Inching toward fame

Vince Rule has played in local bands for years, but he has always been smart enough to hold down a day job to keep his family fed.

"You have to be realistic with music," said Rule, 45, as he sat in his studio behind his Grass Valley home. "Not a lot of music jobs provide insurance."

Every Saturday night, Rule lays down drum and bass lines as an oft-needed, downbeat fill-in man for countless Nevada and Placer county bands. But he has always kept alive his dream to hit it big - and now, he may be closer.

Working out of his studio, Rule wrote and recorded a series of tunes for the horror film "Simon Says," which was filmed in the North San Juan area two years ago.

His wife, Angela Rule, was a production assistant for the film. Vince thought they might use his recording, if for no other reason than they liked Angela.

According to the film's writer and director, Bill Dear, "We always played (Rule's) music, and one song kept coming back to me, but we just couldn't make it fit."

But then Dear, of Dark Moon Pictures, decided to create a different opening sequence for the film, calling it "an 8-mm bizarre flashback." Dear was sitting with his film editor when he remembered Rule's tune.

"We played it against the new opening, and it was absolutely just right," Dear said. "It gives a nostalgic, creepy air to it."

Dear is still looking for a distributor for the film starring Crispin Glover, but he is confident it will happen. Rule's tune, ironically titled "The Theme Song," now kicks it off.

"Our minds are already on the sequel," Dear said about "Simon Says," and they are keeping Rule in mind for more music.

Rule created the song on a computer using special software that can bring him multiple sounds. "It's like having an orchestra at your fingertips," Rule said.

The composer grew up in Auburn. Who influenced him? "Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles and Joe Satriani," he said. "I love all kinds of music - country, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Carlos Santana."

After getting out of the Armed Forces, Rule came back to the foothills to find "a lot of places to play music." This fulfilled his musical needs for years until he started playing with the technical side of things.

"I started out recording on cassettes, and then they came up with better equipment," Rule said. "They came out with software, and I kept upgrading it, and I've had the right friends who knew computers to help me along.

"I like it better because I've got more control," Rule said.

He uses his studio for various activities, including bringing in a talented guitarist to spice up one of his songs. Other area musicians use his studio - some record just a single instrument track, while others record much more, such as the local band Dyin' Breed, which is recording a complete CD. Rule also gives music lessons.

"I had a TV company in the Bay Area call for some stuff, and I'll be sending them a package," Rule said. "I hope my little studio stays busy.

"If the movie company wants to use me again, OK. You never know who's watching or where that next CD you give out will go."

Angela Rule, a former Nevada Union cheerleader, said, "Vinnie's modest. He's very talented and blessed. This is a big deal for us little folk from Nevada County."

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To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.



Psycho Studio Records is the name of Vince Rule's recording studio in Grass Valley. To contact him or learn more, e-mail psychostudiorecords@comcast.net or call 272-1073. His Web site at www.psychostudiorecoreds.com is still under construction.