Born from the weirdness of the first COVID lockdown. To date, The Ruby Tears have been an entirely online collaboration between Manchester solo musician John Goodfellow and Liverpool guitarist and songwriter Jeff Skellon. "The brief story is this" says Jeff: "One year ago, I found myself back home in Liverpool, out of work due to COVID but with time on my hands. I grandly decided to write and record an album. 12 months later, having collaborated with a fellow like-minded musician, John Goodfellow, from Manchester, we have written, recorded, and released 15 original songs and a cover version. There are more in the pipeline, and the next step is to take it live this summer once venues are open again. Our influences have come from the late 60s, 70s rock, new wave, and 80s post-punk. All that is good from that period will surface in our music at some point. Sometimes you might hear Bowie, The Clash, and Burt Bacharach all in the same track; in another, The Byrds and Elvis Costello."
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey The Ruby Tears, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
John: Music was such a big part of growing up. My formative years were the 1970s and initially it was the likes of T Rex, Slade, The Sweet and David Bowie that were the big influences on me. Then punk hit and I never looked back. I always wanted to be in a band - and was in the inevitable school band in my teens playing covers of all our favourite groups. Playing at school discos and in local pubs gave me the taste for being up in front of people. Being in a band - a gang of friends - it was very seductive.
Jeff: For Me it was Glam Rock in early 70s, ,I had an older brother and sister so had been exposed to Motown and Ska and The Kinks and Beatles etc. but Bowie and Slade were my thing. I first picked up an instrument in 1976 and played everything form Gong and King Crimson to The Buzzcocks , The Clash and Diana Ross that year.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
Jeff: Good question that, we fit our free time to rehearse and gigs around our life but we are all fairly free in what time we have available. I sometimes need to go away for work for weeks or months at a time though.
John: I’m of an age now where work commitments don’t get in the way. I’m fortunate that I can find plenty of time for writing, recording and performing.
Your latest release is 'NEVER GONNA BE (Like It Is On TV)'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
John and Jeff: The most unusual thing was that or drummer told us 10 days before the studio was booked that he was unavailable for the session and that he was leaving. We managed to change the recording to a week earlier and had him play six songs in the one day. Then he left. I guess it may have added an urgency to the recording but what was done was done.
Where did you get the inspiration for this EP?
Jeff: We recorded six songs that we were happy with from playing them live and which had changed form when we first wrote them . Then we split them up into groups of two of songs that seemed to work together well. No real inspiration as they were written sometime before.
How long did you work on the 'NEVER GONNA BE (Like It Is On TV)'? Was it an easy process for you?
John: TV - along with all our songs = was was written with Jeff remotely, sharing files online and working in our home studios. This was a process that started during lockdown - Jeff contacted me out of the blue looking for someone to provide lyrics and melodies for s songs he had. We had released a few EPs before we finally met after 18 months. This version of TV was recorded with a full band at 6db Studios in Manchester back in January and has a much punchier live feel to it than the earlier ‘demo’ version.
Jeff: It was one of the ones that John wrote and sent to me so I heard it and listened and thought what does it need. It needed fuzz guitar and a bass line like Pump it Up by Elvis Costello. Then it was done. Bam!
How do you know when a work is finished?
Jeff: We bounce our ideas between us and at some point the only things we are changing are levels or reverbs or other tiny things. Gradually there is nothing left to change. Sometimes though we revisit in a week or so and tweak a bit more but the song has been there for a while by this point so it is just the mix that is slightly changing.
John: It’s difficult to quite know when a track is finished. Working from home the temptation is to tweak and tweak. Working in a studio we do have the constriction of time and do have to call it at some point. I guess we are all perfectionists in our own way but having a someone else in the studio - in this case our engineer Ding (who also effectively produced the tracks) - who can reign in our excesses is a big help.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
Jeff: I have problems with nerves at every gig but there were a couple where I just felt that I didn’t care and it was much better for me. DUBLIN CASTLE in London was a gig that we could have been nervous about as we had family and friends who hadn’t managed to see us anywhere else. I did have some technical problems but it just flowed and we had a great time. I don’t know if it was our best performance but I enjoyed it.
John: Having played in a few bands it is difficult to cherry pick. But playing The Dublin Castle in Camden with The Ruby Tears was a big thrill and for me the one I enjoyed the most.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
Jeff: It is a long and winding road that got me to where I am right now. I was in bands in the 80s but had no success, started working backline for friends bands in Liverpool and ended up looking after guitars and bass for James and Carpets. After that I took a break to write and record some dance music in 91-92 and then had 25 years working selling merchandise for other artists (I still am). In 2020 when lockdown hit, I was forced to stay home with no work, decided that then was the time to make music again and I found John online. We slowly sniffed each others’ arses for a few months whilst we decided what we thought of each other but when we did meet after a year we were like old friends. We are not doing this for anyone else but ourselves, we hope that other people like it of course but primarily it is just for us. We are past caring about being in a hit factory, we write music and put it out. That’s it really…
John: I suppose I never really considered myself in a business - more a fringe player. I have mates who have had much more success in bands and seemed very jaded by the time that finished so I’ve always been very wary.
Who is your favourite musician?
Jeff: Today it is David Bowie.
John: Joe Strummer (didn’t need to think about that one. Seeing the Clash on the famous 1977 Whire Riot tour changed my life and he has been a hero ever since.
What are your plans for the future?
Jeff: Find another drummer, get rehearsed and get playing live again.
John: Get back to gigging later this year and hopefully release an album next year.