Vic Ruggiero

Victor "Vic" Ruggiero
Background information
Birth name	Victor Ruggiero
Also known as	Bad Vic; Lord Sluggo
Origin	Bronx, New York City, New York
Genres	Reggae, Ska, Punk
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Hellcat Records, Special Potatoe Records, Do Tell Records, Moon Ska Records
Associated acts	The Slackers Stubborn All-Stars SKAndalous All Stars Crazy Baldhead Rancid
Website	Official Site
Notable instruments
Organ, Piano, Bass, Banjo, Guitar, Harmonica, Theremin & Percussion

Victor "Vic" Ruggiero, (also known as Bad Vic,Ruggarroo or Lord Sluggo) is a musician, songwriter and producer from New York City who has played in many ska bands, such as The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, SKAndalous All Stars, Crazy Baldhead and The Silencers (not to be confused with the Scottish rock band The Silencers). He has also performed with punk rock band Rancid, both live and in the studio. He has released three solo acoustic albums, and has accompanied acoustic ska musician and singer Chris Murray.

Ruggiero's voice has a distinct Bronx accent that has a hard, guttural quality. His lyrics usually follow several themes, including the apocalypse, dark humor, political distrust, paranoia, murder, love and loss. His songs have ranged from narrative ballads to nonsense songs inspired by Beat generation poets and songwriters, such as Jack Kerouac and John Lennon respectively. He is primarily an organist, although he also plays piano, bass, banjo, guitar, harmonica and percussion.

Ruggiero has also worked as the producer behind a number of releases. His own New York-based record label Special Potatoe Records is the outlet for many of these projects, especially those in which members and alumni of The Slackers are involved. His production style in these and his own projects is distinctively raw: by not erasing sounds that would traditionally be unwanted in a recording, such as doors closing or musicians cuing each other, his productions usually capture the live-band atmosphere more closely. Ruggiero has also been responsible for the production of releases from European ska artists, including Mr T Bone and The Moon Invaders.

Discography

Solo Albums

• Understanding New Jersey & Living in Sin - 2001
• Alive at the Ladybug House - 2004 (Thought•Squad)
• Mean & Nasty / Yes It's True (7" Single) (2005) (Ska In The World)
• Top Secret Bountry and Clues - 2006 (Also known as "Blues and Clues," and "Bounty and Clues".)
• Hamburguru - 2007 (Ska In The World)
• Something In My Blindspot - 2008 (Moanin' Music)
• On The Ragtime (7" EP Version) (2009) - (Silver Sprocket / Thought•Squad)
• Meatball And Sushi Party (2009) (split EP with The Zoot16 G・B Version) (Ska In The World)
• On The Ragtime (LP Version) (2009) - (Silver Sprocket / Thought•Squad)
• Songs For Clandestine Lovers (2009) (Ska In The World)
• The New Dark Ages - 2009 (split EP with Kepi Ghoulie) (Asian Man Records)
• Don't Feed The Cats In Iraq (collaboration with Phil Nerges) (2010) (Asian Man Records)
• Vic & Friends, Volume 1 - 2010 (Whatevski Records digital release)
• Vic Ruggiero & Maddie Ruthless / The Forthrights - Ska is Dead Club 7" ([Asbestos Records] / Underground Communique)

With The Slackers

• The Slackers — 1993
• Better Late Than Never — 1996
• Redlight — 1997
• The Question — 1998
• Before There Were Slackers There Were... (The Nods) - 1999
• Live at Ernesto's [Live] — 2000
• Wasted Days — 2001
• The Slackers and Friends — 2002
• Close My Eyes — 2003
• International War Criminal [EP] — 2004
• Upsettin' Ernesto's [Live] — 2004
• The Slackers/Pulley Split — 2004
• An Afternoon in Dub — 2005
• Slack in Japan [Live] — 2005
• Peculiar — 2006
• The Boss Harmony Sessions - 2007
• Self Medication - 2008
• Lost and Found - 2009
• The Great Rocksteady Swindle - 2010
• The Radio - 2011

With Chris Murray & The Slackers

• Slackness - 2005

With the SKAndalous All-Stars

• Hit Me - 1997
• Punk Steady - 1998
• Age of Insects - 1999

With the Stubborn All-Stars

• Open Season - 1995
• Back With a New Batch - 1997
• Nex Music - 1999
• At Version City - 1999

With Tremoflex9000

• Tremoflex9000 EP (Black Rhombus)
• America For Sale

Appears on

With Rancid

• Life Won't Wait - 1998

Writing credits for tracks 5, 8 and 18

Hammond B3 Organ on tracks 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 18 and 21

Piano on tracks 5, 9, 12, 14, 18 and 21

Percussion on tracks 5 and 18

Guitar on track 12

• Indestructible - 2003

Keyboards

• Let the Dominoes Fall -2009

Keyboards

With The Transplants

• Transplants - 2002

Hammond B3 Organ on tracks 2, 6, and 7

Hammond B3 Organ/Piano on tracks 9, 10, and 12

• Haunted Cities - 2005

Wurlitzer, Farfisa on track 6

With Pink

• Try This - 2003

keyboards

With P.O. Box

• InBetweenTheLines - 2009

Keyboards and Additional Guitars on track 7:Skinocracy

External links

• Vic Ruggiero's website
• Interview with Ruggiero from Tastes Like Chicken (2003)
• Interview with Ruggiero from In Music We Trust (1998)
• Interview with Ruggiero from Ska Blah Blah (2007)