The Ruse

Rockers it is my pleasure to introduce you to THE RUSE. Unlike other indie bands, this one is here to stay. They are not only talented, they are focused and know that to make it in what's left of the music industry you need something more than talent: You need a sense of humor.

RPM: Describe the big arena sound of The Ruse.

JD: We have always believed in using big catchy choruses and simple driving guitar drums and bass. We like our choruses to explode and our versus to be a little more airy. I think the it is really the guitar sounds and big choruses that give our songs and arena rock sound. The stuff we are working on now is much grittier than anything we have done before so I'm curious to see where it takes us.

RPM: How does NY compare to Los Angeles in terms of band visibility, shows?

JD: Believe it or not we have seen a lot more diversity in the live music scene out here for bands at our level. In NYC, when we started out, we would often find ourselves sandwiched between two hard core bands or punk rock bands and we were playing these shows where our fans would not like the other bands on the bill and their fans wouldn't like us. When we moved out here we seemed to be able to find bands that had a sound that worked better with ours and have since been able to put together bills here in LA and in NYC with some of our favorite acts that our fans also enjoy. I think that when people come out to see The Ruse now there is a good chance that they will enjoy the whole lineup of bands on that night.

RPM: Tells us about the production of the track "Beautiful is Gone"

JD: Beautiful Is Gone was a track that we were working on for a while in NYC and Los Angeles. We have been gradually moving in a more up beat rock direction (for us) and Beautiful was one of the first tracks that demonstrates the start of that new direction. We wound up working with 3 different producers trying to get the right sound for Midnight In The City and we finally found what we were looking for at that time with producer Jorge Vivo. Beautiful, like all of the songs on Midnight, really came together up in Malibu at the studio that Jorge was working in. The music we are working on now has roots in Beautiful Is Gone but we have greatly expanded on our "rock side" for the new tracks.

RPM: Who directed the video---How did you go about choosing a director that would be a good fit?

JD: The video for Beautiful Is Gone was directed by an east coast director named Scott Hansen. He had directed a video for our good friends Honor By August that we really liked. We hit it off with him and decided to work together. Most of that video was actually shot in Virginia. And then Scott came out to LA to shoot our parts. It was a great experience working with Scott.... except for when they poured the liquid from these glow sticks on my face... which burned...a lot.... and then when they tried to wash it off my face it all ran down into my crotch and almost burned my nuts off. I spent the next 20 minutes with a hose down my pants! Good times.
RPM: What is your favorite rock and roll documentary?

JD: There are many that I have enjoyed but I would have to say Rattle And Hum just because that was the first full length music video/documentary that I saw. I was in fourth or fifth grade when I saw it and it blew my mind. It really demonstrated to me as a kid the power that rock music could have on me and so many others. And the black and white just looked so cool to me at the time.

RPM: Tells us about Light in Motion. Is it true that you recorded it with a laptop inside your drummer' closet?

JD: Ha. Pretty much yes. When we got to LA we all moved into a two bedroom two bath place together. Jason and Jim shared a room and in there Jason set up all his computer stuff. We would do the instruments in that room and a little in our rehearsal space. When it came time to do vocals, into the closet I went and that's where we cut all of the vocals on the record.
RPM: As a musician, who influences you?

JD: We have a lot of classic rock influences; Tom Petty, U2, Pink Floyd, just to name a few. And we keep our ear to the ground for the smaller stuff coming out these days as well. But generally we have always looked to bands that have made a big mark over a long period of time. I don't think we are interested in being the next cool thing for five minutes. I think we really strive to have a long career with a lot of content.

RPM: What is your main goal with The Ruse?

JD: We intend to get to a point where we can look back on the early years, remember the empty shows, being broke and sleeping on the floors of dingy motel rooms and laugh about it one day. In the mean time we are loving the travel and the girls.
RPM: Are you still "Standing on this ledge with a bottle and a notion"?

JD: I don't really see any other way to do this!
RPM: What is the best show you have ever played? When/where?

JD: Any show we play in NYC, the 9:30 club in D.C was amazing, and there was great energy in the room the night we opened for Scott Weiland at the House Of Blues....and we had a heckler that night which is always fun for us.