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Interviews  The
Rubes
by Chris
Barnes
 The
Rubes' Hokum is only the second album to floor me in 2002. The
Rubes offer an intoxicating alchemy of heaviness, soul and exceptional
jam ability. Kinda like Humble Pie on steroids or Gov't Mule with the
amps turned up to ten. I've rarely heard heavy music played like this,
with such a vast amount of feeling behind it. So, right after I heard
the album I emailed The Rubes and asked them if I could interview 'em
and they were kind enough to oblige. So without further delay, ladies
and gentlemen...The Rubes!
Hellride
Music: Congrats on the new album! Hokum is one of
the most rocking, original, heavy and soulful rock albums I've heard in
a long time! How long have you guys been playing together? I know Brent
and Greg were in a metal band called Epitaph for awhile, but how did Mace
come into the picture?
Mace: Thank you for the kind words,
and all the support from Hellride music. Chris Barnes, you rock! Now let's
see...if I remember correctly, it was around 1999...we we're partyin'
like Prince would if he was three white guys from southern Ohio...it just
seemed like a good idea. It still seems like a good idea, I could not
find better people to be working with. Everything just seems to come to
all three of us equally easily.
Greg: Brent and I knew Mace from his
old band and we simply discussed the idea one evening that we'd like to
jam sometime, given we were all into many of the same band's, etc. After
the first few times we played together as a trio, it felt to me like we'd
been together for years.
Hellride
Music: Can
you define for me the approach The Rubes use to songwriting? Many of the
songs on Hokum seem to be jam oriented in a sense..do the majority
of the musical ideas come out of jam sessions?
Mace: Honestly it is, for us, mostly
a matter of letting things take their course. Most times, someone will
be playing a riff that someone else notices, and we build from there.
We all three write music. Both Brent and Greg are excellent, and seemingly
endless, fountains of riff-y goodness. I write the lyrics and melodies.
Hellride Music: Mace, God bless
your mammy and pappy for giving you a voice like that...I mean, hoo hah!!
That is some set of pipes you got. Have you sung before? Do you pull off
that scream-thing you do on "Snake Oil" in a live situation?
Mace: Well, thank you! I was born singing.
Basically, it's all I'm good for. Except, I'm a good driver...and I'm
polite...and I can roll a pretty good joint...but other than those things
and singing, I'm about useless. I hope you get a chance to hear us live
sometime soon, then you can decide for yourself.
Hellride Music: Brent, you seem
to switch styles effortlessly from 70's hard rock, to metal to a folkie
type of vibe....often in the same song. Who do you count among your influences
as a guitarist?
Brent: I would have to say Ace Frehley,
K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, Malcolm and Angus Young, Edward Van Halen,
James Hetfield, Scott Ian, and of course, John Lennon, George Harrison,
and Paul McCartney, not to mention a lot of '60's psychedelia, '70's arena
rock stuff, and all the '80's metal.
Hellride Music: Greg, how long have
you played drums and who are your influences as a drummer?
Greg: I've been playing since 1983.
Ringo, Jerry Gaskill of King's X, Al Jackson, Jr. on the old Stax/Volt
recordings, Mark Zonder of Fates Warning and Away from Voivod are a but
few drummer's that have influenced me over the years.
Hellride Music: Who does the death
grunts on "20 Three" anyway? How did the decision to add those
to the song come about? Quite a juxtaposition to Mace's crooning...
Greg: If I remember correctly it was
my idea to try something different for that section of the tune and being
that I'm the resident Metal Merchant of the band, I thought it was great
idea.
Mace: Yeah, all the vocals for this
disc were done in the space of a couple of hours, studio time was burning,
and I was still not sure how I was going to do that section vocally. Greg
and Brent suggested I do the death vocals. There you have it.
Hellride Music: Who has the job
of writing the lyrics? Can you give us the message behind "Snake
Oil", "20 Three" and the awesome "Change My Mind"?
Greg: Haha, good question Chris! Mace
has yet to let us know what the tunes are about!
Mace: Now, it's not that I'm trying
to be mysterious or anything...let me tell you a story...once, I'd written
this song, and was really proud of the lyrics. I played it for a friend,
who's opinion I quite value, and they liked them. They asked me what it
was about, so I said, "I don't know. What do you think it's about?"
The told me what they thought it was about, and it made perfect sense
to me, even though it was not at all what I'd meant when I'd written it.
So it seems wiser to me to leave it open to your own interpretation. Think
hard, and make me look good!
Hellride Music: What's next for
The Rubes? Will you be touring to support the new album?
Mace: We hope to be doing so. We're
all ready and willing, unfortunately we're not really business-type guys
(our talents, if you will, seem to be musical rather than organizational,
you see). So plans are slow in forming. We're really looking forward to
playing at the upcoming Emissions From The Monolith IV, and we're hoping
to have some concrete dates set for later in the summer. We'll keep you
posted.
Hellride Music: Thanks for the interview...anything
else you'd like to say/plug/abuse?
Mace: I would like to thank you, Chris
Barnes, as well as Kevin McHugh and all the fine folks at Hellride Music
for listening, and rockin' so hard!
Greg: Thank you Chris, Kevin McHugh
and everyone else at Hellride for the kind words and we hope to see some
of you on the road soon!
Read the Hellride Music review
of Hokum
Purchase The Rubes' Hokum at the Hellride
Music Super Store
Listen
to a Real Audio sample
of Change My Mind
Visit the Rubes website at www.rubesville.com
Copyright 2002 HellrideMusic.com
Interview by Chris
Barnes 4/23/02
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