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Marty Martin Born in Germany and raised in Atlanta, Marty Martin brings musical and comedic horsepower to each Ruby Reds event. A graduate of local Atlanta's Redan High School, Marty went on to graduate from the Berklee School of Music in Boston. During those years Marty worked in various amusement park musical shows including summers at Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, Elitch Gardens in Denver and Kennywood and Idlewild Parks in Pittsburgh. Somewhere in there he squeezed in tours with The Affordable Floors, George Gee's Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra and the Sterling Brothers Circus. |
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In 1991, Marty moved back to Atlanta to work at the newly revived Ruby Reds Warehouse in the newly revived Underground Atlanta. In addition to playing with the Ruby Red's Band, Marty got involved in the operations of the bar and restaurant and gained considerable experience as a valued and trusted member of the Ruby Red's management team. In 1992 Marty, Rocky Ball, and Hal Johnson opened Fanny Moon's Beer Hall in After the 3 partners closed Fanny Moon's in 1996, Marty took over a family business, Fred Martin Welding Co., in Atlanta. He continues to play extensively around town with Les Still's Still Swingining Big Band, the Brad Large Band, Gwen Hughes' Retro Kats and the Ruby Red's Band. His distinctive vocal and trumpet techniques are impressive to see and awesome to hear. |
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L.A. Tuten L.A. Tuten hails from Atlanta, Georgia (one of the few natives left!). 'L.A.' (that's Laurence Arthur to those in the know) started out playing in Rock N' Roll bands as an electric bassist. After high school he opted to study trombone at Georgia State University... then got the itch to play jazz bass and headed for the Berklee School of Music in Boston. |
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After a stint in Beantown, L.A. headed back to Atlanta for lots of local gigging with Rock N' Roll and Jazz and Blues bands. He served the well-known Seed & Feed Marching Abominable Band as Conductor and Arranger (and trombonist) between 1980 and 1988. During this period he spent a year playing electric bass with the late, great "Thumbs" Carlille... world-reknowned Nashville guitarist. L.A. found strange and unsteady work with Atlanta legend Colonel Bruce Hampton during a four-year stint between 1986 and 1990 where he played electric bass with Hampton's various groups, including Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Arkansas Travellers, and the Stained Souls, featuring Alligator recording artist Tinsley Ellis. From there he became bassist for EM/World recording artist Elise Witt, appearing on two albums: "Mezzanine" (1993); and "Open The Window" (1997). It was around 1990 when L.A. took up the tuba, and L.A. hasn't been the same since (neither has the tuba). L.A. came aboard in 1991 as the tuba player in the Ruby Red's revival band in Underground Atlanta where he worked nightly with Rocky Ball and Marty Martin. Soon, local clarinetist Don Erdman, while forming his Hotlanta Jazz Band, hired L.A. for the tuba chair. L.A. immediately began national and world tours as well as recording for Don and found himself on 2 recordings: "Live in Spain" (1992); and "Happy Feet" (1994). L.A.’s concert tours with Hotlanta took him to France, Spain, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Singapore, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. In 1997, L.A. moved briefly to Europe, giving up his tuba chair to fellow tubist, Hal Johnson. By 1998, however, L.A. was firmly BACK in Atlanta and gigging all over town on both bass and tuba. In this millennium, L.A.’s musical focus has been on the upright bass and the Ruby Reds Band, while continuing an active free lance calendar including frequent stints with Gwen Hughes' Retro Kats. He devised a portable method of recording the Ruby Reds trio in a live setting and mixed and produced their recording "Ruby Reds LIVE at Watershed" (2015) |
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Rocky Ball Rocky Ball is a partner in and the banjo player for the Ruby Reds Band. Rocky was born and reared in Thunderbolt, a small shrimping village on the Georgia coast near Savannah. As a child he studied piano and played in church, eventually playing music in restaurants and clubs along Savannah's famed River Street to help pay his way through art school. Rocky attended Georgia Southern University and Georgia State University where he studied Commercial Art. In 1974 he helped to found the Raz'Mataz Jazz Band at Six Flags Over Georgia. Raz'Mataz began working throughout the Southeast playing Dixieland Jazz. In 1976 Rocky switched from the piano to the banjo and soon landed a gig with the Ruby Reds Band in Underground Atlanta, one of 5 banjo players that played regularly with this group. |
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In 1992, after 14 years as Kennywood's Director of Entertainment, Rocky partnered with fellow musicians Marty Martin and Hal Johnson to form their own nightclub, Fanny Moon's Beer Hall, in Underground Atlanta. They formed the Big Butt Band to serve as the house band for the club. After 4 years as club owners, the Big Butt Band closed Fanny Moon's and sought other interests while continuing to perform individually. In 2003 Rocky, Marty Martin and L.A. Tuten bought the Ruby Reds Band and began performing under that name Rocky serves on the Board of Directors for The Georgia Music Industry Association (GMIA) and the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Pops Orchestra. |
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