Artist description vocally oriented, heavy on the harmonies, melodic pop rock

Music Style Power Pop

Musical Influences All 60s pop

Similar Artists Beatles, Raspberries, Badfinger, Beach Boys

Artist History THE RUBINOOS BIO Tommy Dunbar and Jon Rubin formed The Rubinoos while still in junior high school. They started out playing school dances and by age fourteen had graduated to the club circuit. In 1975 the band was seen by Matthew King Kaufman and signed, along with Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn and Earthquake, to his newly formed Beserkley label. The Rubinoos made their recorded debut that year with the song “Gorilla,” on the Beserkley Chartbusters LP. By 1977, the boys had finished recording their first LP The Rubinoos. Gene Scullatti of The New York Rocker called it “the best pop album of the decade.” The first single, a cover of the Tommy James classic “I Think We’re Alone Now”, reached number 45 on the Billboard charts and the top ten in many major U.S. cities. Appearances on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, The Rolling Stone Anniversary TV Special and features in numerous teen magazines, helped install the Rubinoos into the pop consciousness. At the same time, the group was receiving a lot of attention overseas; critical acclaim and airplay in Europe and a top ten single in Japan and Australia. In 1978, they left for their first European tour. The first show was an appearance on German TV’s Rock Palast. The rest of the tour took them through northern Europe performing concert dates and appearing on assorted TV shows such as The Netherlands’ Top Pop, Britain’s Old Grey Whistle Test and Rock Goes to College. Since there was no photo on the first LP, the British press had assumed the group was a contrivance but were startled to find these boys were the real thing. During that summer, “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” was recorded and released as a single in England, ending up as the number four airplay song of the year. This led to its selection as Music Week’s record of the year. The Rubinoos finished recording their second LP Back to the Drawing Board in late 1978 for release in early 1979. Because of their success in the UK, The Rubinoos were chosen to open Elvis Costello’s U.S. tour. The group played fifty-six sold out shows to screaming encores and rave reviews. Back to the Drawing Board was a breakout all over U.S. radio and was selling like hot cakes. Unfortunately, right at the most critical time, the U.S. distributor went into bankruptcy making the record unavailable to stores and effectively ending its run of success. In 1983, The Rubinoos were signed by Warner Brothers Records and made the Mini LP Party of Two produced by Todd Rundgren. The excellent single “If I Had You Back” saw significant airplay on the then fledgling MTV. In 1985, the band broke up leaving behind a reputation as one of the premier pop groups of that era. Fast forward to 1993 for The Rubinoos’ reunion show. This performance rekindled interest in the group and led to the issue of two compilation CDs of unreleased material, Basement Tapes and Garage Sale. In 1994, Basement Tapes was picked by Billboard magazine as one of the year’s ten best CDs. In 1995, the Rubinoos came to the attention of songwriter, artist and producer extraordinaire Kevin Gilbert. He produced the new CD Paleophonic and was completing final mixes at the time of his sudden death in May of 1996. Paleophonic, featuring twelve new songs, retains all the pop sensibility of The Rubinoos’ previous work but with a more adult edge. Future classics like “Amnesia” and “Early Winter” assure that old or new pop enthusiasts will be thrilled by Paleophonic. The re-formed Rubinoos plan to continue recording and gigging into the future.

Group Members Al Chan Tommy Dunbar Donn Spindt Jon Rubin

Albums The Rubinoos, Back to the Drawing Board, Party of Two, Basement Tapes, Garage Sale, Paleophonic

Press Reviews Review from AMPLIFIER Magazine Nineteen-ninety-eight has already been an incredible year for comebacks, from Scott McCarl's Play On! to the Knack's Zoom to John Wicks and the Records' Rock'ola. The good news is that these acts are still crafting new music at all; the better news is that these records are all solid efforts, and worthy additions to the artists' already formidable catalogs. As if all that wasn't enough, now the Rubinoos check in with Paleophonic, (arguably) the most satisfying disc of the bunch. Three-quarters of the 'Noos, thinly disguised as Vox Pop, have already blessed pop fans with one slab of aural nirvana this year; now, with Jon Rubin back on board, the band is again at full strength. And from the opening strains of "Amnesia," Paleophonic's leadoff track, it's as if time has stood still--the Rubinoos' unique brand of majestic power pop, distinguished by their sublime and utterly distinctive vocal harmonies, sounds every bit as fresh today as it did twenty years ago. And while Paleophonic is chock full of vintage Rubinoos pop (the aforementioned "Amnesia," "Pursuit of Happiness," "No More Where She Came From"), the boys seem to take particular delight in flexing their stylistic muscles. "You Don't Know Her"'s banjo and handclaps create a distinct hoedown feel. "Can I" and "Gone to Seed" are harder edged than typical 'Noos fare, while the jazzy "Life in the Slow Lane" deftly incorporates background vocals that seemingly emanate from an antique Victrola. Paleophonic's closer, the Ventures-meet-Captain Kirk "Surf Trek," proves that not only have the band's musical talents not eroded over the years, but their collective sense of humor is doing just fine as well, thank you very much.

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

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