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July 2001 Issue

The Book of Ruth: Young Singer/Songwriter Conquers the World, One Living Room at a Time

By Esther D. Kustanowitz

Got Quicktime? Check out Ruth's live performance of "When Lightning Strikes Again"

Over the past several years, the raven-haired Ruth has gained popularity among fans and garnered critical acclaim from publications like the New York Times, Elle magazine and Buscadero, Italy's top-ranked music magazine (she came in second for "most favorite artist" in their reader's poll, sandwiched between Patti Smith and Sheryl Crow). Now expecting her first child in the summer and releasing a new album in the fall, Ruth Gerson has created a name for herself, relying mainly on word of mouth and a comprehensive website complete with free downloadable audio (www.ruthgersonband.com)to spread her musical message.

After several experiences in the New York club scene, Ruth became frustrated. She was being severely underpaid, in venues where the lights were dim and the acoustics were poor. Even when she toured, she found the club environment less than ideal. On a trip to DC, someone asked her when she would be back in the area, and she promised, "next time I come, I will do your living room." And she did.

"We hung out all night and had fun. I could meet everyone. I didn't have to deal with the same obstacles as in the big clubs," she recalled. She began to play in people's living rooms (or, in some cases, college student centers) across the country, providing fans with the kind of personal contact that might more believably characterize a college friend than a rock star.

That it has created a loyal fan base that has become a free publicity network hasn't hurt either. As word began to spread that Ruth was available for private gatherings, she experienced a surge of bookings; she estimates that she has done between fifty and sixty living room concerts in the past year. "This won't make you a rock star," Ruth observed casually, "but at a living room concert, the hosts are all kind, everyone is a friend or a fan or both and the experience is much more pleasant. There are no lights, no stage…you can see everyone and they can see you; it is much more intimate," she said. "It is a way for me to feel good about what I am doing and to create a loyal fan base at the same time."

Although music was an integral part of her childhood, Ruth admits that her musical training was "somewhat unintentional." "I didn't really listen to music the way other people do…I used to just play piano and write songs in my room. It wasn't a conscious thing."

In the course of the interview, Ruth revealed that the living room concert concept was an echo of an experience she had at age three. Ruth's mother, who had trained at Juilliard, performed viola with a chamber orchestra in the living rooms of the well-to-do. Young Ruth went along, perhaps the youngest usher in orchestra history. "My job was to put the program on the seat and not clap between movements," Ruth related. This early experience of playing music in people's homes imprinted her with a preference for intimate performance venues.

She found herself drawn to performers like Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, and Patti Smith, performers who have what she described as a "dialogue" with the audience. "They write and play to be heard, to have a conversation with the listening audience. A lot of dialogue is between the performer and the listener."

She recalled meeting Bob Dylan and talking with him about music. "He looked at my first record and said, 'you don't write songs to write them, you write them to perform them.' I thought that meant that you are having a dialogue and people are listening. Performance is a participatory sport; it is not about you [the performer] being up there. This is so clear in the living room venue:[the music] is not about you as the performer.

Covering many of the regular themes--love, loss, faith, suffering and redemption--her lyrics are intense and serious. One song portrays a mother's desire to protect her child from the world, another rejects the role of women as defined by the media. Real people are given voice in her songs, from a man who jumps from his roof to a young classmate of Ruth's who was raped and murdered in New York City. Her songs have heart, conscience, passion, and intelligence.

As an artist, she utilizes her Jewish heritage, penning a song called "Shoah", and employing biblical imagery. Ruth explained that although she is not religious, her Jewish background definitely informs her writing. "Everything I write about is infused with [Jewish philosophers] Rosenzweig and Levinas; they changed my life and the way I think about life. What you read and what you write are two gears and one just turns the other."

Though Ruth is now a seasoned performer, when pressed, she admitted to a continuing case of the pre-performance jitters. "I am still nervous sometimes, but nervousness is a good thing. It doesn't have to stop you. In some ways, it can open you up or make you more vulnerable, and it passes. I always tell the audience I am nervous and that diffuses it."

She further described opening for renowned deadpan comedian Steven Wright as "nervewracking". "Going out with a guitar in front of about 2000 people who are waiting to see a comedian--It always works out well, but the first moment, I am always afraid that they will be like, 'we came to see a comedian, why is she out there with a guitar?' But I use my acting experience all the time, moment to moment reality, how to make the show for the first time every time, so it isn't singing by rote. I use all those emotional recall techniques in preparation for my shows."

Ruth has found that one artistic opportunity often engenders another; she will also appear in an independent film in early 2002, realizing her other dream of becoming an actor. (She explains that initially, the film-makers wanted to use some of her songs, but then offered her an onscreen part as well.)

Despite all she has accomplished, Ruth is modest about her talent. She says, almost apologetically, that although her mode of performance engages the audience in conversation, she doesn't have a deep relationship with her instrument, "like some of the great musicians do. My performance is a different kind of performance. Sometimes I can't believe that I go on stage and play; what am I thinking? 'This is what a real musician should do.'"

Esther D. Kustanowitz is a freelance writer/editor and a karaoke/improv performer who lives in Manhattan. She has never played the New York club scene, but she is open to the idea. You can contact her at estherdalia@yahoo.com.

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