media: interviews by slowbellie...

an interview with: dave rubadeau

SB: How long have you been involved with music?

Dave Rubadeau: I've been playing for 40 years, professionally for 35 years.

SB: Shit, you are getting up there [laugh]. What's the biggest problem you've seen in music in the last while?

DR: Well if you are a band starting out, it can be hard to get gigs because a lot of clubs have went to karaoke. This has backfired for the bands and the clubs because Karaoke yodellers as a rule don't drink. There are good things happening in music over the Internet, like how kids can get tabs and learn how to play, plus equipment to start up is getting less expensive all the time.

SB: What do you think of all the new artists and their over-processed, over-effected CD's?

DR: Well, I don't know about alot of the new stuff, but it isn't always the artist's fault. For example, ZZ Top went out to play a show in Texas, and their computers crashed so there would be no effects for the show. They informed the fans, went out and played bare-bones, and the fans loved it. You see it is not always that the band can't do it without effects; it's just what the fans expect. Sometimes, the effects are put there solely because the fans expect it.

SB: Some would argue it's like that all the time! So what is the future for you?

DR: It's nice to see rock coming back a bit, because I own a music store and it's important that the kids are starting to play again – not just coming in asking for processors and samplers. There isn’t anything wrong with that other stuff, I just feel you can't have hip-hop as the only thing.

SB: You have done a lot of sound work haven't you?

DR: Yeah, I've done sound for many artists over the years. You just got to get in there and listen to what's going on.

SB: Out of all the people I have ever known, you are the most well-rounded recording artist with a wealth of music knowledge.

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