Ruff Majik Call it Quits, Sort Of
Admittedly, I’m not getting “band is done forever” vibes off Ruff Majik‘s somewhat vague breakup post. Some bands lay it all out — this is what happened, who what where when, etc. — but Ruff Majik founding guitarist/vocalist Johni Holiday is lighter on details: “…I want to live. I want to survive whatever this is. I want to feel, without bleeding for it.”
Mental health has been at play for Ruff Majik all the while, sometimes with emphasis on ‘play.’ Their two most recent albums, last Fall’s Moth Eater (review here) and 2023’s Elektrik Ram (review here), certainly put the theme forward, and chaos has been a friend of the South African rockers for the last decade. If you shake hard enough, eventually the wheels are going to come off. If they need to stop before that happens, it’s a commendable thing that they’re stopping.
But there’s no “done forever” here. The word ‘hiatus’ isn’t used, and Holiday is one to choose words carefully if you’ve ever read his lyrics, but it’s pretty clear he and Ruff Majik aren’t disappearing forever so much as stepping back and sorting out what they feel like needs sorting. Holiday, joined in the band by bassist/sometimes-vocalist Jimmy Glass, guitarist/sometimes-vocalist Cowboy Bez and drummer Steven Bosman, recently opened a venue, Sowaar Bar, in Pretoria, and surely that’s going to eat up some of your available-otherwise-for-anything hours. And between that, life, and the state of the world, taking care of yourself can sometimes require radical action. Ruff Majik were never strangers to being rad.
I included a couple links above. I could’ve included more. Going back to their early EPs, Ruff Majik‘s brash, attitude-laced and readily transgressive desert-heavy rock undertook a special, distinctive and honest progression. Whether that’s all the way done or not — and if we’re placing bets, I’m going with “not” — if it’s done for now, that’s an ending worth marking on the way to whatever the future might bring, even if that’s nothing.
Either way, I’m really, really glad I got to see this band the one time I did. Here’s looking forward to the next one.
From social media:
2015 – ♾️
For years now I’ve been pushing through grief, exhaustion, heartbreak, sickness, and occasional self-sabotage. Now, for the sake of myself, I need to stop.
I don’t know what happens next — and I think that’s okay.
What I do know is that I want to live. I want to survive whatever this is. I want to feel, without bleeding for it.
We’ll see each other again somewhere in a dimly lit dive bar. We’ll sing together again. Until then, thank you for everything.
— Johni Holiday
Ruff Majik are:
Johni Holiday (vocals & guitar)
Cowboy Bez (guitar & vocals)
Jimmy Glass (bass)
Steven Bosman (drums)
http://www.ruffmajik.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089579216305&mibextid=ZbWKwL
http://www.instagram.com/ruffmajik
https://www.tiktok.com/@ruffmajik
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/
https://www.instagram.com/soundofliberation/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/
https://shop.soundofliberation.com/
