Ruby Jane Smith - Blog

Halloween/other things

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:46:02 GMT

Happy Halloween everyone! I can't believe it's already almost November! Remember to eat lots of good candy :) (Heath bars are my personal favorite). I need to put together a last minute costume. Ideas? I wasnt planning on partying down this year because I was supposed to leave for a Northeast tour but it has been canceled because of the hurricane. I can't believe all the damage the storm has caused. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families on the east coast. I will be back up there very soon :)
Got a little time off now which is nice. This month has been excellent. I had the wonderful opportunity to play at La Grange Fest with ZZ Top, Jimmie Vaughn, Robert Randolph, Lou Ann Barton, The Departed, and many others this past Saturday. Such an amazing show. I love watching Billy and the guys. They are such amazing performers. I hope to be entertaining huge crowds with tons of energy at that age as well :) Robert Randolph blew my mind. I had never seen him live before and he is absolutely phenomenal. Such a talent.
We've had a ton of amazing shows this month! And I've had the opportunity to see some amazing bands. I saw Alanis Morissette last night at Stubbs. Oh my goodness. Such an incredible performer. I was so amazed by her energy, her voice, and everything about the performance. Im pretty sure i scream Ironic at the top of my lungs. Im surprised i can talk today :) ha. I feel so blessed to live in such an incredible city where I can see both Alanis and The temper trap in the same three days. Wow.
Well I hope y'all have a great Halloween and a wonderful November. Stay awesome. Talk to you soon :)
Love always,
Ruby Jane

Crowd gathering for ZZ Top :)

Here comes the fall

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:42:37 GMT

Hey guys! Ruby Jane here. Hope y'all are having a great October! I'm enjoying a relaxing week after a busy September/early October. We just got back from two wonderful trips to Nashville and Los Angeles! I love those two cities so much. Nashville was so fun. We had wonderful picnics with Kenny my entertainment lawyer and a great show at The basement and were able to get some great work done. In Los Angeles I played 4 shows and got the opportunity to write with the musical director for incredible artists like Katy Perry. And I did some great recording with a very talented producer! We were able to stay with sweet friends and make homemade dinners as well :) and as an extra special treat, our friend Charisse got two tickets to Wilco at the Hollywood Bowl! It was the most incredible concert. They played all my favorite songs (Misunderstood, I'm trying to break your heart, Jesus etc) and Jeff Tweedy just blew me away. I wish he could just mentor me and I would follow him around everywhere. Haha :) Needless to say its been an amazing month. But I am glad to settle down a little bit for the next few weeks.
Fall is my very favorite time of year! It's been cooling down and so of course the first day it was cold I got out all my winter clothes :) both my mom's and my birthdays are coming up in the next couple months! I will be 18. I am so amazed that its come so fast! I feel old. Haha. But 18 is gonna be a great year I can feel it :)
This weekend we will be traveling to Dallas for Crazy Water Festival! It'll be a fun festival and we'll be playing both Friday and Saturday. And Sunday we'll be coming back to Austin to play at Uncle Billy's at the Oasis! Y'all come out this weekend! It's gonna be fun :)
Well I dont wanna keep yall too long but wanted to update you on everything happening with me :) Hope you're having a great month and ill see y'all out at a show soon!
Love always,
Ruby Jane

At centennial park in Nashville :)

Changes

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:20:21 GMT

Hey guys! Well it's been a while since my last post. Life has been pretty crazy lately...I just finished my last year of high school!! I'm very excited. I officially finished up my work on Friday and everything feels different. It feels weird not having to do homework or have any due dates or exams. In a way I miss it, but it's gonna be so nice to get into a different routine. This morning I was able to get up and work out and then practice, which used to be so difficult with so much schoolwork. Life is gonna be different, but I'm very excited.
We're heading to Lancaster, PA in about a week for graduation which is officially June 1st. I'm giving a speech at graduation which I'm actually kind of nervous about! I never get nervous performing on stage, but public speaking is a whole different arena. I've been working on my speech this morning and I'm excited as well as nervous!
I also wanna say thank you guys SO MUCH for all the support of the new music video/song "Wake Up"! The video has been up a little over a week and gotten amazing reception! I linked the video to this blog so you guys can see it if you haven't had a chance yet. I'm just getting SO excited about this new album! I can't wait to see what you guys think.
The rest of this year is gonna be an amazing one! I can't wait to spend all my time touring and enjoying life. Since I'm sure you're curious, I definitely have plans for college. I'll be taking a year off first (I graduated a year early) and then I'm looking into getting the basics online at UT or something like that (Hook em horns! :)). Anyway, just wanted to say hello and let you know what's been up with me. Hope to see you guys soon!
Love,
Ruby Jane

Wow

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:19:46 GMT

Hey guys! Well I’m sure you all know by now what a crazy week it’s been for us. Tuesday our heat, microwave, and cell service all experienced issues, Wednesday I came down with the flu, and Thursday we were carjacked at gunpoint in Houston. Yep. Needless to say it’s been a little overwhelming. But as I sit here at our friend Derrick’s house doing French homework and recovering from the flu, I’m just glad to be alive and feel so grateful for the love that’s been shown to us. After a scary night Thursday night we were picked up by our sweet friend Derrick from Austin, taken back to his house, and since then we have been trying to recover lost items and replace some in case they are not found. I knew I had friends, but I had no idea just how amazing my friends were until this week. People have been organizing benefits, lending and giving me gear, and helping contribute to our Kickstarter page to help make the album and get new gear. I can’t say enough how loved I feel. My mom and my guitar player Trevor have been in Houston today and yesterday looking for any gear in pawn shops, etc. The news station down there has been following them around and now people in Houston area know to keep an eye out for the stolen items. They are headed back now with my Gibson guitar, microphone, and merch case. Thank God! No signs yet of the fiddle, mandolin, or any of the pedals and cords. But I am so happy so have those few items back! I just wanted to say thank ya’ll so much for the kindness and PLEASE continue to spread the word about Kickstarter and the stolen gear. We still have a long way to go. Much love always!!!!

RJ

Here comes the fall

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:00:42 GMT

The fall is coming on! There's SO MUCH fun stuff going on :)

So Austin is FINALLY cooling down, which I am so a happy about. It's been a long time coming it seems like. I just got back from New Mexico (with Asleep at the wheel) and Arizona (show with Arizona musicians Peter Mclaughlin and Evan Dain) a few days ago and was expecting 110 again but surprise surprise it's actually been very beautiful here! I just hope it stays this way for ACL! Speaking of ACL, the band and I are hard at work getting ready to jam out Sunday at the Austin Ventures stage at ACL festival! Last year was so incredible with an amazing crowd and a phenomenal weekend. I'm looking forward to the same excitement this year! If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, please do! The lineup this year is incredible.

       Like I said I just got back from Arizona and New Mexico and had an amazing trip! I played in the mountains in New Mexico at a BEAUTIFUL theater with Asleep at the wheel and Ray Benson's musical A Ride With Bob. It was a great 5 day run with 75 degree weather and sweet sweet people. I got to hang out with Elizabeth McQueen and Dave Sanger's two beautiful girls Lisel (2) and Willow (only months old). I taught Lisel how to play cards. It was adorable. Then we moved on to Arizona where we got to spend a great week with my mom's longtime friend and my godparents Susan and Jonathan. I also played a show in Tucson with two amazing musicians Peter Mclaughlin and Evan Dain. They're from the Tucson area and learned the material to play this one show. I had the best time jamming and they are absolutely AMAZING musicians. I hope to get to play with them again soon.

      I also just started my senior (I can't believe it) year of high school just yesterday. It seems like the years have flown by. But needless to say I'm very happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm taking 7 classes this year including French and two literature classes. Language and literature being my two favorite subjects, I'm very excited about those classes. I can't wait to learn French so that when I go back I can speak at least some with the locals.

     After ACL is over, I'm going to Los Angeles for a week to play some solo shows in that area. I LOVE L.A. and I'm VERY excited to be going and hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather. I would love to have a house there some day :) It's an incredible city. If you're in the L.A. area check out the website or facebook to see where I'll be. I'd love to see you out.

Alrighty well that's what going on with me. I hope to see your beautiful faces out at a show or at ACL very soon!! Ya'll have a great week.

Love, RJ

P.S. Whether you're in Texas or not, PLEASE keep in mind and pray for the victims of the wildfire that's spread all over Bastrop, Steiner Ranch, and all over Texas. Very sad situation and makes us realize how blessed we all are.

Here's a link to A Ride With Bob. Tickets available now!

http://www.aridewithbob.com/