Vic Ruggiero

Infobox musical artist
Name = Victor "Vic" Ruggiero


Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Victor Ruggiero
Alias = Bad Vic; Lord Sluggo
Born =
Died =
Origin = Bronx, New York City, New York
Instrument = Keyboards, Guitar, Theremin, Vocals
Genre = Reggae, Ska, Punk
Occupation = Musician, Songwriter
Years_active = 1993 - Present
Label = Hellcat Records, Special Potatoe Records, Do Tell Records, Moon Ska Records
Associated_acts = The Slackers
Stubborn All-Stars
SKAndalous_All-Stars
Crazy_Baldhead
Rancid
URL = [http://www.theslackers.com/ Official Site]
Notable_instruments = Organ, Piano, Bass, Banjo, Guitar, Harmonica, Theremin & Percussion

Victor "Vic" Ruggiero, (also known as Bad Vic,Ruggarroo or Lord Sluggo) is a musician, songwriter and producer from New York City who has played in many ska bands, such as The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, SKAndalous All-Stars, Crazy Baldhead and The Silencers (not to be confused with the Scottish rock band The Silencers). He has also performed with punk rock band Rancid, both live and in the studio. He has released three solo acoustic albums, and has accompanied acoustic ska musician and singer Chris Murray.

Ruggiero's voice has a distinct Bronx accent that has a hard, guttural quality. His lyrics usually follow several themes, including the apocalypse, dark humor, political distrust, paranoia, murder, love and loss. His songs have ranged from narrative ballads to nonsense songs inspired by Beat generation poets, such as Jack Kerouac. He is primarily an organist, although he also plays piano, bass, banjo, guitar, harmonica and percussion. He has been seen playing many different kinds of organs, such as Roland VK-7 and VK-8, Korg CX-3, Hammond XB-1G, Hammond XK-2 and Rheem Mark 7 as well as a Rhodes Piano.

Ruggiero has also worked as the producer behind a number of releases. His own New York-based record label Special Potatoe Records is the outlet for many of these projects, especially those in which members and alumni of The Slackers are involved. His production style in these and his own projects is distinctively raw: by not erasing sounds that would traditionally be unwanted in a recording, such as doors closing or musicians cuing each other, his productions usually capture the live-band atmosphere more closely. Ruggiero has also been responsible for the production of releases from European ska artists, including Mr T Bone and The Moon Invaders.

Discography

With The Slackers

* "The Slackers" — 1993
* "Better Late Than Never" — 1996
* "Redlight" — 1997
* "The Question" — 1998
* "Before There Were Slackers There Were... (The Nods)" - 1999
* " [Live at Ernesto's (album)|Live at Ernesto's [Live] " — 2000
* "Wasted Days" — 2001
* "The Slackers and Friends" — 2002
* "Close My Eyes" — 2003
* " [International War Criminal (album)|International War Criminal [EP] " — 2004
* " [Upsettin' Ernesto's (album)|Upsettin' Ernesto's [Live] " — 2004
* "The Slackers/Pulley Split" — 2004
* "An Afternoon in Dub" — 2005
* " [Slack in Japan (album)|Slack in Japan [Live] " — 2005
* "Peculiar" — 2006
* "The Boss Harmony Sessions" - 2007
* "Self Medication" - 2008

With Rancid

* "Life Won't Wait" - 1998: Writing credits for tracks 5, 8 and 18: Hammond B3 Organ on tracks 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 18 and 21: Piano on tracks 5, 9, 12, 14, 18 and 21: Percussion on tracks 5 and 18: Guitar on track 12
* "Indestructible" - 2003: Keyboards

With The Transplants

* "Transplants" - 2002: Hammond B3 Organ on tracks 2, 6, and 7: Hammond B3 Organ/Piano on tracks 9, 10, and 12
* "Haunted Cities" - 2005: Wurlitzer, Farfisa on track 6

With Chris Murray

* "Slackness" - 2005

olo Albums

* "Understanding New Jersey & Living in Sin" - 2001
* "Alive at the Ladybug House" - 2004
* "Top Secret Bountry and Clues" - 2006 (Also known as "Blues and Clues".)
* "Hamburguru" - 2007
* "Something In My Blindspot" - 2008 (moanin' music)

With the SKAndalous All-Stars

* "Hit Me" - 1997
* "Punk Steady" - 1998
* "Age of Insects" - 1999

With the Stubborn All-Stars

* "Open Season" - 1995
* "Back With a New Batch" - 1997
* "Nex Music" - 1999

External links

* [http://www.vicruggiero.com Vic Ruggiero's website] (Currently linking to his MySpace page)
* [http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=1636 Interview with Ruggiero from Tastes Like Chicken] (2003)
* [http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/16h05.html Interview with Ruggiero from In Music We Trust] (1998)
* [http://skablahblah.com/2007/03/20/dave-hillyard-show-notes/ Interview with Ruggiero from Ska Blah Blah] (2007)