AN INTERVIEW WITH RUETSCHLE/ BY SONIC MELODY.
SO FIRST QUESTION. HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE WHATEVER THIS WORD IS?
MIKE RUETSCHLE: It's like rich--ly. Long "e". The "tsch" makes a "cha" sound and the "ue" sounds like an "i". It's a German word.
YOU HAVE A NEW RECORD COMING OUT?
MR: Yes. It's called "Exotic Destinations" by my band Ruetschle. It's ten songs. It will be our third full-length.
WHEN IS IT SCHEDULED TO COME OUT?
MR. It's been done for a while. The behind the scenes stuff has been taking longer than we thought. It will be in stores June 20. We are throwing some record release parties as well, first in our hometown of Dayton and then in Portland where I lived and in Seattle where Andy lived.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE?
MR: You answer this one.
ANDY INGRAM: Um, it sounds like Americans who are in love with the British . . . making music. It sounds like us, I guess. It's poppy, moody, to-the-point, quirky, all done with a bad fake accent.
WHAT SEPARATES YOUR NEW RECORD, EXOTIC DESTINATIONS, FROM YOUR LAST TWO RECORDS?
MR: My goal for each record is to just get better each time out. I think we did that, so I'm happy. I think this batch of songs is the best, most consistent I have written yet.
AI: I think the biggest difference is the sound. I think we had good songs before, but when we recorded the other records we always had an attitude of like "Whatever. The songs are good so who cares about anything else." We had a very lo-fi ethic. But now I cringe when listening to the old records. We are still a raw band, just cause that's who we are, but this record just sounds a lot better. It's more thought out. More intentional.
WHAT DID YOU DO TO MAKE IT A BETTER SOUNDING RECORD?
MR: Well, I got some new equipment for the studio. And we just took our time. I figured out how much something simple like the shape of the room or mic placement can affect the way something sounds. I think for the first time we had an idea of what we wanted the record to sound like. And then we just had to find out how to get those sounds. That was a first for us.
AI: I learned how to tune my drums for the first time in my life. Well, kind of. I still don't know how to tune. I just have kind of figured out how to make the drums sound dead. That's the way I like 'em.
ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THE RECORD?
AI: I am way excited. I can't wait for people to hear the songs. I think it's a really good record. There are like 6 really good pop singles on the record. And the non-singles are still good. They are just a bit moodier.
MR: I'm just glad to have it done. it took two years. I always have low expectations. I do have to mention Shawn Johnson's guitar parts. He is such a good guitar player. It was great making music with him.
WHAT WAS SHAWN JOHNSON'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE RECORD?
MR: He had wanted to produce a song and we were fine with that. It didn't really end up that way though cause we had an odd recording schedule throughout all of this. We basically finished the album, gave it to him, and asked him if he heard any guitar parts he wanted to add. He then came in and recorded melodies to five of the songs. And they are great.
AI: I was a big fan of Morella's Forest so he's one of my favorite guitarists ever. It is so cool to have him on the record.
HOW DID YOU GET IN CONTACT WITH JOHNSON?
MR: I knew his friend Dan, who is in Gem City Rockers with Shawn. So we met through Dan and shows and eventually recording Gem City in my studio.
SO IN THE THREE YEARS SINCE LESSER THAN OPAQUE CAME OUT, WHAT HAS HAPPENED AMONG THE BAND?
MR: We wrote new songs. We played out a lot. New band. Old band.
AI: Yeah, 3/5 of the band moved to Seattle. Mike and my brother recruited new bandmates. Um, I came back after a year. And then we settled on the core of us as a trio. I think that's been good as far as just simplifying everything and being consistent.
MR: Oh, and we changed the name, kind of.
AI: Yeah, we were sick of people adding words to "Mike Ruetschle". Or maybe it was just my pet peeve. Be we are not "Ruestchle Band", "Mike Ruetschle Band" or anything else resembling Steve Miller. So we got rid of "Mike" and hopefully lost the stigma of sounding like a solo artist, even though we have always been a band.
MR: But now no one knows how to pronounce my name.
AI: That's alright. It's European or German. They're not supposed to get it.
THIS SIDE OF PUNK ROCK, EVERYONE HAS A BAND. WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF OTHER BANDS?
AI: I don't think we're going to pretend that we are amazingly unique. That doesn't matter to us. Mike just writes good pop songs, and that's really important. It's easier to wank and riff than to write a good, simple progression and melody that catches people ears and rings through their memory. Pop to us is not a bad word.
HOW ABOUT A PIECE OF TRIVIA?
MR: We almost left "Summertime" off the record. We had a full-band version that we were playing live. Then we stopped playing it live and erased the instruments from the recording. Then Andy wanted to axe it completely. So I think it was the band's least favorite song. But both my friend Matt, who I gave an early copy to, and the guy who mixed the record, both gave me their unsolicited opinion that "Summertime" was their favorite song on the record.
AI: I still don't get it.
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS OR DREAMS FOR RUETSCHLE?
MR: I just want to write good songs.
AI: Yeah, a good hook is one of the most beautiful things in the world.
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.
MR: Thank you.
AI: Sure. It was fun. Good times. Good interview.
Hello fellows, I have been enjoying the "exotic destinations" cd I picked up at Gratisfest quite a bit....thanks for trading! Really solid stuff, great end-of-summer listening. I had a blast building a fire and roasting butternut squash whilst you guys filled the air with your tunes......i hope i can sneak down to catch you at midpoint...Matthew
Thanks guys for your message and for your request.
I like really much "Don't Turn Around".
Nice piece of work!!
Hope all is well for you.
Greetings from France.
Take Care
Guillaume - YuLeS
