Dave Ruder – short bio

Dave Ruder (he/they) is a musician based in Brooklyn. Dave’s work lives at the intersection of the very ephemeral, the very stupid, the very articulate, the very repetitive, and the very subtle.

Over the years, Dave has worked as a vocalist, clarinetist, guitarist, composer/songwriter, electronic musician, etc. Much of Dave’s work is done collaboratively as a member of the groups Varispeed, thingNY, and Thee Reps. He is also known for performing the work of Robert Ashley. He has also released numerous solo albums in different styles on Gold Bolus Recordings, a label he founded and has managed since 2014. 

Some major creations of Dave’s include Untuned (2007) for ten unplugged, untuned, electric guitars, WHY LIE? (2010), 100+ small, flexible score available online, The Gentleman Rests (2014), a meditation on the certification of the 2000 presidential election commissioned by the Jerome Foundation, and You Must Read a Lot of Jung (2018), an extended sextet created for thingNY.