Canadian freshers Born Ruffians are about to release their new single ‘Hummingbird’ a couple of months prior to their thigh-slapping, folk-pop LP, Red, Yellow & Blue. They’re certainly ones to watch for just about every publication this year, but would they have been this well received in the days before the internet? Steve Hamelin (drums) and Mitch DeRosier (bass) took a break from their busy schedule of photo shoots and promotional meetings with the Skins cast to chat to E-ndustry.

Do you think you’d be this hyped if it wasn’t for the internet? Do you think it’s played quite a large role? 

Steve: Yeah.

Mitch: Definitely. I think any band today can credit the internet to boosting their success, for sure. It’s just changed the way entirely that any band can get popular.

Steve: Especially bands that don’t get played on the radio or MTV as often. Even major websites like MTV will cater more to independent acts. It levels the playing field a bit between mainstream and the non-mainstream.

Because there’s so much choice on the internet do you think word of mouth plays a big role too?

Mitch: The internet is almost like a big word of mouth. It’s word of mouth but on a massive scale. People with blogs for example, that’s exactly the same as telling your friend ‘Hey I saw this band and they’re great’ and with a blog on the internet, saying ‘Hey I saw this band and they’re great’ is ten fold.

Steve: A lot of blogs are just one guy’s opinion. It’s like me saying ‘Check this out’, but on my page. So many more people see it. 

Do you listen to music on the internet a lot or do you buy records? 

Steve: I buy records.

Mitch: Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever bought a song off the internet before. 

Is it the whole aesthetic of being able to put a record on? 

Mitch: Yeah I think we’re still traditional.

Steve: I just don’t have my stereo hooked up to my computer and I don’t want to listen to it through my laptop speakers. I have to buy it on either vinyl or cd and I don’t have an ipod, so there’s really no incentive for me to download music. But I would if I did have an ipod.