BY COLE RIVARD
Local bluegrass/roots act The Rubes are one of the four local
acts taking the stage at the 35th Annual Northern Lights
Festival Boreal.
The six-piece act, fronted by local artist Billy John, and
supported by Pierre Lafromboise, Cristina Masotti, Paul
Loewenberg, Brian McNally and Don Kunto, already have a solid
reputation in Sudbury.
"We've managed to create this folky, southern style with our
music that still maintains a distinctly Canadian edge," John
said.
"I think the festival will be a great opportunity to get our
music out to a wider audience. There is going to be a lot of
great veteran Canadian talent that we'll get a chance to
perform with, with the promise of a great headliner for the
event."
The Rubes, who have been performing together for less than a
year, is a conglomeration of the various styles that each
member of the band will bring to the table.
"Cristina (Masotti) is a classically-trained violinist who
brings a lot of creativity to the band," John said. "Paul
Loewenberg has managed to be a well-rounded musician who has
been a staple in the Sudbury scene over the years as well.
Everyone is adding their own energy to the project, and it has
managed to spark quite a bit of interest."
The Rubes have begun recording their first
as-of-yet-untitled album at Sudbury's own Easter Island
Studios, and are expecting to release it before the Northern
Lights Festival Boreal begins on July 7.
This isn't the first time John has entered the studio.
"I've currently have two other albums out, both of them solo
projects," John said.
"The first was a collection of folk/celtic songs. The second was a circus-blues type of album, along the lines of a Tom Waits style. With the album we are currently recording, we are about halfway there. We have most of the lead instruments tracked down already. We just need to finish recording the supporting instruments."
With a fundamentally bluegrass sound, and with an outlaw
country edge reminiscent of acts such as Merle Haggard, The
Rubes have focused their lyrics to the storyteller style of
their predecessors.
"A lot of our lyrics are about guns, booze and women, I suppose," John said. "We have a song called Hey Rube, which is dedicated to the cryptic-looking style of George W. Bush."
