The Born Ruffians Say It on new album
Caitlyn McCann
Issue date: 3/2/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
For a band whose sound and attitude is consistently being defined, compared and likened to everything under the sun, Born Ruffians have a clear mission to create music that will make you want to sing along.
Formed in 2002 in the quaint northern town of Midland, Ontario, Born Ruffians have had a relatively swift rise in the music world appearing on Pitchfork Media and in every eager music blogger's updates almost overnight. The band was quickly picked up by UK electro label Warp and was soon playing with some pretty impressive acts, including Franz Ferdinand, Caribou, Vampire Weekend, Cat Power and Hot Chip.
Though the success of their 2007 debut album Red, Yellow and Blue is nothing to scoff at, the band still see mores steps towards true success.
"It depends on how you define success I guess," said frontman Luke LaLonde. "It changes as you get more successful. If I look at myself five years ago and could travel back in time and show that person what I'm doing now, he'd be like 'Wow that's really successful', but as it happens, it all starts to feel normal and your goals start to change. We have a long way to go until we're truly successful. I have high hopes."
As far as Canadian artists go, the Born Ruffians have achieved something special. But what makes them truly different from the struggling musicians who spend five years only performing monthly gigs at the Horseshoe Tavern, really going nowhere?
"I'm sure being on a label like Warp is a huge leg up and, as a Canadian band, it's pretty exciting," said LaLonde, somewhat insecurely. "I hope the popularity is still growing. That would be a great thing. As the new record approaches you start to worry about those things, [thinking] 'who's going to buy this', 'will it be better than the last time', 'will our shows get bigger'."
Despite their popularity, stage antics and rowdy music, Mitch Derosier, Steve Hamelin and LaLonde are nothing if not humble and appreciative.
"I don't know if we strive to be [humble]. It's just maybe part of who we are. I don't think we've ever really felt like we deserve any of it. It's not like we feel entitled to it. So, it always comes as a pleasant surprise when people are interested enough to come up and talk to us and have us sign things," said LaLonde.
Formed in 2002 in the quaint northern town of Midland, Ontario, Born Ruffians have had a relatively swift rise in the music world appearing on Pitchfork Media and in every eager music blogger's updates almost overnight. The band was quickly picked up by UK electro label Warp and was soon playing with some pretty impressive acts, including Franz Ferdinand, Caribou, Vampire Weekend, Cat Power and Hot Chip.
Though the success of their 2007 debut album Red, Yellow and Blue is nothing to scoff at, the band still see mores steps towards true success.
"It depends on how you define success I guess," said frontman Luke LaLonde. "It changes as you get more successful. If I look at myself five years ago and could travel back in time and show that person what I'm doing now, he'd be like 'Wow that's really successful', but as it happens, it all starts to feel normal and your goals start to change. We have a long way to go until we're truly successful. I have high hopes."
As far as Canadian artists go, the Born Ruffians have achieved something special. But what makes them truly different from the struggling musicians who spend five years only performing monthly gigs at the Horseshoe Tavern, really going nowhere?
"I'm sure being on a label like Warp is a huge leg up and, as a Canadian band, it's pretty exciting," said LaLonde, somewhat insecurely. "I hope the popularity is still growing. That would be a great thing. As the new record approaches you start to worry about those things, [thinking] 'who's going to buy this', 'will it be better than the last time', 'will our shows get bigger'."
Despite their popularity, stage antics and rowdy music, Mitch Derosier, Steve Hamelin and LaLonde are nothing if not humble and appreciative.
"I don't know if we strive to be [humble]. It's just maybe part of who we are. I don't think we've ever really felt like we deserve any of it. It's not like we feel entitled to it. So, it always comes as a pleasant surprise when people are interested enough to come up and talk to us and have us sign things," said LaLonde.
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