The two of us are originally from Bakersfield, California, and we grew up at the same school, same church, and same neighborhood. Bakersfield is not known as a sprawling metropolis, but is better known for cotton, hay, and corn (which is funny, because the rock band Korn is also from Bakersfield). I went to college and got a BA in Elementary Education and an MA in Biblical Studies. I used to teach preschool and elementary school. I can remember one time rolling in on the tour bus at 7 am on a Monday morning after a weekend stint of shows in Michigan, and getting off the bus and going straight to work to teach preschool. I’ve always loved music. Grew up on a hip-hop, and really any music that was good was in regular rotation. I got my first radio when I was four or five, first rap record at 6, and was writing my own songs by the time I was 12.
Love Music : Your fans want to know about your new podcast.
Sure! Brews, Beards, and Shipwrecks is the new podcast. I think we’re about 14 episodes in, so it’s only been around a few months. It’s been a lot of fun. We talk about music and culture, beard care, coffee and beer, TV and movies, songwriting, hip-hop, you name it. My favorite part of the podcast is summed up in the by-line: “Because everyone has a story.” I have a lot of rappers on the show, but I also have non-musicians on, and even people you’ve never heard of. I’m convinced everyone has a story worth sharing, and I especially like “shipwreck” survival stories—you know, the hard things in life that have to be endured or overcome. It’s on iTunes, CastBox, TuneIn, Podbean, all the places.
Love Music : Please tell us more about your latest album "The Summer of the Cicadas"?
Cicadas was a labor of love. It’s a double LP of 30 songs. The first half of the record is a true Royal Ruckus record, and the second half is my solo project, though Flatline is all over that half too. It’s a concept record, and we had a lot of fun writing it, and enjoyed collaborating with a lot of old friends, including Joey the Jerk, Cookbook, and Pigeon John all of the rap collective LA Symphony, and we worked with KRUM (formerly Playdough) and Manchild of Mars Ill and Deepspace5. Shoot, the list of artists we worked with is incredible: Bonafide of Grits, DJ Sean P, kidDEAD, Spoken Nerd, Eligh of Living Legends, and several others. We are very proud to have released this record this year. https://royalruckus.bandcamp.com/album/the-summer-of-the-cicadas
Love Music : What motivates you to do your best work?
Simply a love of the art. There’s a lot of bad music out there, and I don’t want to make something different just to be different, I also make it out of love for the art.
Love Music : Your Christmas project?
Yeah, so last Christmas we got asked to be on the Invisible Library compilation, No Sleep Till Christmas, which you can check out here: https://invisiblelibrary.bandcamp.com/album/no-sleep-till-christmas We had so much fun writing for it, while waiting for Summer of the Cicadas to be released, we ended up releasing a three song EP, entitled Lonely Christmas. So one song went on their compilation, and all three went on our EP. https://royalruckus.bandcamp.com/album/lonely-christmas
Love Music : Can you please give our readers any coupon code?
Sure! If your readers want to buy anything from RoyalRuckus.Bandcamp.com, they can get 15% off with the code “feature” at checkout. Of course, you can also get our stuff on iTunes, Spotify, and all the things.
Love Music : Your fans are so excited to see your new single video. Would you like to say anything about this video?
I like to tell people I write two kinds of rap songs: tongue-in-cheek humorous songs, and break-up songs. This is one of the break-up songs, sort of with a throw-back vibe to the boom bap feel of early 90s hip-hop. The video was shot at The Standard in Nashville, a really cool historic building. It will be going live on YouTube and at http://summerofthecicadas.com/videos this weekend
Love Music : If you could perform anywhere, in the world, where would it have to be?
I think it would be awesome to do a tour of Iceland or Russia or something. I have performed in Mexico, Hawaii, and Ukraine, and wouldn’t mind going back to at least two of those!
Love Music : Everybody needs time out. What do you do in your free time?
I like to workout at CrossFit, though I must admit with all the touring I’ve done this year, my fitness has suffered a bit. I’m trying to get back on the fitness wagon. So when I’m not doing that, I’m eating tacos, drinking beer at a brewery, or lounging at the beach. I currently live about a mile from the beach in South Florida, so I really have no excuse not to do that more. I also have two beagles and a chihuahua pug, so that takes up a good bit of my time. I also love to read, so browsing bookstores or lounging at a coffee shop reading are definitely things I enjoy doing. Oh, and going to movies alone. I like that a lot.
Love Music : Are you active on social media? what is the best way to follow you ?
Yeah, you can find us as @royalruckus on Twitter, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp, and @royalruckusofficial on Instagram and Facebook. And of course, our website is http://royalruckus.com, and the podcast is at http://brewsbeards.com
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