At the risk of sounding like an obsessed pre-teen superfan, I just gotta say: Marshall Ruffin is so farkin’ yummy that I want to eat him with a spoon. I don’t mean just any spoon, mind you. I mean one of those little silver dessert spoons with the round bowl so perfect for licking out every last morsel of yummy goodness.
The first time I saw him I had no idea who he was. I’d heard good things about him, but I had never before laid eyes on him. He walked into The Loft carrying a guitar case and I thought, “Wow! He’s pretty! And apparently he thinks he can sing. He must be opening for that Marshall Ruffin guy I’ve heard such great things about. Opening acts are so self-indulgent.”
Imagine my surprise.
This young (and I stress young as he has just turned 24) blonde boy with a sweet, shy smile has the musical soul of a well-weathered old black man from somewhere deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. His rich tenor voice has a perfect balance of buttery smoothness and grit. I do not know how to describe Ruffin’s guitar stylings without sounding trite. The word “amazing” just does not do him justice. He can transition seamlessly from quick and intricate finger picking to a slippery, funky groove. He has an easy, playful stage presence, bantering with the audience between and sometimes even during songs. He performs with every fiber of his being, completely animated and completely absorbed. His facial expressions make it seem as though he must open his mouth as wide as possible and twist it around to allow all that juicy blusiness to escape.
His playlist consists of both original tunes and old favorites, though I have no doubt that his originals will soon fall into the category of “old favorites” as well. He puts his own spin on standards by artists ranging from the Allman Brothers and Muddy Waters to Billie Holiday and Patsy Cline and even Frankie Vallie. (His cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” inspired my own performance on the frozen food aisle where I was busted by a stock boy in the middle of crooning ‘I love you baaaaaaaaby…” whilst perusing ice cream flavors.)
It is his original material, though, that really blows me away. His soulful tunes and often melancholy lyrics provide intimate glimpses into the lives of his characters. Through his verse I see through the eyes of a convict, anticipating the relief brought by then end of his life after years spent on a chain gang. I experience the loneliness and heartache that comes along with being the wife of a merchant sailor in the 1800’s.
This boy is gonna be famous – like mega-rock-star famous. My best advice is to see him now, while he is still a part of the Columbus music scene. That way, when he hits the big time – and he will, I promise – you can say, “I knew him when…”
