Ruby James

Call It Rock & Roll

Mule Kick Records

Ruby James was born and raised in Los Angeles. She cut her teeth fronting loud bands in louder clubs from Florida to Texas and everywhere in between. Her early experiences taught her how to command a room. Ruby’s debut album, Desert Rose, was celebrated with a sold-out show at LA’s iconic club the Troubadour. Simultaneously, she earned her first film placement when her song “Everything Good Goes Away,” co-written with longtime collaborator René Reyes, was chosen for the film The Women. Ruby later moved to Austin, arguably the epicenter for American music history and lifestyle. Charlie and Will Sexton produced her follow-up record, Happy Now, engineered by Kyle Crusham, who remains her primary creative partner. Ruby’s odyssey took her to Wisconsin as front person for the horn-fueled powerhouse Wifee & the Huzzband, whose single “She Won’t Go” landed at number three on Little Steven’s Underground Garage year-end “Coolest Songs in the World” list.

Ruby took a pause in her music career in 2020 to run her family’s supper club, but a good rocker can’t be held back for long. Ruby has spent the past two years writing, recording, and experiencing a budding new musical life. With her creative partner Crusham, she has performed across studios and stages in Austin, Nashville, and Door County, Wisconsin, with newfound clarity and purpose. Call It Rock & Roll captures a woman claiming every part of her well-established artistry who is unafraid to take it somewhere new. Ruby James is that woman, bold enough to embrace the legacy of early American music made for a new millennium.

“Voodoo Queen,” co-written by Ruby and Adam Mackintosh, hits with a menacing, Stones-era swagger as Ruby sings, “Lord sent me an angel when I was just three, cause her mama let her go when she was sweet sixteen. Heavy metal priestess poisoning my energy, sweep it up under the rug mama, don’t let it touch my feet…shake, shake, for my spirit, like a Voodoo queen, shake, shake, for my spirit like a Voodoo queen.”

On “Gasoline,” written by Ruby and Kyle Crusham, Ruby chimes, “I’m standing naked at the gates of hell. I’m just as useless as a girl can be, you came to play a game and cast your spell, I’ve come to crown the King to rescue me…you never met a girl so hard and mean…you turn me on just to wash me clean, but darlin’ I was born in gasoline.”

The cinematic “Novocaine” drifts through shadowy emotional terrain like a midnight drive down Sunset Boulevard. Written by Ruby and Crusham, Ruby chants, “I should have seen it in your eyes, so much brighter than the lies. I felt it from the start that you would take my heart, I should have seen it in your eyes…What is it gonna take to break free from this spell, I try to numb the pain, a shot of Novocaine.”

On “Honeydripper,” a dirty late-night groove about a superfine femme who knows her power and takes no prisoners, written by Ruby, Kate Vargas, and Bruce Butkovich, Ruby moans, “I got the nector and the cherry on top. I start the party and the party don’t stop, I got that money that I keep in my pocket, ya I’m shooting for the sky and I’m burning like a rocket…she’s a honeydripper, and she’s comin’ for you baby. I got the candy and all the boys want it…I’m coming for you baby, and I’m coming at you hot.”

At the emotional core of the album is “Punk Rock Love Song,” Ruby’s reimagining of the Supersuckers’ anthem “Pretty Fucked Up.” She reclaims the narrative in her rendition with a duet featuring a vulnerable performance from songwriter and producer Eddie Spaghetti, as Ruby groans, “I used to be pretty…but now I’m just pretty fucked up.” What emerges is less a cover and more a reckoning — raw, bruised, and deeply human.

Ruby follows with a salute to early rock and roll with her spellbinding cover of LaVern Baker’s mid-1950s classic “Bumble Bee,” written by Leroy Fullylove. It’s a high-voltage rock and roll burner complete with a four-on-the-floor rhythm and a surf-inspired guitar solo from guitar legend Rosie Flores. Ruby honors the spirit and soul of the original recording as she wails, “I’m gonna have to put you down, you been treating me like a clown. You know you hurt me once before. You’ll never hurt me anymore. Shoo-ee, you hurt me like a bee. A Bumble Bee, an evil Bumble Bee.”

On the closer, “Boogie Downtown,” Ruby pivots into a neon-lit funk jam that channels her love for Sly and the Family Stone, as she croons, “I’ve got my hair piled up high. I’m in my best leopard jacket. I don’t need no vape pen, got a zeppelin in my pocket, and down on the corner Julius working the door, I kiss his cheek and make my way to the floor. DJ play that import back from ’63. My pop and lock will keep ’em clockin’ to that stripper beat. I don’t need no partner don’t you holler at me, all I need these floor lights and my 90 BP.”

Call It Rock & Roll is the sound of the electrifying Ruby James stepping fully into her power. Rooted in the blues, fueled by soul, and delivered with rock and roll bravado, the record resounds with genuine grit. The album showcases anthems built for midnight stages and guitars with heavy grooves, while her voice has the smooth rasp of velvet on fire. Hop on board and take a ride with Ruby on this flagrantly flashy drive.

Richard Ludmerer

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