Ruts DC Announce New Album ‘ElectrAcoustiC Volume One’

“ElectrAcoustiC Volume One“, the eagerly awaited first studio recordings of the highly regarded Ruts DC acoustic show is set to be released on the bands own Sosumi Recordings imprint on March 26th. The album features eleven new interpretations of some of their most cherished songs from both the frontline punk era of The Ruts, to their rebirths as Ruts DC. Whilst their reputation as one of the most vibrant and high-energy forces to be spawned from the late seventies punk explosion is assured, the stripped-down acoustic side of Ruts DC’s persona has really come to the fore in recent years. 

You can pre-order “ElectrAcoustiC Volume One” via Ruts DC here

You can read an insight into the album from Ruts DC‘s ‘Segs’ Jennings below

I’ve always played acoustic guitars. Learning songs, writing, singing. It’s part of the tradition really, whatever type of band you may be in. In fact, (Ruts first single) ‘In A Rut’ was first written on an acoustic guitar. Basically, the Ruts DC acoustic incarnation came out of working out backing vocals round at my house with David Ruffy (drums) and Leigh Heggarty (guitar). We had started doing gigs again as a 5 piece after a long Ruts DC hiatus in 2011. At the time we had Molara doing BV’s as well as Ruffy, so it all got a little more crucial who was singing what. We had two acoustics and we were running through songs to work out harmonies etc to sing at rehearsals and hence gigs. The first ones to stand out were ‘Something That I Said’ and ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’. I remember us saying ‘wow, that sounds really good!’ It was the first time really that we realised that the songs translated well to acoustics (as good songs do). Acoustic Punk ethos goes back to Woody Guthrie and, of course, the blues men before him. 

 

By this time, we’d started to incorporate more of the classics but also we were performing some of the new songs that went on to be recorded on the 2016 Music Must Destroy album (again some had been written on acoustic guitar). I was wandering up and down nervously outside the Winter Gardens trying to remember the (new) lyrics and old punks were shouting ‘if you can’t remember the lyrics I’ll sing ‘em’ not realising that we were also doing new songs! It turned out to be a good way of trying out potential new tunes. Happy days. The gig went down so well I couldn’t really believe it, we were seated and played to a pub full of people singing along and received what can only be described as a standing ovation! No one was more surprised than the band.

 

We did the Rebellion AA stage for a few years running and then in 2019 they asked us to play the Opera House…aggh! We were sad to leave Huggy’s stage, but we had no choice, kinda nerve-wracking too as The Opera House holds like 1800 people and Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix had played that stage. Luckily when we sauntered on to the stage the lights came on and were so bright that I couldn’t see how many people were out there, end of the first song (‘Something That I Said’) there was a huge cheer…it was packed! Afterwards, we found out that they’d had to open the upper tier as people couldn’t get in.

 

People had been requesting an acoustic album but when the first lockdown happened, we started up RutsTV, mainly to keep our followers (and ourselves) entertained (and dare I say sane) and it was a catalyst to get us recording at our respective homes, sending files to each other and this was the beginning of the ‘ElectrAcoustiC” sound. We started recording different versions for our RutsTV show and also prepared one for a Rebellion special as the festival had been sadly cancelled for 2020.

 

I have to say I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. Although we always try to operate with the highest quality control, I was still wary of the acoustic thing. We ended up recording proper live takes – I was playing acoustic guitar and singing the lead vocal at the same time, Ruffy on a stripped-down kit and Leigh on acoustic as well. Most of the takes consist of those takes (including the live vocal). I then overdubbed some Acoustic Bass (my new acquisition), and Leigh overdubbed some Fender Telecaster.