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GetHiroshima talked to Ron Ruins about life, music and assholes after their November 10th gig at Otis!

First of all, the show was a treat. We experienced an amazing opening set by Ruins, a Japanese duo from Tokyo who do for the drums (Yoshida) and bass guitar (Sasaki) what seems impossible.

Ruins is drummer Yoshida's main band. He also works with members of The Boredoms as well as Akaten. Yoshida's drumming is physical, full of changes in tempo and intensity. He composes most of their songs. Sasaki is an amazing bass player. He uses the whole fretboard (neck) of his five-string bass, plays chords, incredibly fast scales, and even gets harmonics by lightly tapping the strings. Together the two of them are completely in sync and dynamic.

Before Ron Anderson took the stage, we were wondering how he would fit in with this tightly-knit duo. They called him up to the stage by saying, "Hey, Ron!" He seemed perfectly at ease playing his own pieces as well as ones written by Ruins. Ron is well known for his band Molecules. His new band is PAK and they're getting ready to tour the US East Coast in Autumn 2001.

RonRuins has a long history of touring together in the States and Europe. Ron said he was getting his music played on a Berkeley radio station in the early 90's and the DJ said. "Have you heard of these Ruins guys from Japan?" And when he heard it, Ron said, "Man, that's exactly what I'm trying to do with my music." So, he sent Ruins a demo tape, and they've been working together off and on ever since. Ron says this of Ruins, "They're monster musicians." The same can be said about Ron himself, who has been making music for more than 20 years. He said he was a little intimidated when they first jammed together years ago. Although at this gig, he didn't seem intimated at all. His playing and singing complemented the Tokyo duo's sound. However, as a musical perfectionist of sorts he couldn't hide his slight disappointment with broken strings and the struggle of warming up during the first set.

Ruins started off the second set with the acapella songs "Zubi Zuva" and "Bita Vita." Then Ron joined them for the sweet sound of the "ketsu-no-ana" serenade. On one of their previous tours in the states, Ron was driving Ruins to the airport and was harassed by bad drivers so much that he started screaming at them. Ruins were interested in Ron's prolific use of the word "asshole" so much they decided to teach him "ketsu-no-ana" which is the Japanese equivalent.

Ron was so intrigued by the sound of "ketsu-no-ana" that he started singing the words over and over again in the car and eventually they all three joined in to create "let's talkin' bout KetsuNoAna in the afternoon..."

When asked what kind of music inspires him, Ron mentioned a long list of influences from Frank Zappa, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, to Ruins and the Boredoms.

We also asked him to tell us more about their music and where it comes from. He said "there is a long history of this type of music going back to the progressive rock of the 60's as well as free jazz, free improvisation, and a bit of punk rock."

He also mentioned that audiences in Europe and Japan are "more open-minded to this kind of music and they'll listen for a while and when they finally get it, they really get into it." Whereas audiences in the States, "don't always give it a chance."

If you have the chance to see them live, don't miss it. Even those unfamiliar with their music can appreciate just how talented they are.