Karen Cole. The mid-September sunshine breaks as seniors Chris Hernandez and Jesse Hughey, speak of the past, present and future of their band, Jack Ruby Presents.
The two represent half of the self-proclaimed folk rock/regional, mexican/psychobilly band. Senior Melissa Davaz and junior Aaron Owens complete the group.
For a while, frontman Hughey didn’t really have a band at all, just different cropping up and playing instruments with him, until Hughey decided on two partners: Hernandez and Davaz.
Remembering when he met Davaz, Hughey said the first words he ever said to her were along the lines of, “Do you like Dark Beard and Bob Dylan?”
Their trio was a good freshman cell on its own, but the picture was not complete until Hughey discovered Owens and convinced him to play on drums the following year.
Back then, they mostly played covers and small performances on campus. Then they began developing their sound.
The band emerged from a set of influences – most notably not Toby Keith, they insisted – and played its first true gig in Oct. 2007, and steadily climbed up the ranks that few other college bands are motivated to attain.
Although it has performed around Oregon, California and Alaska, often playing more than one show a week, Jack Ruby is preparing for its next big step: touring.
Hughey and Hernandez said they are both under the impression that it would be next to impossible to keep up with steady performances while trying to record another album (not to mention attend school), so they bunched all the shows together to save time and gas.
Thus was the birth of their first real tour, beginning Nov. 20.
Although all the members passed their classes, they find it hard to balance their art, school and social time.
But friends or not, the band certainly has fans.
Kicking off the tour, Jack Ruby Presents will play in Corvallis, Ore., Nov. 20, and go south to Arcata, Calif., the following day. From there the band goes to San Francisco, Calif.
As if that weren’t enough, they will hit up Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 24.
After a quick break for Thanksgiving, the band will travel to Albany, Ore., Nov. 28, and wrap up the tour in Portland on Nov. 29.
But what comes after touring? The band said it wants to work on its next album, or at least make a plan to work on it. And a plan is necessary because the album will be Hughey’s senior creative writing thesis.
Hernandez said the band’s freshman album, The Cardboard EP, is misleading.
“[We’ve got] a lot more energy than the album alludes to,” Hernandez said.
Jack Ruby Presents released its first album through Alaska’s Home Skillet Records and plans to release a second under the same label.
The band’s name refers to Jack Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, suspected assassin of President John F. Kennedy.
“I find him to be an interesting character,” Hughey said. “He’s villianized for taking the ability for revenge and knowing [about the killing].”
Hernandez said the band, and possibly its cryptic name, is simply “Jesse finding himself,” and it came out of a need to play music.
“Both are madly in love with what we’re playing,” Hughey said.
Ups and downs are part of any story, and Jack Ruby credits a house show from early in its career as a low point.
About 12 people attended, they said, nine or so of whom they knew. The homeowners were not even there, and, since the exposure was minimal, the original members said it was a waste of time.
On the other hand, their favorite memory is of opening for Langhorne Slim at a concert hall in Alaska. It was easily the biggest gig they’ve played, and they enjoyed the audience’s fresh faces there that reflected the energy they put into their work. While they
cherish old fans, they said there is something special about new faces.
And the band hopes new faces will find their way to a coming 21-up show in Corvallis on Sept 18.
More information can be found on www.myspace.com/jackrubypresents and The Cardboard EP can be purchased at www.homeskilletrecords.com. The last opportunity to hear this Linfield legend on campus will be at the year’s last Cat Cab.