Formed in 1996 , with members living in Detroit & London On, Canada, Ruth's Hat has been riding the border just fine. blending punk/pop & roll into a happy mix. From first listen , I hear Green Day's 'Kerplink' Style upped by heavy harmonies & just good old fun.
Although they are indie , they have the experiance of working with labels but never an exclusive contract. Mutant Pop Records released their first two CDs...and they have also released vinyl records on various labels in Europe and the States...you can buy most of this stuff at Interpunk.com.
Indie Rage interviewed Jack/Bass to get the insights on the pop-punk & roll scene in Ontario. Thanks to Jack for doing his time here. Be sure to check Ruth Hat's website after the chat, They have one of best websites for getting info. Helpful to bands, & that is very cool.

INDIERAGE : What is your home town music scene like right now ?
Jack/Ruths Hat : There's some good bands. A lot of hardcore, but there is a lot of diversity.

INDIERAGE : Is it easy for you to get gigs or does it take some scoping out ?
JACK : We play at Call The Office (London Ontario)a couple of times a year. It's the best place in town for live music.

INDIERAGE : How often does Ruth's Hat rehearse ?
JACK : The entire band isn't together very often, or as often as we'd like to be, but we still practice even if only 3 or 4 of us are there. We try to play at least once or twice a week.

INDIERAGE : Has anything come about from out side Canada ?
JACK : Italy has a big pop-punk Ramones scene, we did a split 7" with an Italian punk band called the Retarded. We've had a CDEP and a 7" put out by a German label called Headdip Records, so people in Europe seem to have heard of us. We had some email from Asian fans too.

INDIERAGE : If there is 1 thing you want your fans to know about you, what is it ?
RUTHS HAT : New CD should be out by the end of this year or early next year.

INDIERAGE : What seems to be the bands biggest disagreement & Disagreement ?
JACK : There's usually some disagreement about what we put on our set list.
Agree - Beer is good.

INDIERAGE : what are your personal favourite listens ?
RUTHS HAT : Anything on the Mutant Pop label is good but we all have pretty diverse tastes including rap, country and reggae.

INDIERAGE : Do any of the members of Ruth's Hat have any other jobs that are music releated ?
JACK : PJ writes a few articles now and then, and Bolus used to be a DJ.

INDIERAGE : Is there any strange or interesting hobby you guys do in your spare time to keep you sane...?
JACK : Mike and PJ are into windsurfing and wakeboarding.

INDIERAGE : Touring across Canada, what have you found to be the differenence in audiances reactions to you ? Who is more receptive ?
JACK : We haven't been to the East Coast of Canada. We had good reactions in Ontario, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and BC. The Canadian audiences seemed more into it than on the American leg.

INDIERAGE : has radio (college or mainstream) played any part in the word on the street?
RUTHS HAT : Radio Western (London) , the local college station, has always played our songs and advertised our shows pretty much since the beginning. That's the best place to go if you're looking to get some exposure for your band.

INDIERAGE : What is your opinion (from your experiance) of the music scene right now for your genre of music ?
JACK : You've always got people who are going to say it's dead but really it's your responsibility to keep it alive by writing songs and playing shows.

INDIERAGE : What is the biggest sham you ever recieved by the music industry ?
JACK : Clubs that double book nights and don't tell any of the bands. Clubs that cancel shows without notice. People who generally don't have their shit together.

INDIERAGE : What has been the most rewarding part of being in Ruth's Hat ?
JACK : Having records and CDs that you've made, being able to play shows in a city you've never been to before and actually have people show up, getting to open for cool bands, playing on the Warped Tour a couple of years ago.

INDIERAGE : From your experiance, what seems to be the least beneficial way (of getting your music heard)but every band seems to do ?
JACK : Playing fake Limp Bizkit rap-core. editors note - I agree 100%, unless it is done right , it sounds very bad, a very uncool thing a band can do , in a genre that is so against posers.

INDIERAGE : Any final words you want to say that could be usefull to that aspiring kid who wants to be in a band ?
JACK : Don't follow leaders, watch the parking meters.