We are Roughcut Ruby.
Roughcut Ruby is an established 5-piece collection of excellent, passionate musicians covering Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire. We are known to play a wider range of music than many cover bands.
It’s all for our love for live music and togetherness.
We play for the fun and our love for music. When you can look right into the audience’s eye the way you can in a small venue, and everything comes together, it’s the best feeling in the world. There’s a real connection – and we’re here for just that. Sound good? Book us for your next event here.
Our current line-up came together in early 2016 and we’ve gone from strength to strength ever since. With female and male vocals, you’ll hear some of the best from KT Tunstall, Stevie Wonder, Scissor Sisters, The Doobie Brothers, and Amy Winehouse, to the older classics that we all love!
Much more than background music.
Roughcut Ruby is better than your average local cover band. With our lively gigs being much more than mere pub background music, our use of audience interaction and unbeatable chemistry on-stage has seen us build up an enthusiastic local following.
2021 marks our 12th year as a regular gigging band. From our earlier days playing the pubs and clubs around Oxfordshire, we now regularly play weddings, corporate functions, festivals, parties, and trendy city-center pubs and clubs.
Keep on rock ’n’ scrolling to find out our guitarist’s favourite philosopher, and what our drummer Double G fancies for dinner!
Band Members
Guitar & Vocals
Jim Smith
Jim started playing guitar at 12 having played violin at school. He went to a very unusual school, Countesthorpe College. While the controversial school didn’t work out well for many, it suited Jim just fine – letting his talent grow for four years in the music department playing, recording, and building recording and live music equipment while working at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester.
Jim did go to university, briefly. But he felt London calling, so he ran away to fulfil his musical passion in a number of music studios and with Solid State Logic, a global recording console manufacturer.
After years in mainstream engineering, he keeps the local music scene buzzing with Roughcut Ruby and providing live sound for a number of local music festivals.
Jim enjoys all sorts of music; the style doesn’t matter – it’s the emotion and the passion that counts!
Jim’s Favourite 5
Guitarist: Joe Satriani (sometimes Jan Akkerman)
Drummer: Steve White (sometimes Buddy Rich)
Drink: Whisky (sometimes more whisky)
Food: Red lentil Dahl (sometimes Sausages)
Philosopher: Calvin (and Hobbes)
Vocals
Lauren Alexander
Lauren did the classic thing of recorder at a young age reaching level 8 as well as the more respectable flute shortly after.
Although she’s been performing in dance school since age 3 and doing musical theatre shows most of her life, Roughcut Ruby was a new venture and the only band she has performed with. She’s had short intermissions of travelling but we always end up together again!
Lauren’s music taste is “fast and fun, preferably with lyrics” from Motown, musicals and rock to funk, rap and ska she’s happy to listen to just about anything.
Lauren’s Favourite 5
Movie: Wicked Little Letters
Season: Festival Season!
Country: Costa Rica
Drink: A Fruity Cocktail!
Board game: Happy Salmon
Vocals
Helen Harrison
Helen is actually taking a short break from the band with two small children at home but we know she won’t be able to keep away and will be back with us soon!
Helen brought a violin home at the tender age of 7, kickstarting her musical career. Luckily, her parents hated the violin more than her singing so her future was decided.
After various attempts, including a strange folk band where the band wrote their own music and then pranced about in the woods in odd costumes, Helen found a band who actually made it out of a living room onto a stage. Shame no one told her she’d actually have to work hard.
Helen’s Favourite 5
Guilty music pleasure: Little Mix
Country: Nepal
Drink: Tea or a Black Russian, depending on how rock and roll I’m feeling…
Food: Roast dinner (or really anything with gravy)
Board game: Ironically, Pandemic
Drums & Vocals
Double G
(aka Steve Whittall)
Steve has been drumming since the age of one when he grabbed hold of a pair of spoons and started hitting saucepans in a vaguely rhythmic pattern. He’s been making a racket ever since.
He went on to play with Spellbound, a four-piece band who were regulars on the pub rock scene through the 70s. Later bands included The Rattlers, Typical Blokes, Mama Zees blues band and Joker.
Steve’s drumming influences are wide ranging including Jazz, funk, rock, Latin and reggae which suits the varied styles that Roughcut Ruby require.
Double G’s Favourite 5
Drummer: Buddy Rich (sometimes Ian Paice)
Guitarist: Jowe Passe (sometimes Richie Blackmore)
Drink: Beer (sometimes stronger beer)
Food: Vietnamese noodle bowl (sometimes Lamb Vindaloo)
Philosopher: Plato (sometimes Sartre)
Bass & Vocals
Richard Horrocks
After reaching the dizzying heights of Grade 3 Violin, Richard gave up academic music study and started playing bass in a punk rock band at school.
Bands he's played in include PPP (parody songs), Formless Absorptions (psychedelic garage rock) and Feck (heavy metal).
Influences include anything where you can spend the least amount of time learning the bassline.
Richard’s Favourite 5
Bass player: Floyd Pepper
Drink: Strawberry Lime Cider
Food: Pizza
Philosopher: Peter Griffin
Board game: Cosmic Encounter
Trumpet & Vocals
Lisa Holley
Lisa started blowing her own trumpet around the age of 12, starting out with small village band, Stonesfield Silver, followed by City of Oxford with who she got to play in an episode of Midsummer Murders (Destroying Angles 2001). Lisa is currently found blowing cornet for Wantage Concert Brass.
Roughcut Ruby is Lisa’s first voyage into playing with a rock band – up until 5 years ago she didn’t know what she was missing…
Lisa’s Favourite 5
Guitar player: Andres Segovia
Food: Sea Bass (sometimes ice cream)
Drink: Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc
Holiday: Kenya Safari (sometimes Zanzibar)
Classical piece: Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov
Fancy us?