The Rubinoos
Encyclopedia
The Rubinoos are an American power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

 band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. They are perhaps best known for their singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells
Tommy James & the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover"  — and also charted 12 other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "Crystal...

), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (1979), and for the theme song to the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...

. Although "I Think We're Alone Now", reaching #45 in 1977, has been their only charting hit, the group has a significant enduring cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...

 among fans of the power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

 genre.

More recently, the group became known to a wider audience after filing a plagiarism
Musical plagiarism
Music plagiarism is the use or close imitation of another author's music while representing it as one's own original work. Plagiarism in music now occurs in two contexts – with a musical idea or sampling...

 lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

 in mid-2007 against Canadian
Music of Canada
The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...

 pop-punk musician Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...

 claiming that her song "Girlfriend
Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne song)
"Girlfriend" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The song was written by Lavigne with her producer Dr. Luke for Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing . "Girlfriend" was released as the lead single from The Best Damn Thing on 27 February 2007...

" had too much in common with "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend". The parties confidentially settled out of court in early 2008. The conflict led to a re-interest in the Rubinoos' music, particularly on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

History

In November, 1970 Tommy Dunbar and Jon Rubin formed The Rubinoos to play at a dance for Bay High School in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

. Other founding members included Greg 'Curly' Keranen
Greg 'Curly' Keranen
Greg 'Curly' Keranen is a bassist and guitarist, who sometimes performs under the stage name, João Dilberto.Keranen was a founding member of The Rubinoos , and originally became associated with Jonathan Richman as a member of "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers", during the band's association...

, Alex Carlin, Ralph Granich and Danny Wood. Inspired by siblings' 45s and the Cruisin' radio sound check series, Jon Rubin and The Rubinoos played rock and roll oldies, including covers of songs by Chubby Checker, Bill Haley and the Comets, The Dovells, The Troggs, Little Eva, The Chiffons, and others.

Soon after the performance at Bay High School, where Rubin and Dunbar were enrolled, the original band dissolved. In May, 1971, they shortened the name to The Rubinoos and reformed as a quartet with Donn Spindt on drums and Tom Carpender on bass. The group now focused on original material by Dunbar, in association with Rubin and others.

The band's early development was assisted and inspired by the success of Earth Quake
Earth Quake (band)
Earth Quake was an American rock and power pop band, formed in the San Francisco area in 1966, who released several albums in the 1970s, mostly on Beserkley Records, a company which they were involved in setting up.-Band members:*John Doukas...

, whose lead guitarist and principal songwriter was Tommy Dunbar's older brother, Robbie Dunbar. The Rubinoos often appeared as an opening act for Earth Quake in clubs such as the Longbranch Saloon and The Keystone, in Berkeley.

After the expiration of their contract with A&M Records, Earth Quake along with their manager, Matthew King Kaufman, founded Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records was an independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkely is usually regarded as a powerpop & rock and roll label; during the seventies, the band released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, The Rubinoos, and...

 and started recruiting additional talent. This included Greg Kihn
Greg Kihn
Greg Kihn is an American rock musician, radio personality and novelist.-Music:Kihn is the front man for The Greg Kihn Band, which released several singles and albums that made the charts in the early 1980s...

, Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...

 and The Rubinoos.

In June, 1973, Keranen re-joined the group. In September, 1974, they recorded the song "Gorilla", released as a single and included on the Beserkley Chartbusters compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

. The group also provided accompaniment for Jonathan Richman on two Charbuster cuts, "The New Teller" and "Government Center." Shortly after the release of "Chartbusters" Keranen left the Rubinoos to join Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers. He was replaced by Royse Ader.

Several 'high points' of the band's early career included: A performance at Bill Graham's Winterland Auditorium, September 24, 1974, on a bill with The Jefferson Starship. At this concert, the Rubinoos were joined on stage by Jonathan Richman, who danced to their version of The Archies' "Sugar, Sugar." This was greeted with intense booing and a pelting of un-ripe bananas by members of the audience. Having a number one single in Modesto California for 13 weeks. Having one of their concerts raffled off to a high school by Burger King. Appearing in Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine many times.

In 1977, Beserkley released The Rubinoos the group's eponymous debut album. It was well-reviewed, and the single, "I Think We're Alone Now", reached #45 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 becoming Beserkley's first hit. The group appeared on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

(live), So It Goes
So It Goes (TV series)
So It Goes was a British TV music show presented by Tony Wilson on Granada Television between 1976 and 1977. It is most famous for showcasing the then burgeoning Punk rock movement...

(by video) and Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary television special in which they were cast as a garage band, performed a tribute to the newly deceased Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 and morphed into claymation figures.

The group's next album, Back to the Drawing Board
Back to the Drawing Board
Back to the Drawing Board! is The Rubinoos' second album, released on Beserkley Records. Back to the Drawing Board! is a power pop album and fit well with the other power pop bands on Beserkley...

(1979), featured the single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", which had been released in 1978 and received heavy airplay in England and Europe. In support of this album, the Rubinoos appeared on Rock Goes To College
Rock goes to College
Rock Goes To College was a BBC series that ran between 1978 and 1981 on British television. A variety of up-coming rock oriented bands were showcased live from small venues and broadcast simultaneously on television and radio during a 40-50 minute live performance.It was a follow-on to the...

, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top Pop and was the opening act for Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

 on the U.S. portion of his Armed Forces tour.

In 1980 Royse Ader was replaced by Al Chan. The Rubinoos then recorded the demos for a third album which never came to fruition. These demos, released in the 1990s as Basement Tapes, is still thought to be one of their best efforts. Spindt and Chan left the group in 1982 when Tommy and Jon decided to move to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. In 1983, the group, now consisting of just Rubin and Dunbar, signed with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

 and released the Mini LP Party of Two, produced by Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...

. Party of Two yielded the single and cult classic music video "If I Had You Back," which has been in continuous rotation on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 for over 25 years. In 1984, they recorded the title song "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Breakdown" for the film Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...

.
The Rubinoos began a long sabbatical in 1985. In 1989, Dunbar, Spindt, Chan, and John Seabury formed the group Vox Pop. Also in 1989, Jon Rubin joined the noted Los Angeles a cappella Doo Wop group The Mighty Echoes
The Mighty Echoes
The Mighty Echoes, an a cappella Doo Wop quartet from Los Angeles, CA., was formed backstage at the Olio Theater in Silverlake, California during the production of Harvey Shield’s 1986 musical "1284: The Pied Piper"....

. During the 1990s, two compilation CDs, Basement Tapes and Garage Sale were released. Their success led to the end of The Rubinoos sabbatical and a new album, Paleophonic (1999), produced by the late Kevin Gilbert
Kevin Gilbert
Kevin Matthew Gilbert was an American songwriter, musician, composer, producer and collaborator born in Sacramento, California, later living in San Mateo, California where he attended Junipero Serra High School...

. This album did not see the light of day until The Rubinoos performance, their first in seven years, at the 1999 International Pop Overthrow Festival in Los Angeles. The lineup at IPO featured Rubin, Dunbar, Chan and Spindt. In 2000 Tommy and Jon were hired to sing the Flo and Eddie parts of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

's 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...

 at three concerts with the Netherlands' Philharmonic. In 2002 The Rubinoos toured Spain and Japan, released the all-covers Crimes Against Music (2002) and recorded the album Live in Japan (2004). In 2005 the group reunited with their original producer, the late Gary Phillips, to record Twist Pop Sin (2006). In 2007, Castle Communications
Castle Communications
Castle Communications was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane and Jon Beecher. The company was acquired by the American music distributor Alliance Entertainment in 1994 and in 2000 it was absorbed into Sanctuary Records Group...

 issued the 63-song retrospective Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Rubinoos. Also in 2007, The Rubinoos toured Japan and released a two CD compilation titled One Two That's It. In 2009 the band toured Spain and released the compilation CD HodgePodge which featured one newly recorded track, a cover of The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...

' classic, "Bus Stop
Bus Stop (song)
"Bus Stop" is the title of a song recorded and released as a 7-inch 45 rpm vinyl single by the British pop band The Hollies. It became a hit in 1966, reaching #5 in the UK Singles Chart...

."

Music critic John M. Borack
John M. Borack
John M. Borack is a music critic and musician from California.-Writer:Borack's reviews, columns and feature articles have appeared in periodicals such as Goldmine, Amplifier, The Garden Grove Journal, Audities and Popsided...

 called Paleophonic #36 in his list of the best power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

 albums of all time, praising its "trademark pitch-perfect harmonies".

In January 2010, The Rubinoos played their first kids show in support of their first all ages CD Biff-Boff-Boing. The CD is a mix of covers and new originals.

In May 2010, to coincide with their Spain/Italy tour, The Rubinoos released their first new original album in five years. Automatic Toaster, produced by the ubiquitous Robbie Rist
Robbie Rist
Robert Anthony Rist is an American actor and musician.-Acting and voiceover work:As a child, Rist played Cousin Oliver in the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch. With the regular children all getting older, his inclusion was intended to reintroduce cute younger children to the series...

, has been welcomed with open arms by the power pop community.

Lawsuit

In 2007, Dunbar and co-writer James Gangwer sued Canadian pop-punk singer Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...

, claiming that her hit song "Girlfriend
Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne song)
"Girlfriend" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The song was written by Lavigne with her producer Dr. Luke for Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing . "Girlfriend" was released as the lead single from The Best Damn Thing on 27 February 2007...

" had too much in common with "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend".

Filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San...

, the case also named Avril Lavigne Publishing, her songwriting partner Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...

, RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

, and Apple Inc. as defendants. Lavigne's manager, Terry McBride, but neither Lavigne or Dr. Luke, denied that "Girlfriend" was copied from "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," and pointed out that "Boyfriend" itself was similar to The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

' "Get off of My Cloud
Get off of My Cloud
"Get Off of My Cloud" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones. It was written as a follow-up single to the successful " Satisfaction"...

". The two parties reached a confidential settlement in January 2008.

Current lineup

  • Jon Rubin - Vocals, guitar
  • Tommy Dunbar - Guitar, vocals
  • Al Chan - Bass, vocals
  • Donn "Donno" Spindt - Drums, vocals
  • Susie Davis - Keyboards, vocals
  • David Rokeach- Drums

Former members

  • Greg 'Curly' Keranen
    Greg 'Curly' Keranen
    Greg 'Curly' Keranen is a bassist and guitarist, who sometimes performs under the stage name, João Dilberto.Keranen was a founding member of The Rubinoos , and originally became associated with Jonathan Richman as a member of "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers", during the band's association...

     (1970–1971; 1973–1975) - Bass, vocals
  • Alex Carlin (1970–1971) - Organ
  • Danny Woods (1970–1971) - Saxophone
  • Ralph Granich (1970–1971) - Drums
  • Donn Spindt (1971–1982; 1999–2001) - Drums, vocals
  • Tom Carpender (1971–1973) - Bass, vocals
  • Royse Ader (1975–1980) - Bass, vocals
  • Michael Boyd (1980–1981) - Keyboards, vocals

Studio albums

  • The Rubinoos (1977)
  • Back to the Drawing Board
    Back to the Drawing Board
    Back to the Drawing Board! is The Rubinoos' second album, released on Beserkley Records. Back to the Drawing Board! is a power pop album and fit well with the other power pop bands on Beserkley...

    (1979)
  • Party of Two EP (1983)
  • Paleophonic (1998)
  • Crimes Against Music (2003)
  • Twist Pop Sin (2006)
  • Biff-Boff-Boing (children's CD) (2010)
  • Automatic Toaster (2010)

Live albums and compilations

  • Bezerk Times (1978)
  • Basement Tapes (1993)
  • Garage Sale (1994)
  • Live in Japan (2004)
  • Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Rubinoos (2007)
  • One Two That's It (2008)
  • HodgePodge (2009)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK