Guitarist extraordinaire Jon Rubin gives us a litle insight into his talent filled, musical world.
Q: What are your musical goals or aspirations?
A: This one's easy...just to be 'playing out' regularly in front of an appreciative audience, and performing with tremendously talented musicians. Since I'm returning to performance music after working most of my life at a non-musical career, where playing guitar was almost entirely a singular experience, it's a thrill for me now to be playing with these great musicians and getting that feeling from a live audience.
Still, somewhere included in there is a sense of sharing our repertoire of these great but relatively obscure traditional/roots tunes with a new audience, while finding a truly original musical 'voice' with my collaborators in expressing that sound. So maybe some ambitious aspirations after all...
Q: What is your musical history?
I've played guitar all of my adult life, and at one point early on it was really the only thing I wanted to do (or could do). My mentor was Alan Mann, an authentic rock-and-roll/folk troubadour in Phila. in the 70's (who sadly died way too young). He encouraged my earliest attempts at writing and performing, and I opened for him on a few occasions as a solo acoustic singer/songwriter. But I was just strumming chords basically. It wasn't until later on that I got into flatpicking, and eventually, fingerpicking and alternate tunings. That opened up a whole new world where solo guitar could be a virtuoso instrument, not just accompaniment to singing or songwriting. And I found that working out an original fingerpicking arrangement of a traditional piece could be as creative as songwriting. So now the final piece of the puzzle has been to weave that fingerstyle playing -- which can be like having the whole band in your right hand -- into ensemble playing, where sometimes 'less is more' and I don't have to always keep the bass going with my thumb or provide the melody line on top. And believe me, learning NOT to automatically play that alternating bass line requires a big leap for a solo guitarist!
Q: Who or what are your influences and inspirations?
A: Jorma Kaukonen. I was totally enthralled by his playing on the first acoustic Hot Tuna album (recorded at New Orleans House in Berkeley in 1970). It was authentic Rev. Gary Davis country blues, with that rhythmic, syncopated fingerpicking and gospel choir-influenced intervals, but fused with folk, rock…all sounds that were coming together at that time. Then there is this whole 'school of British acoustic folk/blues guitar' from the sixties, guys like Bert Jansch, who had so much influence on Jimmy Page. I spent a week with Martin Simpson in a workshop and he inspired a lot of what you hear in my playing now. Yet another bloody brilliant Brit who is a secret outside of the UK, but has provided me a huge recent dose of re-inspiration for guitar playing: Nic Jones.
Q: Where have you played?
A: Apart from South St., Phila., you mean? Since last May we/I (still play the rare solo gig) have been playing just about every week from Monterey to SF, including a kind of 'acoustic circuit' which I think of as East Village Monterey, Cava Capitola, Bocci's Cellar Santa Cruz, Caffe Trieste San Jose....we've played these all many times. But our prestige gigs have been The Union Room (Upstairs@Biscuits&Blues) in SF and Red Rock Cafe in Mountain View.
Q: When and where are upcoming shows?
A: It's nice to be able to say our calendar is full to April 2010, check here. http://www.jr-guitar.com/ I'm most excited about our return to The Union Room on March 5, it's just a great venue and music-loving tradition.
Q: Anything else you want the reader to know?
A: I refer to our group as an ‘acoustic power trio’ of bass, violin/viola and guitar, and am totally thrilled to be playing with my virtuoso bandmates. Check out their bios on the About page of our website. And we're playing our 2010 SF shows with Grammy award-winning violinist Cal Keaoola, who is an inspirational musician in his own right.
Comments
I caught Jon Rubin's recent show at El Rio. Sure, give him props for trying the "acoustic circuit". However, a good dose of work in the woodshed should really be applied to his singing voice (or lack there of) and his sense of timing. His phrasing is "random" at best. There's a distinct disconnect there. Ted, I think your use of the phrase "guitarist extraordinaire" is quite a stretch. C'mon now...unless you are doing paid reviews now? Are you?
A dead holiday-season night in the front room at El Rio -- good time to try out new work-in-progress material, do an unrehearsed collaboration with talented guest vocalist (thanks Radina!) and gain some stage time minus the support of bandmates. So how did I rate getting Ms. Simon Cowell in the audience? (with an ax to grind with Ted to boot...) Oh well, I'd have anyone reading this far to come out to a future show with the trio -- plenty to choose from -- and be your own judge.
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