Rubyhorse

During 1997 a tight-knit circle of friends who doubled as bandmates began convening inside a meat-processing plant beyond Cork City, Ireland, to refine their material. The ensemble took its name from a Wonder Stuff composition and kept playing local shows, yet soon concluded that relocating to the United States offered the clearest route to wider recognition. In 1998 the Irish musicians therefore moved to Boston, whose sizable Irish community provided an immediate audience. Regular sets at the Irish tavern known as The Barren quickly generated local buzz, and the group held the Thursday-night slot there for sixty consecutive weeks. An album titled How Far Have You Come? appeared during this period, and three Boston Music Awards followed. Three national tours ensued, prompting a scramble among record labels eager to sign the act. Momentum increased when Rubyhorse became the first unsigned band to reach number one on the MP3 charts. A short-lived arrangement with Interscope Records yielded only one release before collapsing, after which the musicians secured a contract with Island Records. Rubyhorse reentered the studio in 2001 to record its first Island album. The resulting project, Rise, reached stores in May 2002 and features a prized slide-guitar solo by the late George Harrison on one track. Observers have likened the band’s sound to the Verve, the Beatles, and fellow Irish rockers U2.