Q+A: Ruby Frost
While covering the 2012 Parachute Festival last week, The Corner had the chance to pose a few questions to Jane de Jong a.k.a. Ruby Frost. Below check out a few brief questions about her involvement with the long-running festival started by her parents, retaining a connection to the Christian music scene and how Parachute differs from other music festivals around the country.
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I’ve heard that your parents were/are heavily involved in the running of Parachute. Therefore I was wondering what changes you’ve seen over the years and how you’ve felt moving from watching your parents setting it up to being an artist playing your own music at the festival?
Ruby Frost: My parents started Parachute just after I was born, and I’ve been playing there since I was 17. It’s grown a lot in the last decade, and I’ve helped out at it in various roles since I can remember. I still enjoy being part of it… the older I get the more proud I am of them.
How do you think Parachute festival differs from other music festivals in New Zealand? Is there any difference for you playing to that audience, rather than a general crowd?
Ruby Frost: I think I was lucky to play my first shows there, to people who were generally supportive when I was still learning guitar and figuring out my sound. Parachute is set up to develop new talent, so the atmosphere is pretty relaxed and welcoming to beginner performers. Comparing crowds between Parachute and R&V, you do notice that Parachute’s audience is sober, but people are there to appreciate music and they’re still really responsive to what you play.
Your music as Ruby Frost doesn’t seem to be specifically about religious issues, so I was wondering how you approach keeping a balance between making your own music for a wide audience and the desire to retain a connection to the Christian music scene? I suppose that writing a song for Parachute Band is one way you’ve managed to do this?
Ruby Frost: I don’t really have any desire to retain a connection to the Christian music scene. I’ve grown up immersed in it, but I don’t think my music is very suited to it; and I decided to do my own thing when I recorded my first EP five years ago.
My brother drums and produces for Parachute Band, and he’s used a couple of my songs after hearing me play them… but it’s never been a very deliberate thing.
Do you think there’s any tension between the Christian popular music scene and the wider music industry? Do you think there’s any misapprehensions between them?
Ruby Frost: I think the lines are getting more blurred, but there is still some tension between the two. It seemed worse when I was younger, I remember going to Christian music conferences with my parents in Nashville and wondering why there were so many Christian imitation bands (a Christian Eminem; a Christian version of the Backstreet Boys). Parts of the industry seemed irrelevant to me. I still don’t see the point of CCM, but I get the point of having Gospel music… spiritual and ‘inspiration’ type music will always be different from the Top 40.
