28 July 2022
Columbia’s Ruba Say, the rocker known for impassioned performances within local rock clubs, passed away July 16. A artist around the Midlands and around states with a rotating toss of bandmates, known as Ruba Say and the Cosmic Sun rays, Say was a frequent artist at venues like Artwork Bar and New Brookland Tavern. As a lifelong event musician, friends and bandmates said his life has been rich with stories associated with travels and he was reputed for playing shows in the Columbia and Florence areas discalcedunshod or kicking off his sneakers during guitar solos. State was 56. He passed away from sepsis diverticulitis, their sister Ellen Sell Townsend confirmed. “He loved simply hanging out and talking about songs, that’s all he wished — he never did marry or had kids or even planned for the future, ” stated Jay Matheson, owner from the Jam Room recording facilities, where Say recorded, great longtime friend. “Playing songs was all that mattered. “Say was born Robert Sell in order to his parents Andrew plus Eleanor Sell in Florencia in 1966. As a child he or she loved the band HUG, which would later be a main influence on the music this individual performed, Townsend said. He or she was a fan of the tv program “Midnight Special, ” which usually aired musical performances prior to the heyday of channels such as MTV. “His dream had been to make it big, ” their sister Townsend said. “That was always his concentrate and his dream. He place all of his energy within. “
Nibbles & Sips
Through the mid ’80s, State — who took over the name Ruba Say since his performance moniker following a childhood nickname — performed in bands in his home town and started the metallic band Impact, his good friend, occasional roommate and fill-in drummer Darrin Gray stated. The two met in Florencia after Gray moved with regard to college and was aiming to join a band in this city. He explained that will Say was well-known within the small music scene and it also wasn’t difficult to run into your pet. “I remember seeing (Impact) and going ‘God all those guys, they’re like expert. They have real amplifiers plus things like that, ‘ therefore it sort of blew my 19” to 20-year-old mind, inch Gray said. “Everyone understood Ruba then, so it was not hard to run into him. “In the early ’90s Sell relocated from Florence to Columbia to pursue music, following a Florence group 49 Factors, whom he was buddies with, to the city. “There was obviously a big influx of music artists (from Florence) in the earlier ’90s and met your pet through the band 49 Factors, ” said Matheson associated with Jam Room Studio. Matheson worked with Say in 1992, culminating in a self-titled six-track EP/cassette that was released within August of that year. Serta Lowe, who played percussion on that record, fulfilled Say in the early ’90s. At that time, Lowe was actively playing in a reggae band plus described meeting Say being a “blessing” as it brought your pet back to his rock origins. The two played in the kitchen associated with Say’s South Gregg Road apartment. In that era, rings like the Red Hot Soup Peppers and Nirvana had been popular, yet Lowe declared that Say had no curiosity about catering to the trends. Since the two met, they fused over a shared love recently ’60s and ’70s stone, particularly KISS, which was Say’s favorite band and inspired his performances. “When I actually played with Ruba, what this individual was doing was simply unadulterated unfiltered full accelerator rock and roll, ” Lowe mentioned. Fellow drummer Brian Kennedy said his focus on actively playing music — and not a specific lifestyle — was consistently the emphasis with Say. “It was never about cash, ” Kennedy said. “It was always just for enjoyable. Money was never a subject. It was like being a child in your 20s again. inch Lowe described Say as being a “technician of writing lyrics” — however his function was not well-received by nearby critics in publications such as Free Times or Charleston City Paper. He mentioned his singing was usually the target of criticism. However that was little deterrent meant for Say. “We said ‘Man, (expletive) that, you know you, ‘” he recalled. “He knew that it didn’t issue to him… ‘screw the particular critics, I’m going to keep accomplishing this. ‘”
Concert and Songs News
Say’s most recent discharge was the self-titled album Ruba Say and the Cosmic Sun rays in 2017, however this individual remained a frequent artist at local clubs via his decades. Those shows were received mostly nicely by local music article writer Kevin Oliver who identifies “suspension of disbelief” being an important vehicle for taking pleasure in Say’s unique approach to functionality in both live and documented versions. Longtime drummer John Kennedy and others said he or she was also deeply interested in reading through, particularly about space — which led to him calling his backing band “the Cosmic Rays” — plus comic books. Say produced a point on his band’s on the web website to offer pronunciation recommendations — “Pronounced RUBBA, inch it reads on the recognized band website. Recently, State had battled health issues, yet did little to allow on that it bothered your pet, his sister Townsend among others said. While he would notice the issues in chat text messages, she said he would usually follow it up with a comedic picture or funny article. As being a fixture in the music picture, Say spent much of their time at other people’s displays to support up-and-coming musicians. “He would cheer everybody else upon, ” Kennedy said. “He liked to know what you had been into and he would motivate you in it. He had this particular wide-spreading influence and a lot of individuals didn’t get it, but if a person knew him you got this. He got along great with the younger bands plus always up and beneficial. “Say demonstrated lifelong passion for hearing other music artists, Gray said. He remembered the two attending an early Hootie and the Blowfish show prior to the Columbia group became popular. During that time, they were playing a cover established, and they began to perform a HUG song. With a “scream, inch Say lifted Gray upward and ran, carrying all of them both, towards the stage, along with Gray “barreling over the sound monitors. “”He would get therefore excited about people playing, inch Gray said. “He was not just excited about his songs, he was excited about your own music and this band’s songs. “Say will be remembered like a tenacious lover of people along with music. His lifestyle being a gig musician left your pet a modest lifestyle, yet that fit his dreams, Kennedy said. After displays, Say would always email out other members’ discuss of the, cut even if this came at his own cost. “I wish he could observe how everybody loved to see your pet, ” Kennedy said. “Old friends would come to see your pet play. He would let me enjoy in the studio (and) this individual wouldn’t tell me what to enjoy. I had this freedom in order to play all out and we can have good results with that. “Kennedy continuing. “He was just easy — it’s hard with regard to other people to grasp that. Other people would have given up, ” this individual said.
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