#mike ruby

CLOSE This song has a lot of space. So much, that it might be uncomfortable at first. That’s the point. After the first lyric “I don’t know, when things changed” it’s easy to guess at where the song is going. It tells the story of the ex you got “close” to taking the next step with. Everyone’s story will be different, but the feeling of almost making it will be the same. Most relationships that are in our past are there for the better, but it’s good to reminisce about them sometimes and wonder what could have happened. I hope this song can take you back to that place, even if only for a moment. If you want to stay there for a while though, throw it on repeat.

BURN AGAIN For some of you this may be about the same ex, for some it will be about a different one. This has a similar meaning to “Close,” but this song is actually contemplating getting back together, not just reminiscing. I want people to think about the relationship that had all the fireworks at a time in your life when you felt invincible. For most it’s the first, but it’s going to be different for everyone. The music video, filmed all over California, is a non-literal version of the story. I wake up in my home (a tent for this video’s sake) in the middle of the desert and set off to find something. I walk for hundreds of miles searching for something, and in the end realize I was better off without it, but was glad I went on the journey.

DON’T WANT YOU BACK (WTF) The feature track! This is probably my favorite from the EP because of the juxtaposition of the melody, super sweet and innocent, to the hook, which basically just straight up tells this person off. At some point you have to realize your self worth, and this is it. 

UNAPOLOGETIC  This song is written about that bad ass who’s hella cool. Everyone knows that person - you either want to be them or be with them. In this song, you see what everyone else sees and start to go down the slippery slope with them. 

NOT YOUR FAULT This is the most meaningful song to me on the EP. When I was in my first year of high school, my father was diagnosed with duodenal cancer. When I first heard the news, I was devastated. I realized that I’d have to face a very difficult reality, and music became an escape for me. I played, practiced, and wrote music every second of high school that I wasn’t spending with my dad. In my senior year, he gave me words of advice that I continue to live by. He told me that life will be shorter than I think, and to do what I love everyday. I took that advice to heart and that’s led me to where I am today and releasing this EP. The song deals with the difficult emotions of losing my father as a teenager and all the things he’s missed in my life so far, and all the milestones he will not be there for in the future. Although he is no longer physically here, he taught me everything I know today and I’m so thankful I had a role model like him in my life. 

STORY NEVER ENDS This song is about finding something new. It’s a love story, but you wouldn’t know it from the first verse, really it could go anywhere from there. “We drank too much that night … kissed you goodbye awkward as S*&#” maybe it’s about a bad date? Maybe meeting that “Close” or “Burn Again” ex? From there, though, the lyrics shift.  “I don’t know when you became my friend. When pencil changed to pen. When every cut began to sting” … it’s clearly about moving on with someone new and feeling all the feels again. “Now we’re making all these long term plans, I know now’s the beginning, the story never ends.” 

You can Stream/Download Mike Ruby’s EP ‘You Wrote These Songs’ here

Amandah Opoku: Mike, thank you for doing this interview today! Before we kick off please tell our readers about yourself and one new artist you've discovered in the last month. Mike Ruby: Thanks for having me. My name is actually Mike Ruby, I was born in Toronto and started my music career as a jazz saxophonist living in NY. I made a U-turn into the singer songwriter lane after playing with some pop bands in New York, spent some time in LA and Nashville writing songs, and am now releasing my first album/EP on June 26th as a pop artist. That’s me in a nutshell. Hmm new artist – she’s really not too new but she is new to me. Fletcher. Her new song “Bitter” is so well written, I heard it for the first time and was a fan. 

AO: What inspired you to pursue a career as an artist? And what drew you to create Pop music? MR: I was always a musician, but I wasn’t moving people with my own words, and I guess I just needed that fulfillment in my life, so picked up a guitar and started writing songs. Being a sideman and a front man are two totally different experiences and connecting with my fans now means everything to me. As a sideman, I played and opened for some pretty big pop acts and fell in love with that type of music and culture.  

AO: In college you played saxophone with synth-band St. Lucia, what did you learn from your experience with your band? Do you think your time playing with the band has directly influenced the music you create? MR: I learned a ton from the front man of that band, Jean. His energy on stage is unparalleled, and every song is so tightly rehearsed, so on stage the band can take it to the next level and interact with the crowd. It has 100% indirectly influenced my music. Jean and I write very differently, and of course come from very different places, but I think he’s one of the most brilliant writers I’ve come across and am honored to have been a part of his project. 

AO: Would you say there are any artists or songwriters that have inspired the music you create and the way you write? MR: I wish I could say one artist, but I really can’t. It’s been a mix of my favorite artists that have their own strengths that find their way into my music subconsciously. For example, I love the way Lauv writes melodies. I love the inflections Julia Michaels and Jessie Reyez put into their songs. The lyrical depth of early John Mayer records and the subtle messages Frank Ocean has in his songs, and not so subtle pockets that Jon Bellion has in his music. Even dating back to the jazz musicians I used to listen to like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau. They all play a role. 

AO: You'll be releasing your debut EP, You Wrote These Songs on June 26th. What was the writing and recording process like for the record? MR: These were all songs I couldn’t give away as a writer – I had to sing them for myself, so they hold a lot of meaning to me. I got to work with some incredible producers on this record in Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles including Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepson) Jamey Heath (Andy Grammer) Joel Stouffer and Ben Nudds. They’re great guys and incredibly talented musical minds, so they made the recording process easy. We had a great time making these songs and hope you have some fun listening to them.

AO: When you began working on You Wrote These Songs, did you have any idea/plan of what type of record you wanted to make? MR: Not. At. All.  I wasn’t even writing for a record, EP or anything to be honest. I was writing songs for other artists, one offs here and there, and before I knew it had written almost a thousand songs in three years between writing songs daily myself and doing lots of cowrites. At a certain point, I had a handful of songs that were written about very important people in my life that I couldn’t let go of, and that’s when the EP/record idea hit me. I needed to say these things out loud, so naturally the title You Wrote These Songs made a lot of sense. 

AO: Thinking about the songs on your EP from a lyrical standpoint, what is your favorite lyric you wrote and why? MR: That’s a tough one to answer. Just took a moment to myself to think about it and there are actually three that come to mind, all with extremely different meanings. One, the heaviest, is from a song I wrote about my dad who passed away when I was in high school. The lyric is “And I get pissed cuz I’ll have kids one day and I know you’ll miss it all. Can I be angry even though it’s not your fault.” It’s blunt and to the point, and the truth in it speaks volumes. Another is in the last song on the record called “The Story Never Ends” and that lyric is “I don’t know when you became my friend, when pencil changed to pen, when every cut began to sting” talking about being in a relationship with someone and then all of a sudden feeling their pain like it’s your own. The last I’d say is from the feature track “Don’t Want You Back (wtf).”  It’s the lyric I love singing the most from the whole record. The song sounds super sweet and melodic, and at first the lyrics are too, but by the end of the first chorus you know what’s up. “What the f%^# is that, I don’t want you back” is the line. It’s about an ex that didn’t deserve you, and we’ve all been there.

AO: “Close” was your debut single which will be included on your upcoming EP. Did the success of the song inform your sound and what you've created on the EP? MR: All the songs were written a year ago, so the sound had already been formed. I’m definitely happy “Close” was the first single though – once you hear that one, you get a good sense for how the record will sound. 

AO: On the EP, what song do you think truly captures the essence, theme and/or message that you want people to take away from the record? MR: I’d have to say the feature track to the record, “Don’t Want You Back (wtf)” because it’s about realizing your self-worth and moving on. The whole EP is a journey about moving forward.

AO: I recently had a chance to listen to the record and “Not Your Fault” is one of my favorites. It's very personal and deep. Can you take me through what the writing and recording process was like for the track? MR: Thank you so much. It’s definitely the most personal on the EP. I co-wrote it with Jamey Heath at his studio in LA. To be honest, a few days before I was in his studio co-writing a pop song for another artist’s project as a writer. It was a great song but nothing too deep. When I went into the studio to work on my own record with Jamey, he said “let’s write something deep today. What’s your muse?” I mentioned a few things like some ex relationships, moving city to city, etc. and he said “OK” with a high pitched voice like yeah we could go there but what else you got? Haha. I told him about my dad, and he said “Yep, we’re writing that.” He started playing voicings on the piano and after we got the chord progression, I started pouring out the words and to be honest trying to hold in the tears. It was a very traumatic experience for me in high school with a lot of unresolved emotions that I’ve since dealt with, so writing about it was difficult and rewarding at the same time. I spent a lot of time refining the lyrics after the session to the point where I finally felt everything was said in the way I wanted, then I went back in for a couple more sessions to record the vocals. “Not Your Fault” is the song on the back of the record that means the most to me, and I think I’m most proud of this one for its vulnerability. 

AO: Going into the release of your debut EP, You Wrote These Songs, what do you want people to take away from the record? MR: I want each of these songs to be about someone in your life. The “You” in the EP title can be about anyone – whoever comes to mind when you listen to each song is meant to be about that person. 

AO: I know we're sitting in an interesting time, given what is going on in the world right now. Were you hesitant to release the EP now? Or even contemplate pushing the release date back? MR: I wasn’t due to Covid-19. It’s such a terrible unfortunate tragedy and pandemic, and no I can’t tour, but I think people are still listening to music online and checking out music videos, so I’ve always been of the mindset to keep pushing forwards. After the video of George Floyd came out though, that’s a whole other story. I was outraged and so hurt. I stopped posting about my project and started posting about equality, human rights, and racism. Today marks 10 days since I saw it, and I have not posted about my own project since, and although I will start to as the EP is coming out soon, I will continue to donate, inform myself and others, and be a part of this movement. We are in the middle of making history for the better right now, and we’re starting to take baby steps in the right direction. We need to continue pushing forwards to see equality and justice and I don’t intend to stop until we do. 

AO: Mike, thank you for sitting down with me! Before we close this interview, is there anything you want to say to your fans and our readers? MR: Thank you for reading! I feel truly blessed to have the best fans out there, and I’m always open to talking to all of you guys about anything. You can find me on all socials @mikerubymusic. I have lots of new music videos and news coming your way, so make sure to follow me on Spotify or your social media of choice. Hope to see you soon at a show after Covid-19 settles down!