2010 might just be starting, but for Halifax electro-dance band Ruby Jean and The Thoughtful Bees, they already have their work cut out for them.
The group is getting set to launch an in-depth tour of the Maritimes that will see the group visit five New Brunswick communities between Jan. 23-30. And even beyond those show dates, the group has much more than live shows to keep them occupied.
In addition to the upcoming release of a Ruby Jean and The Thoughtful Bees remix album, Ruby Jean vocalist Rebekah Higgs is also beginning work on a solo effort, which she is eyeing for a late spring/early summer 2010 release.
Her solo record is being recorded by Brian Deck, who has helmed albums by critical favourites Iron and Wine and Modest Mouse.
In regards to the band’s remix album, Higgs confirms that the group more or less put an open-call out to producers and DJ’s alike to have the band’s songs remixed.
The band was so thrilled with the results that they decided that making the remixes available to the public would be the right thing to do, darn it.
“The remixes that we got back made the overall record more of a club-dance style of record,” Higgs says. “It will be available for purchase in the online world in the spring with physical copies available some time after that.”
If that wasn’t enough, Ruby Jean and The Thoughtful Bees will be returning to the studio to make their sophomore record, which they have planned for release in the fall of 2010.
The group recently returned from a tour of the UK where they played approximately 11 dates in total, a tour that has Higgs raving as having been “amazing.”
“We played a venue called Club Koko that was right in Camden Town,” Higgs explains. “The venue was an old theatre that was built in the early 1900s and had this beautiful layout to play to.
“The audiences in general in the UK were great. Crowds there are really into the club scene, not only in the UK but Europe in general. The population there seems to be more accepting of alternative electronic music and appreciate the artistic aspects of the music as well.”
Catch Ruby Jean and The Thoughtful Bees at one of their upcoming performances in the province:
On Saturday, Jan. 23, they will be performing at the Blue Olive in Saint John; the next evening they move to Fredericton to play at The Capitol. On Thursday, Jan. 28, they visit Moncton’s Paramount Lounge followed by a stop at George’s Roadhouse in Sackville the next night. The group’s final stop will be Saturday, Jan. 30 in St. George at Paul’s Wharf.