Tuesday, we arrived at our neighborhood farmers’ market just in time for the sky to dump buckets of water on our heads. Wednesday’s forecast predicted more of the same when I checked in the a.m., claiming we’d have off-and-on rain with the possibility of severe storms during the afternoon and/or early evening—though nothing but Carolina blue cascaded to the horizon by day’s end. Post-drenching, however, Hallmark Channel’s The Way Back, a family drama that weaves time travel into its plot, proved a pleasant diversion We then switched to the final season of the old Family series, which is available on Tubi; those episodes landed us in late 1979, when both disco and Farrah-fluffed hair were fading from popularity.
Before and after, and during an hour-long grocery run yesterday morn, RubyJoyful’s The Pie Chart of Love provided me yet another portal to jump through. Its wooden music and oft-wry, sly and sometimes heartfelt lyrics echo the ages. It’s folk with bluegrass/newgrass overtones, a sonic concoction that skips through spacetime like a stone across a pond. In essence, each knick of the water’s surface spurs circles of gentle rhythms, mandolin/guitar/fiddle solos and blended vocals to ripple outward and form Venn diagrams of zen.
Yeah, I know: that metaphor doesn’t quite jell. The same can’t be said of The Pie Chart of Love; the referenced zen is indeed achieved throughout its 12 tracks. As a whole, it reminds me of Dan Fogelberg’s overlooked bluegrass-flavored outing, High Country Snows, as well as many of the newgrass bands I featured on my college radio show in the 1980s. There’s a jazzy element to the instrumental interplay that would/should make Bela Fleck proud. “October Skies,” a near-seven minute tour de force, is a good example of that:
The Colorado-based duo consists of guitarist-vocalist Dan Rubinoff and his partner, bassist-vocalist Joice Moore, with the two accompanied on some tracks by Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt on mandolin, Salmon’s Andy Thorn on banjo. Emmitt’s son Eli on guitar and vocals, and David Alderdice on drums. A few songs feature a different set of all-star backups, including fiddler Stuart Duncan, dobro players Rob Ickes and Scotty Sanders, pianist Michael Webb, pedal steel player Justin Schipper and percussionist Eric Darken.
Another highlight is the humorous “How My Lil’ Punk Girl Fell in Love With John Prine,” which Rubinoff wrote about Moore. (Most songs here were inspired by her.) It’s folky and funny, and sure to spur a singalong in concert.
There’s a certain sound that just transports me. Doesn’t really matter the style, as I like a little of everything, so long as it’s authentic. These songs are just that. Rubinoff’s voice is grainy and lived-in, pleasing to the ear, while the band behind him amplifies—in an organic manner—the tunes themselves. The Pie Chart of Love is well worth many listens.
The tracks:
The Old Grey Cat 