My Rubicon has been around less than a year and they are already at the top of their game. Because of My Rubicon Minneapolis can actually be proud of their local bands again when most other acts in the area seem to be falling apart. Hard-working, passionate, dedicated, and married, My Rubicon is going places, and fast. In between jobs, school, weekend tours, and family time they gracious enough to take the time to answer some questions I had about their talents, future, and outside-the-band lives.
Scene Point Blank: What's your name, and what do you do in My Rubicon?
Bill: Drums.
Eric: Bass.
Danny: Keys/vox.
Joel: Guitar.
Chris: Guitar.
Scene Point Blank: Can you give me some basic background on My Rubicon, and a short bio? How long has the band been together? How did everyone meet? How do you guys mesh?
Bill: Well I've known Joel now for a couple years because our wives have been friends for a super long time, so we kind of met by default I guess you can say. When I moved up here, Chris, Joel, and myself started just messing around with writing stuff. We didn't have a bass player or a singer at the time and actually Joel was going to play guitar and sing but it just never really worked out. He can sing like a freakin' bird but he wanted to concentrate more on his riff-rockin. As time went on Eric joined the ranks, and the songs became a lot more full and just started to have body, but we still had no singer. Then one day I bumped into Danny in uptown and we jaw-jacked for a little bit. I got his number and called him a week later and asked him if he wanted to try out for the band. The rest is history. As far as meshing together, you probably won't find any other dudes that mesh quite like the men of My �Doodicon.� We are professional meshers, haha.
Scene Point Blank: What is the origin of the name "My Rubicon"?
Eric: I'm a huge history buff and after studying about Caesar, I thought of the name right away (it was a few years ago). To Caesar it was "the point of no return," so that's kind of what it meant/means for me referring to my Christian faith and just living with convictions that I strongly believe in.
Definition: RUBICON (roo-bi-kon): A worthy vision or ideal that one will stop at nothing until realized. A rubicon must be clearly envisioned, passionately desired, carefully planned, then irrevocably committed to with sincere faith to be vigorously pursued until accomplished. Faith and Tenacity will endure in that nothing short of realization will ever be accepted. Once committed, there is no turning back.
Eric: Oh yes, and it is also a jeep, or 4-wheeler.
Scene Point Blank: Recently at your live perfomances, My Rubicon has begun to utilize a red lightbulb when possible. Does this have any significance? What effect are you trying to obtain?
Bill: Um, nothing really. The red light is the light source we use in our practice space. We seem to feel more comfortable when it�s on...nothing special, no gimmick, just a red light.
Chris: Hah... yeah, I don't think there's any significance... other than it looks kinda cool. It adds a different quality I suppose, something the other bands we play with don't have visually.
Scene Point Blank: What is the writing process for My Rubicon like? You guys have a couple of very epic passages that makes it easier for the listener to feel lost in, and then the dynamics switch to give the songs a much more intense side. Is this a formula you guys use on purpose?
Bill: Writing for us has seemed to become a bit easier than it used to be. Chris writes with more structure than Joel, so it seems Joel will write some stoner rock sort of stuff, then Chris will throw some sweet rhythm behind it, and then Eric and myself will bring the thump. It also helps a lot too that Danny is playing the synth and the electric piano. It just brings a whole new dynamic to the music and we plan to utilize that a lot more. We like writing parts that we can just drift in and out of, we really enjoy jamming parts out and just letting whatever happens happen. Lucky for us parts just end up coming together. I don't think we really have any formulas. We are definitely influenced by bands that write epic compositions such as Godspeed (You Black Emperor), The Mars Volta, Mogwai, and about a million other bands, but yeah, whatever happens usually happens and we just try to flow with it.
Chris: Yeah, I don't think we do it on purpose. Usually one of us will show up with some pieces we've written, and then we all add our 2 cents... new parts, arrangement and all that. The epic pieces, I don't think are formulated... They just happen because we're playing some (epic) part, and we just like how it feels, because, well I don't know about the rest of the guys, but I do actually get quite lost in the whole thing as well... and I like it. So I think we try to convey that nice, lost-in-music kind of thing, to the listeners.
Scene Point Blank: What lies ahead for My Rubicon? Tour? Full length? Website? Label?
Bill: We are currently trying to play out as much as possible. We are doing little weekend stint tours at least once a month. We hope to do a couple-week tour this summer. We are currently shopping our three song EP to some labels so hopefully that will lead us to recording again because we have enough new material to release another EP. We are also looking for someone to design a neat-o My Rubicon webpage for the internet machine.
Chris: Like Bill said, we just finished our three song EP. We'd like to tour as much as our semi-adult lives permit us too. And we'd sure like to do a full-length soon... and to have a label to do that with would be wonderful. I'm sure one of these days we'll get a real web site... other than bloody Myspace!
Scene Point Blank: Where can SPB readers hear your music or go to keep up on My Rubicon in the future?
Bill and Chris: Myspace or Purevolume.
Scene Point Blank: I know that Bill was in End This Day for quite some time, and Eric, I believe, spent a good deal of time in Hero's Drive. What were those and other projects that the members were involved in before like, and how do they differ from My Rubicon? Are you guys happy with they way you evolved as musicians?
Bill: Being in End This Day was awesome. The guys in that band were and still are very close to my heart, I love all of them to death. Being in that band allowed me to travel this country and meet so many people, but we were just stuck in the metal and hardcore genre. That's not a bad thing, but it�s a mold that�s hard to break. By being in My Rubicon we are able to play to hardcore kids, indie kids, pretty much whoever. As a musician being in My Rubicon has allowed me to really open up as a drummer. In End This Day I had fun, but I found it hard at times to write different things other than mosh beats, double-bass parts, and blast beats. In My Rubicon I can just explore a lot and sort of relax.
Chris: Eric wasn't in Hero's Drive... Joel and I were actually two of the founding members of that badboy. And Eric and Danny were both in other bands as well. Musically all of our previous projects have been much more metal/hardcore. And honestly, I'm not sure how we got to the sound we've got now, but I suppose it�s just a testament to our growing and maturing as people and changing tastes. My Rubicon is probably quite a bit more dynamic than our previous projects...we're just better musicians than we used to be. I think we're all fairly happy with it.
Eric: I was in a band called Cipher Under Snow and Danny's old band was called The Knifing Assessment.
Scene Point Blank: What are you lives like outside of the band? School? Work? Side projects? Hobbies? Families?
Bill: Outside the band I'm a family man. I'm happily married, I go to school for photography, and I paint houses. When I'm not busy I'm really just trying to relax, which usually consists of me laying on the couch watching Freaks and Geeks and eating something that will later lead to heart failure.
Chris: Well, 4/5 of us are married to lovely understanding women, actually. Joel, Bill and Eric all work together as house painters. Danny delivers Asian food. And I do title insurance (real estate stuff). Danny, Bill, and Eric are all students. And I'll be having my first son in April. As much as we all love to make music, and would want to make more, I don't think any of us have time for side projects. Too busy paying our mortgages! Haha.
Scene Point Blank: Is there anything else you'd like to say to SPB readers?
Bill: Thank you very much for this opportunity. It�s a real blessing to get this kind of attention being that we are such a new band. We truly appreciate it. Be on the lookout for us, because we're comin' at ya like a tornado through a white-trash trailer park.
Chris: Bless you, and we hope to see you real soon!
Interview by Andrew P
Graphics by Matt
Website: http://www.myspace.com/myrubicon
