Mark Rubin (musician)

Mark Rubin

Mark Rubin is an American songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who played upright bass and tuba in the Austin, Texas-based band the Bad Livers,[1] as well as the Dallas-based band Killbilly.[2]

“Everything Mark Rubin does is done with no compromise. He is fearless, fearsome, and most of all, completely musical!” - Gurf Morlix

Early life

Rubin was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma[2] and grew up in Norman, Oklahoma.[3] He first arrived in Austin on August 28, 1987.[4] As of 2014 he lives and works in New Orleans.

Musical career

Killbilly

Rubin joined the rock-bluegrass band Killbilly, which formed in the late 1980s,[5] due to his re-emerging interest in bluegrass music.[6] It was after he joined Killbilly that Rubin met Danny Barnes, who, at the time, had just joined the band as its banjo player.[6] Barnes invited him to relocate to Austin and promised better working conditions with more accomplished musicians.

Bad Livers

The Bad Livers formed in 1990 and effectively shuttered in 2000.[3] The band has reformed and played performance at Pickathon (2007) and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. (2008.) As of 1999, Rubin was, according to Andy Langer, the band's "bassist, co-manager, and goodwill ambassador".[6] As of 2017, Barnes announced that Bad Livers would take the occasional festival appearance.

Solo Career

In 2013, Rubin, along with Sean Orr, released the album "Texas Fiddle, Okie Guitar".

In 2015, Rubin released a solo album, "Southern Discomfort", which contains nine original songs and three covers.

In 2017 he release his first truly "solo" effort, "Songs for the Hangman's Daughter," recording 11 original compositions accompanied by either guitar, banjo or mandolin. Rubin explores themes centered around the duality of being a Jewish identified Southern Musician and tours solo across the US and Canada.

Post-Bad Livers career

He produced three CD releases for Tex-Mex accordionist Santiago Jimenez, Jr. including one nominated for a Grammy.

In 1995 he was tapped by Richard Linklater to be Music Supervisor for his 20th Century Fox motion picture "The Newton Boys." In 2006 he was brought on as Consultant to the film "Infamous" and worked closely in the studio with Gwyneth Paltrow for her singing parts and giving Daniel Craig guitar lessons. Other credits include music for two PBS documentaries, "George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire" (2000) and "Last Man Standing: Politics - Texas Style" (2004.)

As a teacher and pedagogue, he has instructed or lectured at the following events: Festival of the American Fiddle Tune (X6,) the Port Townsend Blues Week, Yiddish Summer Weimar Germany (X2,) The Festival of Jewish Culture Krakow (X7,) SXSW, hosting his own panel (X8) KlezKamp (X19 ,) KlezKanada, American Folk Festival (X3,) Richmond Folk Festival (X3,) Lowell Folk Festival (X3,) University of London (X2,) University of Virginia Charlottesville, Old Settlers Bluegrass Festival (X4,) Ashkenaz Toronto (x3,) Calgary Folk Festival (X2,) Winnipeg Folk Festival (X2,) Edmonton Folk Festival and innumerable regional festivals and camps devoted to folk traditions.

Other notable releases produced by Rubin include releases by Texas-Polish fiddler Brian Marshall, his own old-time string band "The Bing Bang Boys," and EP for the traditional Texas Swing band Mark Rubin and his Ridgetop Syncopators. For a short time he was a member of neuvo-Bluegrass band The Two High String Band and recorded a CD with the great Alan Munde on banjo.

Since 2000, He has toured Europe and points East as a first call "klezmer" bassist and tuba player, working with a literal Who's-who of the Yiddish Renaissance. Including Henry Sapoznik, Frank London, Andy Statman, Micheal Alpert, Alan Berlin and Steven Greenman, to name a few.

Rubin was featured along with three other principals in German documentary film "Der Zerbrochene Klang" ("The Broken Sound") about his participation in the Other Europeans Project; a collective of Jewish and Rroma musicians from 9 different countries.[7]

In 2013, at the behest of his long time mentor and then Folk Alliance director Louis Jay Meyers, he developed and was director of the Folk Alliance Winter Music Camp in Kansas City MO. Rubin left the position when Meyers stepped down from his position. Rubin has since returned as Bass instructor.

Rubin was the subject of a German radio documentary focusing on the lives of American musician in the current environment. Produced by Berlin based musician Paul Brody it was broadcast on WDR (West Deutschland Rundfunk) in 2014 and then re-broadcast at select radio outlets in the US in 2015. The show is archived on YouTube.

As of April 2014, Rubin lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana as a freelance musician, writer and cultural critic.[8] He is currently penning his memoir.

References

  1. ↑ Azerrad, Michael. "Bad Livers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 Friedman, Josh Alan (27 August 2009). "Mark Rubin Schleps His Instruments Across The World in the Name of Klezmer". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 DuShane, Tony (19 March 2009). "The Bad Livers: Old-time hip, not hippie". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Hernandez, Raoul (2 June 2015). "Papa Mali Extols Mark Rubin". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Cuellar, Catherine. "Killbilly Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Langer, Andy (5 November 1999). "Against the Grain". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Other Europeans in: DER ZERBROCHENE KLANG". www.other-europeans-film.de. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  8. ↑ Rubin, Mark. "Artists homepage".
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