THE FABULOUS RUDIES INTERVIEW
Southern California ska/reggae act The Fabulous Rudies are gearing up for a repeat run on the ever popular Warped Tour. The band was asked to join the national tour for a second year in the row because of its entertaining live show and its sweet BBQ cooking skills. Say what? Read on for this exclusive interview with co-lead vocalist Tom Voris to find out more.
The Pier: For those that unfamiliar with the Fabulous Rudies how would you describe your sound?
Tom Voris: Well we started as a Two-Tone style ska band that has infused many different styles in the past five years. Some critiques we have gotten have described us a cross between Sublime and No Doubt. A fan on MySpace said that we sounded like “sex with horns.” I like that one the best.
The Pier: So what was the original inspiration to put the band together?
Tom Voris: When a lot of the 3rd Wave Ska bands came out in the mid-90’s, I wanted to go back and return to an older style of ska and started The Rudies which later became The Fabulous Rudies.
The Pier: How has your hometown of Oceanside influenced your music?
Tom Voris: SoCal reggae-beach music most definitely!
The Pier: What was it like being on last years Warped Tour? Must have some great stories?
Tom Voris: The tour was hard work. However, we raised the bar for the BBQ band in that we made the BBQ a huge event “After-Party” every night. We usually had a sponsor such as Lost…Energy Drink or Pabst Blue Ribbon to donate what we needed at the bar that night. Ask any band member from the 2007 Warped Tour if they enjoyed the specialty drink, Late Bus Call and see if you can spur any fond memories of the After-Party. It was very cool to hang out with all the bands and everyone that worked on the tour. The beauty of it was that they all came to us for the party so we got to know everybody on the tour. This was a great privilege because otherwise being a new band on the tour we probably would have been too shy to approach most of the people.
Many of the bands on tour helped make the events better, such as Flogging Molly (thank you, Dennis) putting together "The Irish Car Bomb" night or Pepper’s "Reggae" night. When we came to our home town of San Diego, Auggie of Skank Out Productions, had Mike Pinto of Mike Pinto & the Mashers, w/ members of The Skank Agents perform live acoustic ska and San Diego became one of the best parties on the tour. “Alternative Press” magazine played a big part in the San Diego After-Party as well. We can tell many stories but as they say about “Vegas,” “what happens at the Warped Tour, stays at the Warped Tour!” So to sum it up…it was a blast. The clean-up every night though…let’s just say we were always the last band to leave.
The Pier: So do you guys put on a mean BBQ?
Tom Voris: I guess we’ve must have done a good job last year so here we go again!
The Pier: Being signed up for this year's Warped as well do you think you will you be better prepared for the second time round?
Tom Voris: Hope so. Not sure if there is any way to prepare for Warped.
The Pier: What is some of your other more memorable shows you have played?
Tom Voris: We recently played with Bad Manners. Ska Summit in 2003 was a great festival as was Reggae by the Pier.
The Pier: Now I gotta ask why Richard Gere? (A tribute on the band's most recent release)
Tom Voris: Good question. We do a lot of political songs and during the last election we contributed to the Kerry campaign with the song on our current CD, Free North America. I won’t go into all that. We just didn’t want to be taken too serious so we poked some fun in our expense and Richard Gere’s. We want to stay positive.
The Pier: Now I believe you have recorded a new album to be released soon. What can you tell us about it?
Tom Voris: We have lots of new songs. We have so many that it is going to take more recording time after the tour to finish some of the songs we will be playing on this summer’s Warped. I think people will like the new recordings. We will have a new EP CD for the summer tour and full CD for the beginning of 2009.
The Pier: Besides Warped what else have you got coming up in 2008?
Tom Voris: Nothing definite except for the recording. We plan to tour with a few bands on this year’s Warped Tour as well. Keep in touch with us at MySpace and we’ll keep you up to date with tours, releases, etc. as they become definite.
The Pier: Traditional last Pier question. What is your fav summertime hangout/destination?
Tom Voris: Well obviously Warped Tour these days. Nothing beats the SoCal beaches though.
Thanks to Tom for dropping by The Pier. Hopefully I will get to taste some of his BBQ handy-work one of these days.
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