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Rufio.
Americans coming to Australia for the very first time often have a skewed perception of our ways, fuelled by certain movies and television shows ; there is a level of naivete about this wide, brown land we call home that I can't help but find amusing.
Rufio's guitarist Clark Domae isn't any different. Although the band have an extensive history of live shows (including a recent stint on the incredible 2004 Warped Tour across the United States), this is the first time they've had the chance to head down under.
"We're all so excited to be visiting," he gushes, sipping on red wine in the air-conditioned office of an unidentified American record company. "But we've been watching 'The Crocodile Hunter' a bit since we found out about the tour, and that Dundee movie too - is that really what you're all like?" he laughs. But considering how little gossip there was about the tour before the official announcement, I was keen to find out how it all came about.
"It's so strange to think we'll finally be coming down. It all happened so quickly - I never even had any idea it was being planned. We were saying we wanted to do more shows before heading back into the studio, and suddenly someone said 'Okay, you're going to go play down in Australia then.', and that was it. All done, all settled : we're going to Australia."
Australian fans have a lot to look forward to, with Rufio constantly wowing audiences with their frantic live sets - drummer Mike Jimenez is as insanely fast in real life as he is on the recording, and Domae and bassist Jon Berry frequently crisscross back and forth across the stage, pulling out some amazing rock moves. Domae laughs when I ask about the band's stage presence, and almost sounds a little self conscious about the question.
"I don't know, I guess we don't really think about that sort of thing when we play. It just happens naturally. We all just go out and play our hardest and have as much fun as we can. But we grew up watching bands like Van Halen on the stage, so I guess we're just carrying on their work..." he laughs.
Rufio are currently enjoying a little time off after their Warped Tour commitments, hanging out and practicing for the tour and writing new material for their next album. A nice laidback life for four lads who are used to driving from town to town, living out of duffle bags, running amok at every opportunity on the road. "Yeah, Warped Tour was a lot of fun," Domae admits. But while they shared a bus with Matchbook Romance, who are notorious for causing mischief on tour, Domae tries to convince me that Rufio are a band who tries their best to behave. "Sure, we've done some crazy stuff in our time, but mostly now we just like to relax and hang out on the road," he explains, with a hint of laughter on his voice. "While we're on the road, we're like those couples who just sit at home and rent movies."
The band are still riding the runaway success of their latest release 'MCMLXXXV' (or 1985 for those who like more modern numerals), but admit to having a few aces up their collective sleeve to try out on the road. "We've been working on a lot of new stuff for our next album," explains Domae. "I think we're going to use this tour to see what people think of it, see what works and what doesn't, or even come up with some newer stuff."
Rufio have never been ones to shy away from their fans though, regularly keeping in contact with their online tour diary, emailing back and forth with fans and hitting internet chat rooms and forums on a regular basis. Consequently, the band have a fair understanding of the Australian fan base Rufio have and promise to play a decent mix of old and new. "It seems we've got quite a few fans down there already though, so we'll try to keep them all happy," Domae assures me. Let's hope they do.
Ryan Smith
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Rufio play at the Adelaide UniBar on Wed 17 Nov.
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