Rich Ruth interview – “It was shucking oysters and drinking champagne”

We meet Nashville’s Michael Ruth, the king of ambient jazz

There are many reasons that people start bands.  Some think it might be a short cut to unimaginable wealth.  Others are after a bit of infamy.  For some, it’s simply the only chance they’ve got of getting with the objects of their carnal desire.

Nashville multi-instrumentalist Michael Ruth had something very different in mind when he created Rich Ruth, his unique and very wonderful project that fuses deep ambient sounds with jazz guitar.  He started making this ultra-soothing, meditative music as a form of therapy after being the victim of a traumatic carjacking.

The results have been spectacular.  His debut album dropped in 2019, Calming Signals, and was followed in 2022 by I Survived, It’s Over, which seemed to mark the point at which the musical therapy had triumphed over that particular trauma. The second album’s lush tones were accompanied by a series of evocative, freeform visualiser videos which cast the music in a brilliantly intriguing, mysterious light.

Then, he brought his live show to the UK.  In scorching temperatures he played his first UK show in the basement of the Soho store owned by Third Man – Jack White’s label having signed him up – having hot-footed it straight from Heathrow.  Juno Daily was, it’s delighted to say, was there, witnessing him tackle banks of keyboards and his guitar with octopus-like dexterity, turning the stress of the last minute dash into waves of luxurious sound.

“It’s nice…” he says of the shop, when we catch him for a chat on Zoom, “it’s got a nice sound and everything.  It’s cool because it feels like an exact extension of their spot here in Nashville.  They just put that personal touch of quality on everything they do.”

How long has that store been there in Nashville?

“I think 2010 or 11 they started. It’s been going for a while. The room takes about 250-300 and they get bands that are way bigger than that space because they just want to do it.

Originally from a small town in Ohio, he’s lived in Nashville for about 11 years now.  He moved there with a band he was playing with back in college “and then just kind of stuck it out”, and kept doing music of all different capacities.

“It’s just been a good hub to be at.”

So, you play with lots of different bands?

“Yeah, definitely. I’ve done a lot of hire guitar work over the years and then just working with friends and stuff. Lately, I’ve been playing with this guy, Sean Thompson, who does country, psychedelic stuff. And then I’ve been working with Spencer Cullum. He’s from England and he does some really cool, proggy English folk stuff. And then I’ve been touring with SG Goodman, who we played with that night.  It’s kind of indie country/Americana stuff. It gets a little psychedelic and stuff. But she’s great, she’s a real kind of unicorn talent. It’s been awesome to get to travel around with her.”

Life in what is literally – as well as metaphorically – the gig economy has taken it toll on Ruth, however.  He says his latest album, Water Still Flows, extends the therapy theory into helping him deal with what is often a physically demanding and usually a financially precarious lifestyle.

“After spending a large portion of the past 12 years touring and recording,” he says, “none of this stuff has gotten easier. Much of the anxiety and intense feelings I’ve poured into this record are a direct correlation to the uncertainty of trying to earn a living with music.

“Despite many hopeful opportunities I’ve been given, it has taken a toll on my body and mental health merely trying to survive playing music in the current age. The soothing quality of these new pieces reflect a constant search for solitude and stability. The frenetic, heavier parts mirror the tense variability I feel on a regular basis as a working musician.”

Nevertheless, he reckons, it’s worth it. “At the end of the day, all of the sacrifice and uncertainty is a small price to pay for the privilege to share this music with people.”

There, are, of course, many ups as well as downs, and always the comraderie of fellow musicians to fall back on.  At his last London show, just over a year ago, at the Lexington in Islington, he was joined by members of that evening’s headliners Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection, who improvised around his work, creating an unforgettably mellow, evocative soundtrack.  There was many an open mouth when, towards the very end, he revealed it was the first time they’d ever played together, including rehearsals.

Then there was the time, in Bergen, Norway, when he bumped into the one and only legend that is Grace Jones, who immediately recognised a fellow musician and invited him up to her hotel room to hang out.

“I was practically shaking,” he laughs, relating the tale.  “I was smoking a cigarette outside the hotel and she pulled up.  I told her how much I enjoyed her show, and that I had performed earlier that day, so she just invited me up to her hotel room. It was shucking oysters and drinking champagne – I mean she’s living it. It was exactly what you would imagine. I think she was just in a really good mood and happy to be in that environment again.

“She’s 74 and up there hula hooping, changing outfits and wearing masks and stuff, climbing all over the stage.  It’s unbelievable how good she sounds.”

A vision of hope for the future, that’s for sure.  Let’s hope Rich Ruth is still up there too when he gets to 74, continuing to share his therapeutic sounds for the benefit of the rest of us.

Ben Willmott

Buy your copy of Water Still Flows on vinyl by clicking here