‘Sweet Dreams Cowboy’ by Ruben Romano | New Album, ‘The Imaginary Soundtrack to the Imaginary Western “Twenty Graves Per Mile”’

The exclusive video premiere of ‘Sweet Dreams Cowboy’ by Ruben Romano, taken from the upcoming album ‘The Imaginary Soundtrack to the Imaginary Western “Twenty Graves Per Mile”,’ is slated for release on August 9, 2024, via Desert Records.

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Ruben Romano, a pioneer in the stoner rock genre and former drummer for Fu Manchu and Nebula, is set to release his new solo album, which will be available on CD, cassette, and digital download.

This project was born from Romano’s spontaneous musical experiments during a winter hiatus. Inspired by TV series about the American frontier, he crafted songs that evoke the vastness and rugged beauty of the West. Using his extensive collection of musical and recording gear, Romano recorded the album at home and in The Freeks’ rehearsal space.

Highlights include tracks like ‘The Trail Is Long’ and ‘Sweet Dreams Cowboy'” showcasing Romano’s emotive and exploratory approach to music. Fans of stoner rock and newcomers alike can look forward to this unique auditory journey through the American West.

On today’s premiering track, Ruben Romano says: “Sometimes a bad situation creates a great result! We entered the high desert not really knowing what to film when the temperature was really high, 116° to be exact! The concept for ‘Sweet Dreams Cowboy’ happened by chance, to sweetly dream of wandering the open space of the desert, stumble upon a ghost town casino and hit the grand jackpot. An ultimate dream indeed and yes!, it really did happen! The 116° temperature really did make for deserted scenes as no one else was stupid enough to be out and exposed, so we had the outdoor places like the Indian Cove campground all to ourselves to work and walk around the rock formations. Also, We did find a tribal gaming casino way out there where my wife really did win on some free play credits. Due to her winnings, she took me up to Pappy & Harriet’s roadhouse to celebrate with a few rounds at their bar. The western town there was also almost deserted due to the heat, So the whole thing did happen while stumbling around the desert! The dream actually did come true!”

On the album making he continues: “I live in a Condominium with my wife and daughter and also two cats. I’m smack dab in the middle of the building with neighbors on both sides and also above, so volume is an issue. Acoustic guitar and a really sensitive condenser mic are my main tools. I also did a lot of direct line-in recording when it came to adding electric instruments here at my home. I’m ok with this because at the same time I’m still learning my recording process, instrument modeling is a part of that. When I have something going and it’s ready for even more, I also have a full mobile recording unit that The Freeks use at our rehearsal room. So I am able to record acoustic drums as well as loud guitar amplifiers, my latest gem is a new Fender Vibro Champ Reverb amp. Reverb and Vibrato have always been my favorite tones, Chorus is my least favorite. So I bounce from one studio to the other, transferring and importing tracks as I go along. I have already been tracking these songs with no intentions for them, just doing what I like to do, it’s a hobby. So when Covid hit me, an opportunity kind of fell into place. As I quarantined at home, I fell into a TV binge, watching different series about our Great Frontiers Men, Westward Expansion and The Oregon Trail. It all just blended in my head. They expanded west, I expanded my ideas and I got reverb to prove it. I just kept recording little tunes more and more, and my computer filled up very quickly.”

Ruben, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, lyricist, recording artist, and engineer, used his extensive knowledge and a winter hiatus to embark on solo musical experimentations, creating an imaginative soundtrack that evokes the journey across the wide open plains to the west.

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