Music News
Rudely Interrupted's Members Don't Let Disabilities Hold Them Back
By Steve McLean
Rudely Interrupted
Melbourne, Australia's Rudely Interrupted was invited to perform at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Dec. 3 to mark International Day For People With Disabilities, creating the latest chapter in the heartwarming story of a band that has five of its six members sharing a range of physical and intellectual disabilities.
Lead singer/guitarist Rory was born without eyes and has an acute form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. Synthesizer player Marcus is deaf and has Asperger's Syndrome. Drummer Josh has many physical and autistic differences. Bassist Sam has Down Syndrome. Tambourinist Constance is legally blind and has Down Syndrome. Guitarist, backing vocalist and band manager Rohan Brooks - who previously toured North America with Sloan and Jet as a member of The Anyones (who were forced to call themselves The Everyones in the U.S.) - met most of them at a disability centre he works at.
Brooks says he started the group (whose name was suggested by Rory, who feels his Asperger's often rudely interrupts his life) as a form of music therapy, and things began slowly before everything started to come together.
"It took us three months to even play a note together. We have all had tantrums and stormed out of rehearsals at some stage, although we can now put a song together in around six hours of working out all the parts. It's a creative place, so we try to keep it fun, but working hard is not always fun."
Brooks describes Rudely Interrupted's music as "Joy Division having a Gary Numan party while eating pitch perfect cookies," and says, "We use our conversations as inspiration to form music exercises that turn into songs."
Rudely Interrupted has released a four-song EP that spawned the single "Don't Break My Heart," which has received major airplay in their homeland. The group was also invited to play Australian music festivals with Feist and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and has appeared on a number of television shows down under.
"I guess we have a story worthy of attention and the songs seem to strike a chord with people," says Brooks.
"I think the arts and disability are an untapped source of greatness. People with disabilities have this unique spin on life that needs to be given a voice, and the arts is a way for them to express themselves on a level playing field."
The Internet allows Rudely Interrupted's music to be heard worldwide through their website and MySpace page, but the band is also widening its scope in a concert setting. In addition to the private U.N. showcase, the band played two other gigs in New York City, performed in Toronto and had three shows in England before returning home to Australia.
"We aim for the very top and see how far we can get," says Brooks. "So I suppose anything is possible when you set the bar high.
"We are starting to record an album's worth of tunes next year and are in the makings of a rockumentary film about RI on the road, so the future is looking very bright for all the guys.
"We are here to challenge people's thoughts and to entertain as many people as possible. We don't expect everyone to like our music, and not everyone will care about what we do, but that should not stop anyone from doing anything they love to do."