Fiddle prodigy Ruby Jane has been a fixture on the Austin roots scene since she was eleven years old, playing with everyone from Willie to Lady Gaga along the way. Now twenty-one, Ruby has spent the last two years redefining herself as a songwriter and vocalist while assembling a band of young players whose musicianship matches her own. The result is the new album In My Head, a collection of psyche-tinged, fiddle-driven, hook-laden ear candy produced by Frenchie Smith. This full band effort written entirely with bassist Austin Simmons and arranged by the group (Miggy Milla, guitar & vocals, Sam Powell, keys, Chris Copeland, drums & vocals), veers sharply from roots music toward catchy pop-rock, pushing the sonic envelope with patches, pedals, and live effects that keep the fiddle front and center, but often sounding like anything but a fiddle. As always, Ruby’s musicianship is daring and inventive, and producer Frenchie Smith adds a studio gloss that perfectly fits the dreamy vibe of the new tunes while pushing Ruby’s confident vocals forward in the mix. In My Head marks the arrival of Ruby Jane as a full-grown triple threat – a tremendous instrumentalist, compelling vocalist and inventive songwriter.
Ruby and the Reckless
Fiddle prodigy Ruby Jane has been a fixture on the Austin roots scene since she was eleven years old, playing with everyone from Willie to Lady Gaga along the way. Now twenty-one, Ruby has spent the last two years redefining herself as a songwriter and vocalist while assembling a band of young players whose musicianship matches her own. The result is the new album In My Head, a collection of psyche-tinged, fiddle-driven, hook-laden ear candy produced by Frenchie Smith. This full band effort written entirely with bassist Austin Simmons and arranged by the group (Miggy Milla, guitar & vocals, Sam Powell, keys, Chris Copeland, drums & vocals), veers sharply from roots music toward catchy pop-rock, pushing the sonic envelope with patches, pedals, and live effects that keep the fiddle front and center, but often sounding like anything but a fiddle. As always, Ruby’s musicianship is daring and inventive, and producer Frenchie Smith adds a studio gloss that perfectly fits the dreamy vibe of the new tunes while pushing Ruby’s confident vocals forward in the mix. In My Head marks the arrival of Ruby Jane as a full-grown triple threat – a tremendous instrumentalist, compelling vocalist and inventive songwriter.