See also: As Fate Would Have it, Rubedo Has a New Album
Rubedo, then, is a band of tremendous flexibility. Kyle Gray, who sings, plays moog synthesizers and ukulele, Gregg Ziemba, who plays drums and Alex Raymond, who plays guitar, are exceptional musicians with voracious sonic appetites. Raymond has been known to show up to practice with Peruvian music made by artists influenced by American rock and roll from the '60s. "We hope that [our music] is the voice of the music culture of today, which would encompass all music," says Ziemba. "Because it's all good."
"And it's all accessible," says Raymond.
Their fans are a similarly eclectic bunch, ranging from toddlers who made their parents stop to listen during those sets at DIA to former Mars Volta keyboardist Ikey Owens, who has produced both of Rubedo's full-length albums. "Our music is pretty positive," says Gray. "The typical Rubedo character is someone who cares about themselves enough to give a damn about what's going on on stage."
The band will play an increasingly scarce local headlining show on Saturday, September 13 at the hi-dive. They curated the lineup to include artists with a similar burn to connect with caring audiences. "That's who we want to surround ourselves with," says Ziemba, "people who are making a scene."
This weekend's show is not bound by any particular genre. If Rubedo plays pop, then Turner Jackson plays hip-hop and Dave Devine's Relay plays rock, but those are exceedingly poor descriptions of all three. More than anything else, Gray hopes it will be a "meaningful celebration." One way he'll try to make that happen is by inviting everyone to bring a crystal, with which they will construct a crystal grid. Whether you imagine the resulting transfer of energy as something tangible or not, it will clearly remove the divide that frequently exists between artists and audiences.
