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Jon Berry
- bass
Clark Domae - guitar
Mike Jimenez - drums
Scott Sellers - vocals/guitar
Out where Route 66 and the Santa Fe Trail converge, 50
miles East of Los Angeles, in a suburb called Rancho
Cucamonga come four musicians collectively named Rufio.
It's a punk rock cliché: suburban youth pick up
instruments and play music together out of frustration,
boredom or anger. Rufio's story is similar enough. Scott
and Clark grew up in the same neighborhood, attending
grade school together. In high school Scott hooked up
with bassist Jon Berry, played in several bands
together, and eventually bought a 4-track and started
writing and recording songs. "We gave the tapes to Mike
and asked him to play drums, and then Clark joined. It
was cool," says Berry.
It was cool. This simple statement speaks volumes about
the band and its attitude. And it's where the cliché
breaks down. The members of Rufio aren't angry at the
world or frustrated with life; they've come together for
the sheer enjoyment of playing music with friends and
sharing their songs with the public at large. Of course,
the side effect of curing a touch of suburban torpor
doesn't suck.
Coming of age during the information age certainly
didn't hinder their efforts of self-promotion. Members
of Rufio immediately shared their songs with friends and
acquaintances in chat rooms they were known to frequent.
Turns out Rufio's infectious. The virus spread. Fast.
You've heard of this phenomenon before: fan-building
through file-sharing.
Rufio quickly built a loyal West Coast following and
after signing to Nitro Records hit the road with the
likes of Strung Out, Taking Back Sunday and The Ataris.
To everyone's surprise, including the band itself, Rufio
was regularly selling out of merchandise, and it wasn't
uncommon for them to outsell the headlining band. It was
clear their loyal following wasn't limited to the West
Coast. Rufio found ardent fans just about everywhere.
"The best part about touring is meeting new people, in a
city where you've never been, and they come up and tell
you how much they relate to your songs. It's an amazing
experience," says Sellers. Such strong response
guaranteed Rufio more touring opportunities and gave the
band more reason to stay on the road.
The seeds of MCMLXXXV "1985" were planted with the same
youthful exuberance, as their debut, Perhaps, I Suppose.
Songs sprouted from garage sessions, the four friends
hashing together guitar riffs, inspired by their
favorite '80's metal bands, bass lines and drumming
mayhem. Considering their youthful years, the fact that
most of the songs on their debut were about girls
surprised no one. This time around for MCMLXXXV, Rufio
developed the songs over a longer period of time. The
band wrote and recorded demo versions of a large portion
of the songs before beginning a frenetic touring
schedule. Constant practicing and three back-to-back
national tours allowed the band to "jam" the songs,
shaping and reworking each track, throwing out parts
that just didn't fit, leaving less to chance.
The missing ingredient? An outside influence. Someone to
add finishing touches. Enter Nick Raskulinecz. Between
sessions with Foo Fighters and Rancid, Raskulinecz heard
their demos and promptly offered his services. The two
parties immediately hit it off and went to work. "Nick
was another set of ears. A set of very experienced ears.
He pointed out things we would have never heard or
thought of. He'd throw out complete choruses and get us
to create brand new ones," Sellers remembers. "He really
helped us structure our songs."
Ask Rufio what bands enjoyed rotation during the
recording sessions and the playlist will look something
like this: Rush, Ben Folds Five, Sigur Ros, Soilwork,
The Beatles, Coldplay, and In Flames. If a couple of
those bands don't ring a bell then a brush up on the
Swedish Metal scene wouldn't hurt. "We grew up on the
punk scene, but we listen to so much more than that
now," says Berry of their listening habits.
Lyrically, Rufio's songs continue to mirror the
struggles many of their generation face. Whether they
address the bombardment of images and messages
propagating our culture's impossible standard of beauty
as in "Science Fiction," or being unable, or unwilling
to leave the nest and break free from parental influence
on "Control," Rufio uncannily taps into the life
experiences of their fans. And it's all with a positive
spin. "Many of my friends get bogged down and depressed
with life, and they can't seem to see beyond that.
'White Lights' is me reaching out to them, pointing out
that they have plenty to live for."
What's the story behind the album title MCMLXXXV? Was
the band all born that year? Was 1985 the year they were
conceived at their parent's prom? "Somebody had to pick
up where Van Halen left off," says Berry. Figures. Rufio
has never been known to take themselves too seriously.
From here Rufio is back on the road supporting bands
they grew up listening to, bouncing off the walls,
literally, night after night. After a round of Warped
Tour dates on the West Coast this summer, the band plan
to take to the road yet again, this time headlining.
Either way, each set will affirm the band's partiality
to touring and meeting fans: Scott grinning ear-to-ear,
belting through their set, Jon and Clark frantically
trading places, spinning across the stage, just avoiding
seemingly certain collisions, and Mike drumming as if he
drummed hard and fast enough he could reverse the
world's rotation and save Lois Lane. Afterwards you'll
find the band milling about their merch booth and
overhear the exchange of cell phone numbers and email
addresses among the band and their fans, making new
friends. That's the thing. Rufio's fans are their
friends. All Rufio wants is to befriend the world and
show them a good time.
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