- The Red Button
Infobox musical artist
Name = The Red Button
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Los Angeles
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre = Rock, Pop
Occupation =
Years_active = 2007 - Present
Label = Grimble Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.TheRedButton.net/ The Red Button Website]
Current_members = Mike Ruekberg (left in above picture)Seth Swirsky (right in above picture)
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =The Red Button is an American pop band consisting of
Seth Swirsky and Mike Ruekberg. Swirsky is a well-known pop songwriter, cite web |url= http://www.seth.com |title= Seth.com "The Website of Seth Swirsky, Manic Expressive." |author= Seth Swirsky |format=html |quote= ] while Ruekberg is asongwriter andperformer in theLos Angeles area. Their debut album, "She's About to Cross My Mind," which has a retro-60s, musical style, was released in 2007 by Grimble Records and has met with critical acclaim. "The guitars are jangly, the vocals are energetic with a British twist and songwriting is perfectly fun pop."cite web |url= http://www.collectedsounds.com/cdreviews/shesaboutto.html |title= "She's About to Cross My Mind" Album Review|author= Amy Lotsberg |format=html |quote= ] In its November, 2007 issue, the British magazine UNCUT called the album "pure melodic pop heaven".Biography
Swirsky's music credentials include hit songs for dozens of artists, including
Rufus Wainwright ("Instant Pleasure"),Al Green ,Tina Turner andTaylor Dayne ("Tell it to My Heart" and "Prove Your Love") among many others.In the 1990s, Ruekberg worked as a
singer andsongwriter for theMinneapolis -based pop-rockers Rex Daisy, who recorded a CD forGeffen Records with producerPaul Fox . Ruekberg also wrote the soundtrack for the indie cult film classic "Dummy," starringAdrien Brody .Swirsky and Ruekberg met in 2005, when Swirsky was recording his first solo album, "
Instant Pleasure ". The two hit it off immediately, both of them admiring each other's songs. Shortly thereafter, they decided to begin writing and recording songs together. They found that Swirsky's tuneful optimism balanced nicely with Ruekberg's pessimistic, but passionate style. "She's About to Cross My Mind" is the result of those sessions.Reviews
Band
Shindig Magazine's Phil Suggitt called the group "The Pop Princes of 2007."cite web |url= http://www.shindig-magazine.com/reviews-jun2007-2.html |title= 1990s-Present" |author= Phil Suggitt |format=
html |quote= ] OriginalBeatles engineer, Norman "Hurricane" Smith said "If The Red Button were around in the 60s when I was producing, I would have signed them toEMI ."cite web |url= http://www.theredbutton.net/ |title= Main Page Quote |author= Norman Smith |format=html |quote= ] The band was featured inThe Los Angeles Times as a Buzz Band onAugust 7 2007 .cite web |url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/buzzbands/2007/08/ears-wide-open-.html#comments/ |title= Ears Wide Open: The Red Button pops off |author= Kevin Bronson |format=html |quote= ] Kevin Bronson of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "The Red Button presses all the right buttons for fans of pure pop."cite web |url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/buzzbands/2007/08/ears-wide-open-.html#comments/ |title= Ears Wide Open: The Red Button pops off |author= Kevin Bronson |format=html |quote= ]Album
quote= ]
In a year-end poll of the top pop records of the year, "She's About to Cross My Mind" was ranked #1 (out of 125) by the influential pop site, Absolute Powerpop.In ranking it #1, the editor said: "While some may cynically refer to the entire power pop genre as an effort to remake
The Beatles orBig Star orBadfinger , this is one disc that deserves to be called an equal to its forebears." Prominent pop music journalist and author of "Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide", John Borack ranked "She's About to Cross My Mind" #1 in his Top 20 Best Albums of 2007 saying that The Red Button's songs were created “the way God and Paul McCartney must have intended.” . Pop Journalist and International Pop Overthrow founder David Bash ranked the album #8 (out of 125) in his influential year-end list saying: "Swirsky and Ruekberg can now wear their rightful crown as the Peter Holsapple/ Chris Stamey of The New Millennium”, referring to the best of the highly regarded Beatles-influenced tunesmiths of the 80s and 90s.The CD was also ranked the "Top of the Pops - Overall Best of 2007" by VillageRecords.com,cite web |url= http://www.villagerecords.com/index.php?%20cPath=61_132 |title= Top of the Pops - Overall Best of 2007] which said: "This past year contained over half a million minutes (if my calculations are correct or even close). This single disc was responsible for the best thirty three I heard. Now it's your turn."cite web |url= http://www.hemifran.com/reviews.html |title= The Red Button "She's About To Cross My Mind" Review] In addition, the CD was named the #2 Best CD of 2007 by a Powerpopaholic Reader's Pollcite web |url= http://powerpopaholic.blogspot.com/2007/12/powerpopaholic-top-ten.html |title= The Powerpopaholic Top Ten of 2007] and the #10 Best CD of 2007 by Fudgeland.cite web |url= http://fudgeland.blogspot.com/2007/12/best-album-of-2007.html |title= Best Album of 2007] Audities, the influential Yahoo group of pop journalists and listeners, ranked The Red Button album 2nd best pop album of the year in their 2007 year-end poll.
Singles
cite web |url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/buzzbands/2007/08/ears-wide-open-.html#comments/ |title= Ears Wide Open: The Red Button pops off |author= Kevin Bronson |format=
html |quote= ] and was named the 2nd Best Song of 2007 by Popbang Radio.cite web |url= http://www.popbang.com/2007.htm |title= Top 20 Tracks of 2007] The song was also chosen to be on The Coolest Songs in the World, Volume 4 CD (2008) on Wicked Cool Records.cite web |url= http://www.amazon.com/Coolest-Songs-World-Vol-4/dp/B0012IWK3E/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1211779003&sr=8-5 |title= Coolest Songs in the World, Vol. 4 |author= Amazon.com |format=html |date=25 May 2008 |quote= ] Other songs from "She's About to Cross My Mind", have been featured on XM The Loft's "In Spite Of All The Danger" program,Sirius Radio 's "Idiot's Delight" withVin Scelsa as well as radio stations around the world.PopGarden Radio, in their 2007 year-end poll ranked "I Could Get Used to You", a song from the album, as the #1 Song of the Year.cite web |url= http:// blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=2409711&blogID=344377765 |title= PopGarden Radio]
Appearances
Television
Swirsky appeared as the featured guest on the
Fox News late night show Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld onAugust 10 2007 discussing The Red Button album as well as his not-yet-released documentary, Beatles Stories.cite web |url= http://www.foxnews.com/video2/launchPage.html?081107/081107_redeye_swirsky&Renaissance%20Man%20&Red_Eye&Seth%20Swirsky%20is%20a%20singer%2C%20songwriter%2C%20author%2C%20filmmaker%20and%20baseball%20collector&Greg%20Gutfeld&-1&Renaissance%20Man%20&Video%20Launch%20Page&Opinion |title= Swirsky on Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld |author= Greg Gutfeld |format=html |quote= ]Concerts
The Red Button played an acoustic set, their first appearance, at The International Pop Overthrow Music Festival at
Spaceland , inLos Angeles onAugust 7 2007 .cite web |url= http://www.internationalpopoverthrow.com/schedule-Los-Angeles-2007.htm |title= IPO Los Angeles 2007 |author= The International Pop Overthrow Music Festival |format=html |quote= ] Famed rock photographerHenry Diltz (known for his album covers forCrosby, Stills and Nash ,The Doors ,Jackson Browne amongst others), shot the concert. In a radio interview onNational Public Radio affiliate WNYU onAugust 31 2007 , Diltz stated that The Red Button was his favorite new group.cite web |url= http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2007/08/31 |title= The Art of Concert Photography |author= WNYC |format=html |quote= ]References
External links
* [http://www.TheRedButton.net/ The Red Button Official Website]
* [http://www.seth.com/ Seth.com] - The Website of Seth Swirsky
* [http://www.mikeruekberg.com/ Mike Ruekberg's Official Website]
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