We caught up with Cal Ruddy this week, a solo artist from the Wirral. Inspired by the likes of John Lennon and Richard Ashcroft, Cal has just released his debut EP and is set to go out on tour soon. Introducing... Cal Ruddy.
1. Who is Cal Ruddy?
I'm a Singer/Songwriter from the Wirral, I started out gigging acoustically on the Liverpool and Merseyside Open Mic circuit in November 2011 and I've steadily evolved into the artist I am now through lots of live performances in Liverpool and further afield. I've just released my debut EP 'How To Rewind Life' and I'm promoting that release with a small promo tour throughout the North of England over the next few months with my backing band.
2. Who are your biggest musical influences?
I have a range of influences as my taste in music is quite varied so I take inspiration from lots of different artists. Richard Ashcroft is a huge influence on my songwriting and I've been a fan of his work with The Verve and his solo career after their split, John Lennon is another and growing up in Merseyside you're in amongst all the diehard Beatles fans haha. There's something that I see in John's personality and songs that I identify strongly with and I particularly look to his later output with The Beatles as well as his early solo career when I need a little burst of creative inspiration. Elsewhere I look to people like Nick Cave and the way he performs,lives and breathes a song. He's very much a narrative led songwriter and lately I've really bought into that and incorporated stories into my own songs.
3. How would you describe your sound?
My sound is really versatile as I don't tend to restrict my writing to a particular genre or style, I'll write a song and let it develop based upon the principle of 'If it sounds good keep pushing it'. Experimentation is key to what I do as a musician and it keeps things fresh and exciting for me. My daily routine revolves heavily around my writing and I habitually scribble lyric ideas in a notebook or on my phone when I get something in my head. Constant writing and constant changes but it's all linked together by the bluesy/folk emotive qualities of my singing voice and my simplistic,urgent and forceful rhythm guitar playing if I had to describe it I'd say it was a combination of folk, rock, punk blues and soul, a sound unique to myself which I'm quite proud of and people really seem to like.
4. Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I'd like to think I'll have several albums under my belt by that point and that I'll be playing to much larger crowds and I'm going to push myself as far as I possibly can, I'm caught up in a marriage with music as it were and I'm there for better, for worse, for richer ,for poorer haha! There's nothing in this world that I'm as passionate about and I can't really see myself not being heavily involved in the music world.
5. What's next for Cal Ruddy?
I'm doing a little promo tour over the next few months and into the summer then I'm getting back into the studio to record some new songs. I've got plans to release a single at some point before the end of the year and I'm hoping to collaborate with a good friend of mine on a new project but I'm keeping my mouth shut about that for now, exciting times are ahead!
6. Where can we here and find out more about you?
You can listen to my EP 'How To Rewind Life' on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/calsmusicfeed, Follow me on Twitter at @CalRuddyMusic, Facebook at facebook.com/calruddymusic and Instagram at calruddy.
Listen to Cal Ruddy via Youtube: