Breeder-Fronted R. Ring Explains SXSW Gig Busted by ‘The Law’

R. Ring may be a relatively new band, but the duo of Mike Montgomery and Kelley Deal are no strangers to the music scene. Montgomery has played in the Cincinnati-based band Ampline for ten years, and Deal is guitarist for alt-rock mainstays the Breeders and the twin sister of Breeders frontwoman/Pixies bassist Kim Deal. R. Ring made their SXSW debut last week -- and had the police pull the plug at one of their shows in the most non-punk rock way ever.

Deal and Montgomery were sharing their experiences at the Austin, Texas, festival with The Wild Card when they were asked about their favorite moment at the festival. The group revealed they were shut down at an impromptu gig, even though it was basically a knitting gathering.

"We rolled into town ... and went to place called Hill Country Weavers and they invited us to come do some knitting and play some music," explains Deal, a knitting enthusiast. "We were playing this really docile music at a knitting store and there were chairs in the driveway with people knitting, and our friend Jerry DeCicca, from the Black Swans, brought his balloon animal stuff and was making animals for people. Then the law rolls up and shuts us down. It was a funny scene. It was like the law rolled in and blew the candles out on a three-year-old's birthday cake."

R. Ring were formed when Deal and Montgomery met at his Candyland Recording Studio through mutual friends in the band Buffalo Killers. Montgomery was scheduled to play a show and invited Deal to collaborate with him, according to an interview with MetroMix Cincinnati.

"He was invited to play a CD release for a band at [the Newport, Ky.-based] Southgate [House] and asked if I wanted to do it with him. It was kind of like a what-would-we-do kind of thing, and he had sent me a couple of songs. Kim is real busy doing stuff with the Pixies, so rather than waiting around for Breeders stuff to transpire, this has been really good for me to sit down and practice stuff, write new songs, and kind of stay busy doing stuff.

R. Ring don't have much in the way of recorded material just yet, but they did cover the DEVO tune 'Mr. DNA' for the 2012 re-edit of the classic skateboard video, 'Destroy Everything Now,' a clip of which can be seen below. They will play with Low in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 18, and the Nelsonville Music Festival in Nelsonville, Ohio, on May 18-19.

Watch a Segment of 'Destroy Everything Now' Featuring R. Ring's Devo Cover: