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Ritt Momney, the Salt Lake City based lo-fi indie-pop brainchild of 19-year-old Jack Rutter, will release its debut album, Her and All of My Friends, on July 19. Highly influenced by Rutter’s Mormon upbringing and his estrangement from the church; Her and All of My Friends is a raw, emotional collection of beautiful melodies.
Rutter grew up hearing mostly his mother’s music – the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and other classic popular artists – but he is more influenced by artists like STRFKR, Margot & The Nuclear So-and-So’s, and Earl Sweatshirt. Inspirations aside, he tries to avoid pulling too much from any one artist. “I try to be as transparent as possible in my music,” he says, “I’ve found that if I can just start making a song without any influence in mind, it usually ends up sounding more honest and original. Like it just came out of me, as opposed to being pieced together.”
Rutter spends most of his free time on his music, often re-working his songs for months on end. “There is always something to manipulate, always something I think could sound better.” This tinkering has paid off, and those who have enjoyed the early singles will find that the album expands some of Rutter’s best ideas.
Raised in a family of devout Mormons, Rutter himself appeared pretty devout as well until his senior year of high school. Two years earlier he had decided he was either agnostic or atheist, but was afraid of telling family and friends as he had heard Mormons talk about others who had “fallen away.” Halfway through his senior year, despite his skepticism, he was planning on serving a two year mission for the church. He felt the mission work would be easier than dealing with the social backlash that comes with staying home. The backlash itself, he says, “is not malicious” and manifests itself “mostly in forms of passive-aggression and condescension.” But telling his family was the more daunting prospect: they’d be spending a literal eternity in the celestial kingdom (highest form of heaven) without their son. “I was sure my entire community, including my family, would look at me the same way I’d looked at people who’d left the church when I was younger — ‘that’s so sad’ and ‘I pray for him every night’ and ‘we really need to get her back to church’ were phrases I’d heard and spoken often.”
When he got to college and made some non-Mormon friends (most of his high school friends had gone on missions upon graduating from high school), things started to open up. “I realized that I didn’t have to feel guilty for ‘falling away’ and I began noticing some of the very toxic aspects of the church’s culture — specifically its emphasis on the ‘one true church’ idea and how that perpetuates pride, judgement, and the trapped, guilty feeling that had largely defined my life since sophomore year of high school.” The song “(If) The Book Doesn’t Sell” deals with these thoughts head on.
He doesn’t think the church is evil, adding, “I’ve seen the Mormon church and religion generally bring lots of joy into peoples’ lives and I’m not here to tell them their beliefs are wrong. There was a time when I simply didn’t understand how people could believe in these seemingly ridiculous notions, and I thought that I must just be smarter than them for having realized ‘the truth’. I’ve since realized this ignorant and prideful judgement is exactly the type that caused my own depression and anxiety when I stopped believing. Now, I’m completely comfortable with the idea that I know no better than they do what’s out there.”
Her and All of My Friends, a collection of songs Rutter has been writing and producing since graduating high school in 2017, explores the emotional toil of growing up and moving on (or, rather, the inability to do so). “The summer after graduation, about 90% of my friends left on missions and my girlfriend went off to college. This sense of loss and loneliness, coupled with the religion stuff I was grappling with at the time, caused for a really, really hard year and a half or so. I was really depressed, but I was really thinking a lot. And I like to think of this album as a collection of those thoughts.”
INTRODUCING RITT MOMNEY
YOUR NEW FAVORITE LO-FI INDIE POP ARTIST
AS HE SHARES A NEW TRACK
“ON LOVE (AN ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE TO ALMITRA’S REQUEST)”
(Photo Credit: James Kowalski)
LISTEN TO “ON LOVE (AN ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE TO ALMITRA’S REQUEST)” HERE
(June 7, 2019) – Ritt Momney (yes, you read that right) is the Salt Lake City lo-fi indie-pop brainchild of 19-year-old Jack Rutter. Today, he releases his brand new lead single, “On Love (An Alternative Response To Almitra’s Request).” The title is a nod to Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” a book consisting of 26 prose poetry fables. Rutter traces a lot of parallels between this book in his upcoming debut album, Her and All of My Friends, out July 19th.
“I wrote ‘On Love’ like a year and a half ago, when I was still pretty broken up about my ex. It’s really just a review of everything I learned about love as I was going through that.” – Jack Rutter
Raised in a family of devout Mormons, Rutter himself appeared pretty devout as well until his senior year of high school. Two years earlier he had decided he was either agnostic or atheist, but was afraid of telling family and friends as he had heard Mormons talk about others who had “fallen away.” Halfway through his senior year, despite his skepticism, he was planning on serving a two-year mission for the church. He felt the mission work would be easier than dealing with the social backlash that comes with staying home. The backlash itself, he says, “is not malicious” and manifests itself “mostly in forms of passive-aggression and condescension.” But telling his family was the more daunting prospect: they’d be spending a literal eternity in the celestial kingdom (highest form of heaven) without their son. “I was sure my entire community, including my family, would look at me the same way I’d looked at people who’d left the church when I was younger – ‘that’s so sad’ and ‘I pray for him every night’ and ‘we really need to get her back to church’ were phrases I’d heard and spoken often,” says Rutter.
For more information, please visit https://rittmom.com/.
Her and All of My Friends
Track Listing:
1. HAAOMFI
2. Lew’s Lullaby
3. Command V
4. On Love (An Alternative Response to Almitra’s Request)
5. Surely, You’d Burn the Same
6. Phoebe
7. HAAOMFII
8. Pollution / Disclaimer
9. Paper News
10. Something, In General
11. Wormwood
12. (If) The Book Doesn’t Sell
13. HAAOMFIII
TOUR DATES:
Mon Jun 24 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
Mon Jul 1 — Denver, CO — Larimer Lounge
Wed Jul 3 — Springfield, MO — Front of House Lounge
Sat Jul 6 — Chicago, IL — Schubas Tavern
Fri Jul 19 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
Sat Jul 20 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
Fri Aug 2 — San Diego, CA — House of Blues
Sat Aug 3 — Los Angeles, CA — The Roxy Theatre
Sun Aug 4 — San Francisco, CA — Slim’s
Tue Aug 6 — Seattle, WA — The Crocodile Back Bar
Wed Aug 7 — Portland, OR — Lola’s Room
RITT MOMNEY ONLINE:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
###
RITT MOMNEY
LO-FI BEDROOM ARTIST
SHARES HIS STUNNING SECOND SINGLE
“(IF) THE BOOK DOESN’T SELL”
UPCOMING ALBUM RELEASE SHOWS SOLD OUT IN SALT LAKE CITY 7/19-20
(Photo Credit: James Kowalski)
LISTEN TO “(IF) THE BOOK DOESN’T SELL”:
https://soundcloud.com/ritt-
“Rutter’s lyrics are poignant, clever, and reflective, and once you realize just how good they are it almost makes sense that they’re accompanied by such simple instrumentation”
(June 28, 2019) – Today, Ritt Momney, rising lo-fi bedroom artist, releases his stunning second single, “(If) the Book Doesn’t Sell,” since the announcement of his new album, Her and All of My Friends. The new track is a narrative that dives deep into the personal history and relationship Jack Rutter, aka Ritt Momney, has with his Mormon upbringing after he stopped believing and left the church. “It’s a call for everyone out there who thinks they have ‘the truth’ to sit down and let me find my own,” shares Rutter. Listen to “(If) the Book Doesn’t Sell” here.
“I saw this song sort of as an ’emptying out’ of everything I really wanted to say to my family and the rest of the people who had known me up to this.”
Raised in a family of devout Mormons, Rutter himself appeared pretty devout as well until his senior year of high school. Two years earlier he had decided he was either agnostic or atheist, but was afraid of telling family and friends as he had heard Mormons talk about others who had “fallen away.” Halfway through his senior year, despite his skepticism, he was planning on serving a two-year mission for the church. He felt the mission work would be easier than dealing with the social backlash that comes with staying home. The backlash itself, he says, “is not malicious” and manifests itself “mostly in forms of passive-aggression and condescension.” But telling his family was the more daunting prospect: they’d be spending a literal eternity in the celestial kingdom (highest form of heaven) without their son. “I was sure my entire community, including my family, would look at me the same way I’d looked at people who’d left the church when I was younger – ‘that’s so sad’ and ‘I pray for him every night’ and ‘we really need to get her back to church’ were phrases I’d heard and spoken often,” says Rutter.
For more information, please visit https://rittmom.com/.
Her and All of My Friends
Track Listing:
1. I
2. Lew’s Lullaby
3. Command V
4. On Love (An Alternative Response to Almitra’s Request)
5. Surely, You’d Burn the Same
6. Phoebe
7. II
8. Pollution / Disclaimer
9. Paper News
10. Something, In General
11. Wormwood
12. (If) the Book Doesn’t Sell
13. III
TOUR DATES:
Mon Jul 1 — Denver, CO — Larimer Lounge
Wed Jul 3 — Springfield, MO — Front of House Lounge
Sat Jul 6 — Chicago, IL — Schubas Taverm
Fri Jul 19 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
Sat Jul 20 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
Fri Aug 2 — San Diego, CA — House of Blues
Sat Aug 3 — Los Angeles, CA — The Roxy Theatre
Sun Aug 4 — San Francisco, CA — Slim’s
Tue Aug 6 — Seattle, WA — The Crocodile Back Bar
Wed Aug 7 — Portland, OR — Lola’s Room
RITT MOMNEY
LO-FI BEDROOM ARTIST
RELEASES LONG-AWAITED DEBUT ALBUM,
HER AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS
FALL 2019 TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
LISTEN TO HER AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS
LISTEN TO RECENT SINGLE, “(IF) THE BOOK DOESN’T SELL”
“A Poetic fever dream.”
“Up-and-coming indie rock extraordinaire.”
“Impressive.”
“Rutter’s lyrics are poignant, clever, and reflective, and once you realize just how good they are it almost makes sense that they’re accompanied by such simple instrumentation”
(July 19, 2019) – Today, Ritt Momney, the rising lo-fi bedroom artist from Salt Lake City, releases his long-awaited, stunning debut album, Her and All of My Friends. This record is highly influenced by Jack Rutter’s (aka Ritt Momney’s) Mormon upbringing and estrangement from the church; Her and All of My Friends is a raw, emotional collection of beautiful melodies.
LISTEN TO HER AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS
Rutter’s first single from HAAOMF, “On Love (An Alternative Response To Almitra’s Request),”‘s title is a nod to Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, a book consisting of 26 prose poetry fables. Rutter traces a lot of parallels between this book and HAAOMF. The second single from HAAOMF, “(If) the Book Doesn’t Sell,” is a narrative that dives deep into the personal history and relationship Rutter has with his Mormon upbringing after he stopped believing and left the church, a reoccurring theme mentioned throughout the album. “It’s a call for everyone out there who thinks they have ‘the truth’ to sit down and let me find my own,” shares Rutter. “I realized that I didn’t have to feel guilty for ‘falling away’ and I began noticing some of the very toxic aspects of the church’s culture – specifically its emphasis on the ‘one true church’ idea and how that perpetuates pride, judgment, and the trapped, guilty feeling that had largely defined my life since sophomore year of high school.”
Her and All of My Friends is a collection of songs Rutter began writing and producing after graduating high school in 2017. He explores the emotional toil of growing up and moving on (or, rather, the inability to do so). “The summer after graduation, about 90% of my friends left on missions and my girlfriend went off to college. This sense of loss and loneliness, coupled with the religion stuff I was grappling with at the time, caused for a really, really hard year and a half or so. I was really depressed, but I was really thinking a lot. And I like to think of this album as a collection of those thoughts.”
For more information, please visit https://rittmom.com/.
Her and All of My Friends
Track Listing:
TOUR DATES:
Jul 19 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court – SOLD OUT
Jul 20 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court – SOLD OUT
Aug 2 — San Diego, CA — House of Blues
Aug 3 — Los Angeles, CA — The Roxy Theatre
Aug 4 — San Francisco, CA — Slim’s
Aug 6 — Seattle, WA — The Crocodile Back Bar
Aug 7 — Portland, OR — MCMENAMINS ROOM
Sep 8 — Denver, CO — Lost Lake
Sep 9 — Wichita, KS — Kirby’s Beer Store
Sep 10 — Austin, TX — Cheer Up Charles
Sep 11 — San Antonio, TX — Limelight
Sep 12 — Houston, TX — Axelrad
Sep 13 — Dallas, TX — Ruin’s
Sep 14 — Hot Springs, AR — Maxine’s
Sep 15 — Atlanta, GA — Mothers
Sep 16 — Charlotte, NC — Evening Muse
Sep 18 — Washington D.C. — Songbyrd
Sep 19 — Philadelphia, PA — Everybody Hits
Sep 20 — New York City, NY — Elsewhere (Zone One)
Sep 22 — Somerville, MA — Once Ballroom
Sep 23 — Cleveland, OH — Beachland Tavern
Sep 26 — Madison, WI — The Winnebago
Sep 27 — Milwaukee, WI — Boone & Crockett
Sep 28 — Bloomington, IL — Nightshop
Sep 30 — Sioux City, IA — Whiskey Dick’s
Oct 1 — Des Moines, IA — Vaudeville News
Oct 2 — Iowa City, IA — Yacht Club
Oct 3 — St. Louis, MO — Rubar
RITT MOMNEY ONLINE:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
BIO:
Raised in a family of devout Mormons, Jack Rutter (aka Ritt Momney) appeared pretty devout also until his senior year of high school. Two years earlier he had decided he was either agnostic or atheist, but was afraid of telling family and friends, as he had heard Mormons talk about others who had “fallen away.” Halfway through his senior year, despite his skepticism, he was planning on serving a two-year mission for the church. He felt the mission work would be easier than dealing with the social backlash that comes with staying home. The backlash itself, he says, “is not malicious and manifests itself mostly in forms of passive-aggression and condescension.” But telling his family was the more daunting prospect–they’d be spending a literal eternity in the celestial kingdom (highest form of heaven) without their son. “I was sure my entire community, including my family, would look at me the same way I’d looked at people who’d left the church when I was younger – ‘that’s so sad’ and ‘I pray for him every night’ and ‘we really need to get her back to church’ were phrases I’d heard and spoken often,” says Rutter.
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