Fresh tracks

Watch out Nora Jones; here comes Amber Rubarth. This woman’s voice could make you float off into clouds. It’s soulful, versatile and inspirational. She writes her own lyrics, and she plays acoustic guitar and piano. This multi-talented young performer has lyrics that inspire even her.

Rubarth has been playing guitar for only two years, but her voice has history. It tells a timeless story in every high and low note she hits. Her songs, reminiscent of the big-band era, also refer to the soulful ballads of today and everything in between. “My music has a classic feel with almost a ‘20s and ‘30s feel mixed in with modern pop,” she says.

This spunky artist has found her creative voice through her music. She hides little tricks up her sleeve to inspire her. “My best songs are the ones where I wasn’t thinking about the direction of the theme,” Rubarth says. “When it just kind of comes out, I get my best work.”

Her lyrics are creative—"It’s rough on the edges, but vibrant inside"—but her method of songwriting is even more so. Inspiration can come when she least expects it. While she’s driving her car, words just pop in her head. Before those words have a chance to escape, she records them by calling her cell phone and singing a message.

Rubarth is now continuing her hard work and self-management by strumming and signing for fans in the Bay Area and constantly touring. She’s been sharing her picturesque lyrics with regulars at coffee houses and bars, but she’s counting on her aspirations to take her beyond audiences of mocha sippers and stein guzzlers. She hopes to start her own label. Then it would be sayonara to the small-time and on to the big venues. Rubarth acknowledges that’s easier said than done: “You can tour forever in coffee houses and bars, but opening for well-known bands or playing in amphitheaters is a struggle to get to.”

It appears, however, that she’s climbing the musical hierarchy. Her new CD, Something New—her most prized accomplishment to date—will début Feb. 19 at a release party. It’s her first professionally produced album.

“The CD release party is by far my hardest work because it shows what I have done,” Rubarth says. “This is my best work, and now I am putting it out to the public.”

Amber’s next goal is to sign a record deal, and it looks like she’s on the right track. With a voice like an angel, original songs, deep lyrics and an attitude that is modest and serious at the same time, it’s only a matter of time before we see her opening the stage for the likes of John Mayer.