bones, told The Corner Type all about their upcoming album. To get the backstory of how the band met, Chris said, “I’d known James for a while from being a fan of his previous band Twin Berlin (who are great, btw), and I knew he could give the songs the energy they needed. He continued, “Thankfully he was looking for a new band as well, having recently relocated to Hoboken.” He said, “FC was a friend from work who I spent some time bartending with before learning he played the guitar.” Chris asked FC if he was interested in playing “bass in a band that liked to party.” The rest is history.

When the band was trying to come up with a name, Chris said, “Every band name you could think of has been taken at this point by some random kid with a laptop and guitar (myself included), so it’s hard to come up with something unique.” He continued, “I wanted to name the project something vaguely folky and not too weird. Something that sounded like it could be a band’s name (i.e. Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, Beach Slang, Arctic Death).”

Chris told us that even though they are just starting out, people already think they are “a girl singer-songwriter named Ruby.” He said, “What’s great about band names is that they don’t matter at all once the band catches any kind of name recognition.” He continued, “Once you’re known to be good or known at all, the name falls out the window. Though it certainly doesn’t hurt to have an easy name starting off.” We love the name Ruby Bones, but we love their music even more! With this new album, they will definitely be known.

In three days, May 12, 2017, Ruby Bones’ new album is going to be released to the public! You can pre-order it now here. Chris said, “Topically, the record is inspired by the general concept of death, but only because I got tired of hearing/writing love songs.” He continued, “So for me it became this idea of creating a record about entropy, while simultaneously having it burst with energy.” He said, “I also tried to make the lyrics fit the feel of the songs and still be poppy enough to get stuck in your head. They’re overall a bit darker and might cary more weight, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying the music.”

One of the songs on this new album is “Heart of Darkness.” Scroll to the bottom to listen to it and watch the video! Ironically enough, Chris said that this is probably his favorite song on the album. He said, “To me it sounds like the mission statement of this album.” He continued, “It’s simple, fast powerful, and has a big yet not overbearing hook. It’s all the things I look for in songs I enjoy.” We have to agree and we definitely love this song!

When writing new songs, Chris said, “I get inspiration mostly from my favorite bands and then whatever I’m listening to at the moment.” He continued, “Artists like The Walkmen, The Thermals, Conor Oberst and The Strokes all write fantastic pop songs that aren’t obviously pop songs, and for this record I took most inspiration from that world.”

Outside of music, Chris said, “My new hobby seems to be moving.” He continued, “At the moment I’m moving a house-worth of useless garbage for the second time in the last nine months.” He said, “It’s exhausting, but we have an adorable dog named Bacon that makes it all worth it.” Follow Bacon on Instagram @bacogram!

Ruby Bones has such a good, unique sound that will get stuck in your head all day (in a good way). Follow them on Twitter @RubyBones. Don’t forget about their new album coming out on May 12th!

 
 

Speak Into My Goodeye Present: 'I'll Be Around' - A Tribute to Wilco

 
 

via Speak Into My Goodeye

As with all of the best things that have happened in my time working with Speak Into My Good Eye over the years, I’ll Be Around – A Tribute To Wilco was born out of that nagging feeling to do something, ya know? When I first thought to post on the SIMGE Facebook page and gauge interest in another tribute compilation, I had no idea that Karen of The Project Matters would reach out with such a strong connection to the music of Wilco and concurrently did not anticipate their impact on a wide swath of our contributing artists.

It’s truly one of the proudest moments I’ve had in running this site to present to you I’ll Be Around consisting of 20 beautiful covers that run the gamut of Wilco’s styles and the breadth of their catalogue. I cannot thank everyone involved enough for their time and energy in contributing to this project, and the quality present on each of these submissions will speak for themselves better than I ever could.

With that, I encourage you to dig in below and to donate to The Project Matters directly here. We’ll be celebrating tomorrow at the Wonder Bar as Colton Kayser and Tyler Sarfert, both on the compilation, open up for Cymbals Eat Guitars. I hope that this compilation brightens your day whenever you may be listening to it and that you’ll consider supporting The Project Matters who may very well put that first instrument into the hands of a kid who will appear on a future project of ours!

(DISCLAIMER: This is a set of Wilco cover songs turned in lovingly by several artists of whom have been deeply affected in some way by their music. This compilation is in no way for profit and was done to pay tribute to the band and raise awareness of The Project Matters (501 (C) (3)) - http://theprojectmatters.org/select_donation.) Following the release of a Queens of the Stone Age tribute compilation and three 24 Hour Songwriting Challenges, Speak Into My Good Eye is now happy to share I’ll Be Around a tribute to Wilco set out now. Honoring one of the greatest bands of the modern era, I’ll Be Around will benefit The Project Matters, a 501 (C) (3) corporation that works to further the creation of music with an emphasis on aspiring musicians aged 25 and younger. Artists are offered a network of industry advisors and mentors who lend their expertise in the areas of business, technical, performance and emotional support. Wilco had a profound influence in shaping The Project Matters as its Executive Director Karen High shares: “Shortly before my beautiful son passed he had me listen to two Wilco songs. Both from their latest release, Sky Blue Sky. The first was the track "Either Way" and the other, the title track. I started to listen and had to stop. Those songs affected me physically and I started to cry. I have to say, it was a very strong reaction. I explained this to Ben and he understood saying, "that's what it's supposed to do, emotionally touch you as a listener." Sky Blue Sky turned out to be the last CD he purchased. Jeff Tweedy was one of his influences. And I continue to be a huge fan.” The compilation is led by a cover of “Red Eyed And Blue” beautifully realized by Jackson Pines featuring a close friend of Ben High’s, J.T. Makoviecki. “Ben was one of the first people to push Wilco on me,” shares Makoviecki. “I had heard of them and liked ‘Jesus Etc.’ but Ben FORCED me to dig deeper and when I discovered Being There the record changed my idea of writing an album, and what pop music could do. This song reminds me of Ben, not because of the references in the song, but because how it's about recording and Ben LOVED making records. Recording parts of my first album YES (Makoveskus) in the High's basement were some of the best memories I have of my teenhood. Believing in music, doing it yourself, and doing it with Ben at the helm." Speak Into My Good Eye is honored to be a part of this special project, and asks that you join us and The Project Matters at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ on May 6th, 2017.

Premiere: Ruby Bones - 'You I Want'

via GetAlternative.com

Ruby Bones are teaming up with The Alternative to bring forth their lyric video of “You I Want.” Utilizing groovy rhythm structures, Ruby Bones cater to individuals looking for rock and roll that feels good to hear. “You I Want” is a bouncy tune with dynamic patterns, catchy refrains and a pop infused beat. Along with the lyrics, the video utilizes a calming background of a forest with sprinkled snow. What a track to start off the weekend, presented by Ruby Bones off of their upcoming LP Heart of Darkness — out May 12th.

Best New Indie Rock of 2017, Vol. II

Yesterday our friends over at Indie Rock Cafe named "Heart of Darkness" one of their Best New DIY Releases of 2017! Here's what they had to say:

With unfettered guitar rock hooks, energetic rhythms and existential lyrics on songs like “Heart of Darkness,” the new Brooklyn indie rock band Ruby Bones make no bones about enjoying themselves.

The track reminds us a lot of The Strokes, and in a good way. The band’s guitarist and vocalist Chris Nova, describes the track this way: “It’s heavy without being macho, all while embracing pop melodies and big hooks.”

On May 12th, the band will drop their eponymous debut album. Ruby Bones main musical influences include The Thermals, The Walkmen, and Spoon. The other band members are James Janocha on drums and FC Spies on bass.

Watch: Ruby Bones Shares “Heart of Darkness” // Debut LP Out 5/12

 
 

via Speak Into My Good Eye

It’s been a little over two years since we last heard from Chris Nova whose band Boxed Wine graced these SIMGE pages several times over the years. Turns out, he’s been working on his latest venture, the newly minted indie-rock group Ruby Bones making an instant splash.

Comprised primarily of Nova, FC Spies and James Janocha, the band recently shared their proper debut in the form of single “Heart of Darkness” which combines that very particular sense of New Jersey-based urgency with no wasted energy in their formidable pop-rock engine. Keep an eye on them this Summer for sure.

Watch Ruby Bones in “Heart of Darkness” below and be sure to pre-order their self-titled debut here.