Amber Rubarth to ride out on a Vespa

Though now living in Brooklyn, Amber Rubarth reckons she comes home to Nevada, where the singer-songwriter spent a few years wood-sculpting before exploring music, about twice a year. Friday marks one such local show two days after Earth Day, and about a week later she will depart on a short tour to promote awareness about global warming.

But it’s not too serious — she’ll be riding a Vespa scooter the whole way. 

Singer-songwriter Jason Reeves came up with the idea for a California coast tour almost a year ago, Rubarth said by phone from Seattle. 

However, the adventure was pushed back until things came together this year and The Vespa Experiment was born.

Vespa is onboard as official sponsor, and Greenpeace got involved with the educational aspects. MySpace is even providing a lot of free publicity.

The small scooters produce less green house gases than a full-size car, and instead of a tour bus or caravan with their gear, the supporting crew and equipment will ride in a lone midsize vehicle.

Rubarth said she didn’t have much experience with two-wheelers, and definitely didn’t have the needed California license.

“I’m working on it, she said with a laugh. “They give you a 70-page booklet that tells you every rule.”

She plans to get the scooter license on April 27, just in time to head out on May 2.

And that’s cutting things close in more than one way.

In addition to her solo work, Rubarth is one half of indie-pop duo The Paper Raincoat, who will finish a mini tour in support of folk-pop pianist Vienna Teng on May 1. It’s in between those shows that she’s carving out time to pop by Reno.

During the Vespa tour, which ends in San Francisco, Rubarth, Reeves and fellow indie act Brendan James will be camping out each night, visiting classrooms to do workshops and helping with projects like planting trees (oh, right -- and singing and stuff, too).

“Sometimes it’s easy to just get too involved with what you’re doing,” Rubarth said. “So, this is a concerted effort in giving back.”

Hitting up SXSW

Rubarth recently finished another adventure, attending South by South by Southwest for the first time as a showcase act.

"It was fun because you get to see a ton of music," she said. "Every half hour, there’s a ton of new bands."

MySpace Records even asked her to perform at one of their SXSW parties, and the site has treated her all right in other ways, too, as her MySpace profile recently crossed the million-view threshold. 

“I’m bad at MySpace stuff,” Rubarth said. “I wasn’t like ‘Oh, there’s 300 000 people to go!’ So I just got a bunch of messages from people one day.”

MySpace comes after the music — and the road and recording take up time.

“Basically, if I’m touring, I’m touring; if I’m not touring, I’m trying to lock myself in the studio and write and record.”

She plans to release a new album this fall, and at Friday’s show, local fans can expect to get a good mix of new tracks and older favorites.

Random

While explaining her past connections with Jason Reeves, Rubarth mentioned that he brought Colbie Caillat out from Iowa to do a West Coast show. I admitted I didn’t know who that was, and Rubarth immediately started singing “It starts in my toes / makes me crinkle my nose.” I still couldn’t quite place the song “Bubbly,” but her attempt was appreciated.

Amber Rubarth performs at 7 p.m. Friday at the Maytan Music Center. Tyler Stafford opens and admission is $8.