Four Minutes With...The Rubens
THE Sydney band talk about recording with A-list producer and mentor David Kahne, upgrading their sound and being mouldable.
THE Sydney band talk about recording with A-list producer and mentor David Kahne, upgrading their sound and being mouldable.
1. NEW YORK STORIES
It's been a dream run for Sydney band The Rubens, from Unearthed love to recording their self-titled debut album in a fancy New York studio with A-list producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney/The Strokes) and radio embrace for single My Gun.
And they know it. "It's rare for a band to feel kind of secure," singer Sam Margin says. "To know you've got fans."
2. KAHNE AND ABLE
Kahne tracked the band down after hearing a demo and cleared his schedule to work with them. "He's a mentor in every way," Margin says. "We got the feeling he was enjoying making the album as much as we were. I think he liked having this mouldable band. And his name turned heads in America for us. We got signed to Kings of Leon's management because of it."
3. EVERYBODY HERE WANTS YOU
As well as seizing the moment to upgrade their sound from their lo-fi origins, Kahne had a few ideas. "He wanted us to make our first album sound like our third," Margin says. They also got to pick his brain for rock stories.
"His best stories happen to involve Paul McCartney. Or that he signed Jeff Buckley. Jeff used to go to David's house and they'd get drunk and listen to music."
4. BAND OF HAPPY BROTHERS
Three of the six Margin kids are in The Rubens - Sam, Elliott and Zaac. "We're so chilled," Sam says. "We fight less than we do with our mates."
- HEAR The Rubens (Ivy League) out tomorrow.
- SEE The Rubens, Forum, Saturday, $37.70, Ticketmaster
- Download: Free track downloads of Lay It Down and Cowboy Song
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/TheRubens