Our first music video (directed by Sean Wainsteim): Our second music video (directed by Sean Wainsteim):
Mr. Agnostic (Live @ Soundscapes) - by The Humble Empire Hummingbird (Live @ Soundscapes) - by The Humble Empire Little Garcon (Live @ Soundscapes) - by The Humble Empire Barnacle Goose (Live @ Soundscapes) - by The Humble Empire Kurt Vonnegut (Live @ Soundscapes) - by The Humble Empire I Need A Life
Video of the YEAR
“Mutation: it is the key to our evolution…this process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.”
-Professor Charles Xavier
Enter us! Toronto’s Born Ruffians – Luke Lalonde, Mitch DeRosier and Steve Hamelin. We are the next link in the evolutionary chain of contemporary pop music, mixing drums, bass, and electric guitar, an almost unheard of combination, with bits of harmonium, piano and plenty of “hootin and hollerin” to create a sound we call “the best we could come up with!”
Phrases like “highly anticipated” and “much hyped” are tossed around in the music press so frequently they have lost all meaning. But, the Toronto Star did write that about us, so with our debut full-length album coming out May 26th in Europe and the UK, let’s instead say it should be “highly hyped” and “not anticipated” because the anticipation will kill you to death.
The album, titled Red, Yellow, and Blue, is the follow-up to our starter self-titled EP released on XL recordings in 2006 amidst a slew of press and buzz, unfortunately about other bands. Red, Yellow, and Blue was produced by the hyper, over-caffeinated Rusty Santos, a boy genius from New York responsible for the recording and mixing of Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs.
Being a genetically advanced three-piece, originally from Midland, Ontario, we’ve already blazed through Canada and the USA three times in our white, five-seater, twice-robbed mini-van, leaving in our wake two clogged toilets and a clogged shower, one car accident involving a pregnant woman (the child is fine) and hopefully thousands of satisfied fans (at least if you add up everyone who has seen us, divide by the whiners and multiply by Jamie Lidell). We even have a membership to the Eagle’s Nest firing range in Austin, Texas which is pretty badass for three Canadians and by the time South by Southwest is through, we’ll be pretty good marksmen.
For our fourth trip to the UK we’re hooking up once again with our touring soul-mates Caribou for two weeks of shows, and we’ll hopefully be surfing in off momentum from our appearance on SKINS where we awkwardly yet effectively played ourselves (three geeky dorks amongst a plethora of sexy and stylish extras). Hopefully it will make us famous like 90210 did for the Flaming Lips.
So all in all now is our time. We made a timid splash with our EP, but we expect our new songs to make the musical equivalent of a cannonball that soaks your mum’s new perm while she’s barbecuing you sausages. (In Canada she’d be making us hot dogs, but we’re classy like that.)
Luke, Mitch, Steve. Children of the atom, students of Leila Hebden, MUSICIANS-- feared and hated by the world they have sworn to protect. These are the STRANGEST heroes of all -- these are the BORN RUFFIANS.
Ruffians Out.
ORDERRed, Yellow & BlueHERE! Pre-OrderRed, Yellow & BlueHERE and receive a freeHummingbird 7". Pre-OrderRed, Yellow & BlueHERE and receive an autographed booklet (limited).
NEW! - You can now get our t-shirts online from Warpmart - click here!
for all enquiries - leila@dotemanagement.com
for booking in canada - himmelfarb@billions.com
for booking in the us - tom@windishagency.com
for booking in the uk - lucy@itb.co.uk www.bornruffians.com! www.dotemanagement.com
wow thank you! 'Pool Party Fun' is my favorite,I remember it really well from the gig. The chord progression is lovely; the lyrics are so sad and perfect.
Congratulations! You are Illuminations' 400th friend - that must feel pretty sweet, right?
TBH I kind of wish it had been some little struggling artist, he'd have really appreciated it, you know? He'd have been, like, 'oh, wow man, 400th friend? Me? Man, I never won anything in my life, this is great!!' It might have really meant something to him.
I dunno, man - I'm kinda starting to regret this whole post now.
okkkkkkkkkkk u never reply but.... when r u comming back to glasgow or scotland? coz itll be really good and i can do ur mailing list again BECOZ I LIKE U ALL alsooooooo where can i get that come back song its good x
