Fall Tour 2013! So far....

We played a small private show at Union Pool in Brooklyn before we started the tour. I was pretty nervous.

TBA Festival, part of PICA's art show in Portland. Look, they named a drink after us!

Kathleen took this photo of me at guitar center where we went to buy keyboard stands.

A clip from Spin Magazine where we did a little kareoke. I performed Cheech and Chong. This might be where we all sang "We Got the Beat"!

Wall Street Journal exclusive photo. I cut my own hair the day before.

A balcony view from Tavi of Rookie Magazine's outdoor party in Los Angeles.

Portland screened our name behind us. Nice light show of fuschia, blues, and pinks. Crowd was amazing too with 2,100 people counted.

My first performance on television...! You can watch it here: THE JULIE RUIN on JIMMY FALLON

The band "Stacey" from Willie Mae Rock Camp with my longtime drum student!

Whoa do they sound great! The drummer, Eva, has been taking drum lessons with me since she was in 5th grade. She is now in 8th grade. Natural loose sticking looks effortless here.

These girls met this week, wrote a song, and performed it yesterday. Bravo!!

Priests

On tour now, check them out: priests.bandcamp.com

New Studio

August project - get all the music teaching materials, the Julie Ruin gear, and a baby grand in this space. Only have a few weeks to make this new large music studio look and sound good. And convince the other bands to keep their areas organized. Dress form for draping, if I attempt to make more clothes for our September tour. All psyched about using black chalkboard paint for the wall area behind it. Who knew chalk was so fun? In the works...

Important Quote from Janelle Monae. Telling all girls...

"When I started my music career, I was a maid. I used to clean houses. My mother was a proud janitor. My stepfather, who raised me like his very own, worked at the post office and my father was a trashman. They all wore uniforms and that’s why I stand here today, in my black and white, and I wear my uniform to honor them.

This is a reminder that I have work to do. I have people to uplift. I have people to inspire. And today, I wear my uniform proudly as a Cover Girl. I want to be clear, young girls, I didn’t have to change who I was to become a Cover Girl. I didn’t have to become perfect because I’ve learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness.

Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable." - Janelle Monáe

Our new song with a lyric video by Brendan Kennedy!

Okay, so I love playing this song. I could mess with guitar feedback for hours. And here it created a monster...

Our first video at last!! Spin.com debuts it!!

SPIN.COM DEBUTS THE JULIE RUIN VIDEO for "OH COME ON"! CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Hard to believe all this work is coming together. Very excited to tour this fall and enhance our textured sound, give a live human feel to all this studio work, and bring colorful people together for a short memorable time. Anyone that feels like they want to give up on something that is hard work or taking a really long time, here's one word: DON'T. Get a sharpie (!) and write PATIENCE on your knuckles. Or sometimes I write notes in scribbly writing on my hand near my thumb. Want to keep your motivation private? Scribble it so nobody can read it at a glance. Keep yourself practicing. Keep your goals in focus! Okay, now I'm going to write FOCUS on my thumb. Back to work!

Bridget Everett!

Bridget Everett and the Tender Moments!! I had the incredible honor of subbing on bass here (for no other than Adam aka Ad Rock, Tender Moment's bassist) at Joe's Pub last week. Hands down one of the best shows I've played in years. I laughed so hard the first half of the set my eyes were watering but like a pro, I played the straight (wo)man. You should have seen my surprise when I saw the titles of the set list. Uh...

Listen to and buy her single here. It will be worth it and be sure to blast it.

Bridget Everett "TITTIES."

The Power of Shy/Introverts

And an artist I like, Molly Crabapple.

Tomorrow! With Kim Gordon's Body/Head

Detroit Blue

Browsing Main Drag Music in Brooklyn the other day. Came across this beautiful dream-provoking Gretsch kit...

Oldie but goodie

Buy the song on Itunes. Video coming soon!

Last but not least, the NEW Website!

http://www.thejulieruinband.com/wp/

X marks the spot. Putting all kinds of hard work, fear, failures, and successes into one album. Website is made by Aaron Pederson and we couldn't be happier with it!

PS. I love this rug....

My band announced its album release! And hear the new single on Pitchfork!

CLICK HERE FOR THE JULIE RUIN SONG ON PITCHFORK

And...just COINCIDENTALLY, I came home and found my dog posing like our album cover. How crazy is this or wha.....

I'll be speaking on this panel, May 30th, NYC

I am honored and excited to be speaking on this panel with other entrepreneurs. 

Click HERE for more information and hope to see you there!

http://growdiy.eventbrite.com/ 

Drum keys

Love this. Can you name the types? Found this on a link to:  http://thedrummersjournal.com/

Playing on Ave A

Thanks Stef for taking this photo. Here I'm playing with the insufferably cool bassist Catherine Popper on acoustic guitar upstairs at 2A with a live camera streaming us against the wall across the street. Last March.

Drumming!!

5 Female Electronic Music Producers

FULL STORY HERE!

Savages and No Bra at Bowery Ballroom last night...

I'm smitten with Savage's guitarist Gemma Thompson. Check them out live and be sure to tell the soundman to turn up the goddam guitar if you don't hear it (a friend did so last night after a few songs when we couldn't take it anymore).

My favorite new band No Bra opened. Buy the music. The carefully crafted and deconstructed melt down beats and lyrical phrases are worth several listens. I noticed audience was both intrigued and upset about this one...

Lee Fields & the Expressions - go see them live.

Saw Lee Fields perform the other night. This song stood out to me. He sings about all the kinds of ladies he likes.."big ones, small ones, tall ones, white ones, black ones...." Whoa, love him.

The Julie Ruin mastering

Last week we mastered 10 songs at the famous Lodge Mastering in NYC, run by the award winning  mastering engineer and all around amazing business woman/music maker Emily Lazaar. 

 This is the turtle at the studio.

Subway reading on the way there. Who says you can't be both the type of person who reads Tape Op back to back every issue and also likes vintage inspired houndstooth jackets from JCrew? (Which are infinitely cheaper second hand...)

Recording 16 year old punk duet Petal War

Petal War are Abbie Hornburg on drums and Alex Ruiz on guitar/vocals. Check out Petal War's songs and site here.

Getting Alex all tuned up!

Abbie's view from the drums.

Isolation area for the Fender Twin Amp. Very DIY of us..

The new mixing board. We all referred to it as "sexy."

"A Date With John Waters" Valentine Compilation

Ahhh...from that very first note I'm in love...thank you John Waters. From 2007. Listen to some of it HERE on NPR.

Two very different women making this song great. I like how she leaves the stage to let her shine.



And yep, its a cover of a cover by Bruce Springsteen.

Los Angeles January 2013

Photos I took from my LA vacation in January. 

 Having a homemade popsicle at Suck It with Lisa's one-eyed dog Stitch.

Breakfast locale was based on who had the cutest logo. Senor Fish (awesome logo) or Los Burritos with the little happy Mexican donkey heads?!!

Art Museum (above) entrance.

L. Ron Hubbard everywhere.

Lisa's one-eyed dog Stitch and her seafoam Danelectro.

More art museum pieces.

A cool child's game in the museum's courtyard.

Paul K's house where I stayed and did cat sitting. Cat above!

Bedroom, another (live) cat sitting on a ledge. Hard to photograph... And may make more sense when you see his BOOK!

 Dire Wolf skull wall at the La Brea Tar Pits.

 Close up of the Dire Wolf skulls. I didn't know they really existed previously to this!

Dire Wolf on a stick photobombed the next 20 photos. Couldn't resist. And maybe it was funnier at the time?

Dire Wolf leaving Amoeba Records. Awww...

And a very Happy New Year

More aftermath photos here...a beautiful thing!

Happy Holidays

More new press on our band!

BUST MAGAZINE

PITCHFORK

Animated Sheet Music

Something so satisfying about it? Reading music, good for everyone....