WHY SO SERIOUS? Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees put on a crazier show than these mugs might suggest.

The long-winded name from a children’s book is misleading — Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees are not as innocent as their name suggests.
“Sweaty bombastic sp-experimentation” is what RJATTB front woman Rebekah Higgs came up with when asked to describe the band in three words.
It is a daunting task to give Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees’ music a distinct label. Higgs herself has a hard time.
“It’s sort of like dirty electronic pop music or metal disco. Or what’s the other word we used — Glam-po-lectronic. Lots of different things,” she explains, laughing.
Ingenuity and experimentation is what gave birth to the band. What started off as little hobby project with bandmate Colin Crowell grew into something more tangible when the other members came along — Higgs became Ruby Jean, and Crowell, Mike Belyea and Jason Vautour are her thoughtful bees.
With members hailing from either New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, and the band itself based out of Halifax, their sound might come as quite a surprise to first-time listeners.
Canada’s East Coast is home to many talented artists and RJATTB is no exception. However, the East Coast is known to produce talent in the indie-folk scene, which is why Ruby Jean’s gritty electro-dance formation a few years ago was so groundbreaking.
“At the time we started doing this there wasn’t very much going on in the electronic dance scene in Halifax. There wasn’t really much of a scene at all,” Higgs says. “So I think that in a way, we kind of decided we wanted to go in this direction to fill a void that was lacking.”
Since then, there has been a slew of new electronic dance artists coming out of Halifax, making it the home to a bona fide, new electronic scene with RJATTB as its self-appointed leader.
Touted by Billboard Magazine as one of the five emerging Canadian acts to watch in 2009, and having played both North by Northeast and the Toronto International Film Festival’s Canadian Music Café, RJATTB have generated a lot of buzz.
The band has garnered many comparisons to acts like Chromeo, Daft Punk and MSTRKRFT, but they are not a carbon copy.
“Of course we have the beats, the crunchy synths and the driving bass notes, but we’ve also got the female lead vocals. There’s a fusion of the way I play with my vocals; I do a lot of looping and harmonizing with myself and playing with gadgets onstage,” Higgs says.
They have been on the road since the release of their self-titled debut album in January 2009 and are opening for Dragonette at Call the Office tonight. With a U.K. tour in November, RJATTB are ready to spread their danceable tunes overseas.
“We like to keep busy and we like to play as much as possible, so we are a touring band for sure,” Higgs says.
The live show features multiple costume changes and sequin-embellished attire, and once Higgs hits the stage her Ruby Jean persona takes over.
“She’s pretty crazy,” Higgs laughs. “There’s lots of moving, a lot of dancing onstage and a lot of sharing of alcohol. Sometimes I’ll carry a big bottle of whiskey or wine and pour it into peoples’ mouths. Or I’ll randomly pick out people in the audience to come dance with me […] It’s different every night, but it’s usually pretty wild.”
It is clear nothing is out of the question for Ruby Jean. In fact, she has a fondness for stirring up trouble and encourages a little casual drinking.
“I try to keep it as fun as possible. It’s sort of like being the ringleader of the party and making sure everybody has a good time,” she says. “Because if I’m more drunk and ridiculous than everybody in the room, then it gives them the liberty to be as ridiculous as they want.”
The most important thing to the band is how their music makes the audience feel during their set and the feeling they are left with when they leave. “People will always remember the way that you make them feel,” Higgs explains. “I just want people to leave feeling good and impressed with our ability to play music live.”
RJATTB’s live shows reflect this goal as each member of the band brings a different element to the performance — every one of which is crucial. Whether it is crowd surfing, dancing in the audience or their sparkley spandex outfits, the band never fails to capture the crowd’s attention.
“Everybody sort of has their own character that’s very interesting to watch. So at any given time you can watch anybody in the band and be fully entertained — it’s a pretty crazy show,” Higgs says. “I think that’s kind of what makes us who were are.”
Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees open for Dragonette tonight at Call the Office, located at 216 York St. Doors are at 9 p.m.