Don’t touch that dial Saskatoon — your community radio station is bringing back more great bands with a jam-packed two weeks of shows. Among those, the Ontario band, the Born Ruffians is set to play a show and sat down with the Sheaf to talk learning, keeping it together on the road and the politics of Ruffianism.

With a still fresh-born album and finishing up a brief tour with fellow Ontarians, Tokyo Police Club, the band is excited to be back on the headline as a part of CFCR’s annual FM-Phasis fundraiser and they promise a fun and high energy show.

The band’s bassist, Mitch Derosier, speaks to the benefits of community radio for artists and emphasizes the importance of its principle purpose.

The Born Ruffians are set to play Amigos as part of the CFCR FM-Phasis fundraiser.

“We’ve always had great support from community radio. Their ability to reach out to local artists and help them get started is super valuable. Definitely an under-appreciated part of the music business,” Derosier said.

While Born Ruffians quickly bounced around Canada on this leg of gigs and hit some brand new locales such as Red Deer, Alta., Lethbridge Alta., and Nelson B.C., Saskatoon isn’t anything new.

With a welcomed change of tune, the band is looking forward to their Oct. 9 show at Amigos with Saskatoon-born Ponteix as openers — it’s bound to be a killer set.

Their touring album, RUFF, is an upbeat, heartfelt and biographical collection. Just enough to get your toes tappin’, it’s catchy and fun.

“We probably put more of ourselves into RUFF than any other record. From essentially producing it ourselves, to Luke [Lalonde] illustrating all of the artwork and liner notes, to being as lyrically uncensored and honest as possible, it was really true to us as a band,” Derosier said.

The album is a first for the band — with lyrics written with a central theme in mind, a track list full of songs about playing shows and being on tour — it all started with one single.

“The first song written for RUFF was ‘Shade to Shade’ and ended up being the lyrical blueprint for [the album],” Derosier said.

As the band continues to tour both on their own and with other bands, they appreciate opportunities to learn and grow in different ways.

“I feel like [we’ve learned] something about touring from every band we’ve toured with. We learned work ethic from Caribou, showmanship from Franz Ferdinand, how to make the crowd a part of the show from Akron/Family,” Derosier said.

The Born Ruffians have some tricks to keep them from going batty on the road — endless distractions. Pursuers of podcasts like Democracy Now and Comedy Bang Bang, good board games and their Nintendo DS’s — all good Nintendogs go to heaven — the Born Ruffians know how make the best of a hectic schedule.

“We always seem to end our night at the hotel with Andy [Lloyd] loading up something on his laptop to laugh ourselves to sleep to,” Derosier said.

When asked about the political culture of the Ruffian fan base, Derosier elaborated on the integral role fans can play and what constitutes a “born” Ruffian, rather than a “naturalized” Ruffian. Naturalization being the process by which a non-Ruffian might achieve legal Ruffian status. 

“Naturalized ruffians contribute to a rich and vibrant fan base and should not be looked upon any differently than born ruffians. In fact, some naturalized ruffians have become Ruffians fans after enduring trying situations that born ruffians may not even be able to handle. We are definitely supporters of naturalized ruffians and hope that in the future more and more people become naturalized ruffians equal to or surpassing born ruffians,” Derosier said.

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Emily Migchels

Photo: Billions Corporation / Supplied