Spruce Baugher describes his lifestyle as
a gypsy balladeer in a way that gets right to the point.
“Basically, I’m on wheels when I wake up
somewhere.”
His wheels, a treasured and restored ‘60s
VW Bus (aka Ruby), has been with him at least since 2002, when
Spruce made his journey across the U.S.
from Iowa
to Hood
River. On his way, he made a pit-stop
in Colorado,
where he happened to camp next to an artist. The artist made a
watercolor painting of his rig. That artwork survived all these
years and has now become the cover to Spruce’s latest CD release,
“Ruby.”
If there was one theme that kept coming up
during my interview with Spruce last week, I’d say that the topic
of friends kept the number one slot.
Whether it was friends helping him record,
friends as inspirations to songs, or friends who have gifted him
instruments that he travels with today, Spruce always acknowledged
that he’s “had a little help,” so to speak.
And speaking of recording, we need to
mention something regarding these 10 new songs found on “Ruby.”
First of all, you can definitely hear what Spruce is influenced by
— mainly his love of folk and deep country blues. Believe me, when
you hear the first harmonica notes, you’ll associate them with Bob
Dylan’s style.
And second, even with musical help from
all of Spruce’s friends, the CD maintains the solo
singer-songwriter vein throughout. This is a collection of three
and four chord stories that chronicle much of Spruce’s personal
experiences — and living his dream of the gypsy lifestyle.
Spruce will be stopping by The Pines
Tasting Room in Hood
River
on Thursday, Oct. 7, to preview songs from his new album.
