ROCK FORMATION Blood Ruby was founded in early 2001 by Thomas Wall and Cynthia Conrad, who met in an online music forum. Thomas was looking for a singer to cover a song for his Reflection Beauty project. Cynthia was a singer and songwriter in an all-girl band, looking for an additional creative outlet. Their musical chemistry was immediately apparent, and they soon began writing songs together. Some of their earliest collaborations included the unreleased songs "So What If I Do," "Queen of Snow," and "Never Touched." Thomas and Cynthia collaborated long distance for over a year--she in New Haven, Connecticut, he in a small town outside of Chicago, Illinois. They worked on their songs via mail and email, getting together once every few months to record their creations at Thomas' home studio. IN THE ROUGH By early 2002, Thomas and Cynthia had released several of their songs on mp3.com and IUMA.com, including The Edge of the Map, Centro, The Waiting Hours, Bone Garden, The Night Tide, and Some Winters. Cynthia began her marketing campaign, building the blood-ruby.com website and contacting would-be fans. Meanwhile, Thomas moved to New Haven and began work on another batch of songs. Recordings from this period included Shan Shui, "Sky and Dryad," Underwater Place, and a cover of the Cocteau Twins' "Know Who You Are At Every Age." CUT AND POLISHED By 2003, Cynthia had parted ways with her all-girl band. Out of the ashes, Cynthia rescued Margaret Browning, who quickly became a major creative force in Blood Ruby. Margaret's influence added new dimensions to existing songs such as Babel Babel, and her contributions on new songs such as "Separate Sides" and Sleepwalk brought the band's sound to a higher level. Cynthia also began offering her own songs to the cause, including Remains of the Day, He's Lost, "Where the Rain Goes," and "Sainte Bernadette." As of this writing, the band continues to work on its first full-length CD, prereleasing select songs on their website.