Ruth is back with a brand new album entitled ANORAK which comes out on October 28th. Below are 10 questions we asked the band regarding their experiences on tour, Anorak, projects and much more.

1. It’s been a little over a year since your debut album, Secondhand Dreaming, through T&N. What has this past year been like?

Crazy. It’s been like a secondhand dream! There have been so many cool ways that we have been blessed over the past year. Touring with bands like Emery, Surrogate, Relient K, and Switchfoot were all dreams come true. Often times I have people come up and say ” I saw you on the Switchfoot/Relient K tour”. Those are the times I am assured that it wasn’t all just a dream.

I love writing and this past year has also inspired a lot of writing. That’s my favorite part of what I do. So recording those songs was hard work but a lot of fun.

2. What’s the meaning behind the title “Anorak”? And why the bigfoot?

Anorak is a word that is used in the UK as a slang term for someone who is invested in knowing about something that not a lot of people care about. Like Star trek, Bigfoot, or Jesus. We chose Bigfoot for the front cover because he is a mystical piece of home that fits the definition we were going for with the title. Obviously our lyrics don’t cover the mysteries of who he is though. As for the songs they’re about the mysteries and truths God’s given me lately.

3. Can you share with us a little about the writing process.

This album is primarily written while on the road. A lot of time in rest stops, hotel parking lots, and scenic hot spots. So I would say the record is a lot about traveling growing and changing and being caught up in the mystery of why God is so good to us even though we don’t know what we are doing most the time.

4. Chris Keene (from Surrogate) produced several tracks on Anorak – how did he get involved with this project?

Chris Keene is one of the most brilliant song writers I know. We met him on tour with Surrogate and Emery. That tour goes down as one of the best we will ever go on. Anyway Chris and I talked while on the road a lot about music and the band and we became huge fans of what he does. You can tell what a producer is made of and Chris is a garden full of creative colorful musical genius and I believe will work with much more talented bands than ours in the near future as well as continue to put out amazing art of his own.

5. “Back To The Five” is the first single out of Anorak – What’s the story behind the song?

Well Back to the five is talking about the Interstate highway 5. It stretches down the west coast connecting Washington, Oregon, and California. Over the last year of hard touring I really missed home a lot. During my first Easter on the road in the Midwest I hopped in the van and that song flowed out. I was really homesick and was just needing to be reminded of why I’m doing what I’m doing. Anyways I just wanted to be on the 5 because It’s the home stretch. I have a lot of family and friends on that freeway.

6. Musically speaking, what are some of the main differences between Secondhand Dreaming and Anorak?

Anorak is more of a band album. We had a lot of time to develop as a band and grow a bit on the road. I also got to show the songs to the guys a few months earlier this time which gave us good time to develop all of our individual parts. Also I had a lot of time to select what songs were written for this album as a whole.

7. Are you pleased with the final result? Or is there anything that was not included in Anorak due to time constraints

We are super pleased

with Anorak. As with all recordings you always come up with stuff you didn’t think of in the studio and that can be frustrating but that’s what the live show is for. As for stuff not included, well I’m always writing and we can’t wait to record the next album. So everything that was meant to be on Anorak is there.

8. You were part of the “Appetite for Construction Tour” which donated one dollar per ticket sold to the organization Habitat For Humanity – Are you guys involved with any other projects and/or organizations?

At this point our band is not a real viable source of income for anyone involved. We are still developing as a business and so we don’t have much to offer anyone. This is what made the Habitat tour so special. It gave us a chance to be a part of something special and give back. If we held a concert in any given city to promote habitat the cost of putting on the show would be far more than what we could make ect…but we do plan on approaching some different organizations Habitat being one that we might be able to contribute if our band ever really takes off.

9. When we will see you on tour again?

Well we are going on tour for Nov. with a band called Decemberadio. Most these shows are in the northeast. So if you are around you should come out. As for the future we are working on stuff for feb/march and for the spring as well.

10. Is there any crazy / weird / awkward / funny story you’ve brought back home from touring around US?

Having a dance party on Switchfoot’s bus with all us guys on tour was pretty crazy/weird/awkward/ and a ton of fun. Drew and Chad are by far the best dancers. I will say that. Drew is a good DJ too. I wish I could be Drew.

Posted on October 10th, 2008