Vic Ruggiero Gushes About The Stuff In His Pockets; What's Next for The Slackers, The Mooks, The Witch & The Burro, and More (The Witzard Interview)
Victor "Vic" Ruggiero is a musician, singer/song-writer, producer, and multi-intrumentalist hailing from New York City. Ruggiero has been recording, making, and playing music since about 1998 with his bands The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, The Silencers, SKAndalous All-Stars. Sic + MAD, Da Whole Thing, The Mooks, Vic & Kepi, The Witch & The Burro, Reggae Workers of The World, and more. The last time we spoke to Vic, it was in 2018 coinciding with the release(s) of The Slackers' "Nobody's Listening" B/W "Sleep Outside" 12-inch and Live At Ernesto's! 2xLP re-issue. Since then, Ruggiero has released projects with The Slackers, Reggae Workers of The World slightly re-branded as R.W.W., Kepi Ghoulie, lauren.napier, The Mooks, and other odds, ends, and curiosities on his personal Bandcamp page that launched in 2020.
Stuff In My Pockets is the latest solo project from the aways prolific Vic Ruggiero. Like much of Vic's solo work, the record forgoes the Ska/Reggae music he is well-known for, favoring a more Bluesy, Folky, and Lo-Fi sound. This collection of tunes weaves through various genres with hints of Power Pop, Punk, and Country, at times, recalling early Elvis Costello and other like-minded Pub-into-Punk picadors. Featuring players like Ben Parry, Josh Parry, Hector Becerra, Jonathan "Jon" Lango, Todd Fausnacht, Rob Kissner, and more, Stuff In My Pockets is now available through ORG Music on standard black vinyl, limited edition blood red-colored vinyl, cassette tape, and digital format. We recentyl got a chance to speak with Vic (again!) on the heels of Stuff In My Pockets, The Slackers, The Witch & The Burro, The Mooks, and much, much more. Check out our back-and-forth conversation below, which has been lightly edited for general clarity.
I. In addition to or aside from yourself, who else can be heard playing across Stuff In My Pockets?
Vic Ruggiero: This album is a combo of three different sessions. I usually play all the music on my records, but almost half the album is played by the band that was once The Snails (later, The [Dull] Blue Lights) from Philly. I wandered into their studio one day and they had a recording set-up, real 60's-style little tape machine and mixing board and great little amps. They convinced me to teach them a few songs and record 'em. We had a blast and the tracks on [their] album are, actually, just the rough mixes (one is even the wrong take!) They had to move, so we never got a chance to finish 'em properly, but I liked the tracks so much that I just used 'em. Jon Lango is on three tracks... the "Punk" stuff: "Stuff In My Pockets," "Everyday Things," and "No One Knows." He's more of a "Punk" drummer; up until recently, he was playing with Crazy & The Brains.
I decided to record a list of songs that are in my repertoire, but I've never had good recordings of. I invited Lango to drop in to [Victor] Axelrod's studio and he ended up spending a lot of the time playing with me. He just sounded so good and did things I can't do playing my usual one-man-band-style kickdrum and tambourine with my feet. The other session on the record is from my friend Rob [Kissner]'s studio in Beacon, New York. I did a little work for his band, The Big Takeover, and he offered me some recording time. Hector [Becerra], the drummer in his band, played with me for a few songs. The rest is just me, I think. It was a really sweet session and I must say, I needed it!
II. What is the meaning or significance behind the album title Stuff In My Pockets?
Ruggiero: I suppose the answer is that I didn't mean to make an album. I just record things [with] people when I have a moment, sometimes, and I looked at my list of things and thought, "oh, man... look at all this STUFF!"
III. How did you go about writing, recording, producing, creating, etc. the songs that can now be heard across Stuff In My Pockets?
Ruggiero: When somebody asks to do something [it's] usually just a fun "let's see what happens" vibe. I look in my phone or whatever notebook is in my pocket and see what I've been coming up with... the song "Just Like You" was written when my buddy, Anthony Abbinanti, left me alone in his studio. I was playing his electric piano and just having fun 'cuz I don't have one anymore. I was recording some Reggae tunes for his label, Happy As A Lark, and was waiting for him to come back. All the record was made with this kinda happenstance vibe.
IV. Who or what would you cite as some of your greatest sources of inspiration and influence while composing Stuff In My Pockets?
Ruggiero: I was traveling a lot and feeling kinda unhinged. My ex-wife gave me a lot of material. Not just in the "tough relationship" way, [though], also, as a friend and a fellow thinker. An ex-girlfriend of mine died suddenly, too, and that, also, shook me up quite a bit.
V. How does this ORG Music version of Stuff In My Pockets differ from the 2022 version released on Ring of Fire Records in Germany?
Ruggiero: They're the same record except for the mastering and the artwork. The [European] version has more photos from my friend, Kyna [Marie]. Those pics were from the time that most of those songs feel like they're about. Kyna is one of those photographers that sees my soul, I think. She'll [call] me to hang out and take a few pics sometimes, but this time, I asked her. Again, I needed to hang out with a friend right then and those pics are some of my favorites ever.
VI. What can long-time fans expect to see and hear at dates on your upcoming tour in support of Stuff In My Pockets?
Ruggiero: I'm trying to invite folks who played with me on the album where I can. Todd Fausnacht played guitar on a few recent East Coast gigs. Simon Chardiet and I have a different band called The Mooks, but I'll be out with him in the summer a bit and this spring. I've got a duet kinda tour with Lauren Napier as The Witch & The Burro. [I] guess I'm a busy guy even when I'm not with The Slackers ha!
VII. What were some of your favorite moments from filming the "Adam & Eve" Live and "Everyday Things" music videos?
Ruggiero: I just trusted those guys to tell me I was doing OK. I'm a terrible actor!
VIII. How did you (and The Slackers) come to be included on Hellcat's Give 'em The Boot I-VI compilations? How does it feel having been able to be part of such an iconic Punk/Hardcore series?
Ruggiero: I toured with Rancid in the late 90's and was there on the day they created Hellcat [Records,] basically. I was always doing this or that band, so I ended up being on three tunes on the first Give 'em The Boot. The Silencers' tune, ["Policeman,"] I wrote when I was 18, I think, for my Punk band, Sic + MAD. Tim Armstrong invited me to do demos with him for the Life Won't Wait album and I pitched them tunes. I thought "Policeman" was perfect for Rancid, but they decided to release it as a separate project.
We recorded a lot of cool music as The Silencers, but Tim never wanted to release all of it, so there's a bunch of great stuff lying around somewhere... "Stuff In The Silencers' Pockets." Some of it was even with Brody [Dalle (The Distillers,)] his ex-wife singing and despite the bad water under the bridge with them, [those were] still some of the coolest [recordings] I ever did. I hope it sees the light of day someday. I wrote, I played, [and] invited awesome players in. It was all very inspired and organic. Now, I can't even recall what we recorded... like [Bob] Dylan [& The Band's The] Basement Tapes or something haha.
IX. Do you have any idea about the current status of Chicago-based Happy As A Lark Records? It appears as though your 2020 "Blue Is The Color" B/W "Rocking Sessions" 45 with MC ZULU & The Drastics was one of their last physical/digital releases...
Ruggiero: Just the things I've done with 'em. Lauren Napier & I released some Reggae versions of Folky stuff we do during The Quarantine with [Anthony Abbinanti]. And [jory kinjo and vicruggiero's] "Blue Color Blues" (2020) and Babylon Ain't [Yer] Friend (2018) were done in the daytimes of Slackers gigs in Chicago. I dig his big British-sounding production.
X. Do you have any immediate plans to record and release new music with any your past collaborators, such as Ari-Up (The Slits,) Kepi Ghoulie, lauren.napier, Jesse Wagner (The Aggrolites,) The Barstool Preachers, and Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Transplants)?
Ruggiero: I released a second album with Kepi Ghoulie during The Quarantine, [AFTER] The Flood[... The Moldy Basement Tapes]. It's mostly Blues and early Rock "N" Roll-style recorded in my old [apartment] in 2010 and we never had time to release it... until 2020... that gave us the time haha. Now, Jesse & I toured a few times for the Reggae Workers of The World [R.W.W.] albums mostly in Europe. I hope we do that again. Nico [Leonard] from Badasonic Records is a fantastic drummer ([The] Moon Inbaders, [The] Caroloregians, [The] Aggrolites' tour drummer.) And he's a brilliant engineer and recorded the two albums he made with Jesse & I. Those records are some of my favorite things ever. Jesse AND Kepi and Jimmy Boom (The Phenomenauts) all did a West Coast run once and there's been talk of that, maybe, coming together again... fingers crossed!!!
XI. What can you tell us about The Slackers' impending follow-up to their 2022 album, Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya?
Ruggiero: The Slackers are recording right now, actually. Just to do it; no real reason. We had a little time and figured it's good to keep doing stuff. Plus, our resident genius, Marc Critelli, has his house wired for sound and we're quite comfy there after all the livestreams and album stuff.
XII. What's planned next for Vic Ruggiero?
Ruggiero: March in Europe with The Witch & The Burro and, hopefully, a release of that album on Flail Records 🤞. A Slackers Europe festival tour in summer. Plus, Rock "N" Roll/Doo-wop/Punk with The Mooks!!! (I love playing with Simon Chardiet!) But, now, I really need to sleep and get back on some yoga ASAP!!!