San Diego has many bands that ply the dance circuit and can be found playing corporate gigs, but few have the longevity of Ruby and The Red Hots, who perform at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge on Jan. 2. Based around the vocals of Ruby Presnell, the group has built a devoted fan base over the last 23 years, playing largely original music in a normally covers-based scene. In doing so, they’ve raised the bar ever higher for any act that looks to follow in their footsteps. It’s been a particularly rough road for Presnell, who lost her home and all her belongings in the 2007 Witch Creek fire. Despite the loss of everything, including her musical instruments, she has risen above the tragic circumstances and re-emerged even more determined to have her music heard. “The fires and their aftermath really put everything into perspective, and provided lots of inspiration for new music,” Presnell said. She is recording a yet-untitled album set for release in 2009. “Last year was about regrouping, this year it’s about moving on to greater things. There be will lots of new Ruby and the Red Hots projects one we get rolling,” she said. Presnell was born in upstate New York to a family well involved in the arts, her dad an opera singer and producer, her mother in theater. She spent her childhood in Spain, where she was a child actor in commercials, arriving in San Diego 24 years ago. Within a year she formed Katz Caravan, which, due to the focus on her powerhouse vocals, quickly became Ruby and the Red Hots. “There were personnel changes, and with me singing, Ruby and the Red Hots was a much easier name to work with,” Presnell said. Though Presnell composes her songs on keyboards, she doesn’t play an instrument onstage. “I’m already working with so many great musician’s in the group, this allows me to really sing,” she said. She notes that most of her songwriting is a collaborative effort with her band, which includes some of the area’s top jazz and blues musicians: bassist Cecil McBee Jr., guitarist Bob Boss, organist Larry Logan, saxophonist Les Jennings, trumpeter Derek Cannon and drummer Kevin Koch, who also drums for Fattburger. While her family was open to all types of music, for Presnell, the mix of soul, blues and jazz that is the staple of her sound was the only choice. “Music was always playing in our house,” she said. “And it was the blues and jazz that really moved my soul. The music made a connection that I still feel today.” Although the band plays the local dance circuit and corporate events, it uniquely eschews the typical Top 40 fare heard in those venues. “There are lots of bands in San Diego that do covers and are very good at it,” she said. Presnell moonlights in the covers scene with Steely Dan tribute band The Steely Damned. “We don’t really need more bands like that,” Presnell said. “We concentrate on originals that fit the same mood, and if we do include a cover, it’s more obscure stuff with original arrangements.” After more than two decades playing local venues, Presnell is still excited about the prospects that music offers. “Part of what makes being a musician great is being able to express yourself and work with other wonderful performers,” she said. “But really, it’s just a lot of fun. We have a good time with it. It’s like a perpetual smile.” Ruby and The Red Hots perform at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge, 2241 Shelter Island Dr., on Friday, Jan. 2 at 9:30 p.m. For information, visit www.rubyandtheredhots.com.
