ROCKET’s Interview With MY RUIN

I have been a diehard metalhead since first seeing Iron Maiden’s “Number Of The Beast” tour here in Los Angeles at just twelve years old. Since this legendary performance, I have seen the baddest, meanest, most intense and furious music acts ranging from Slayer to SuperJoint Ritual.

I have to admit that I would be the first one to trash My Ruin if they weren’t as masterful in the art of true heavy music as they are. Tairrie B on vocals has always possessed a Mae West “Fuck me? Fuck you!” swagger since her early days with Manhole and Tura Satana and has gone head up with anyone that dared to disrespect her or My Ruin’s music. Let’s face it, she has over the years slowly become one of the most important female vocalists in Rock ‘n’ Roll history and My Ruin has grown to be a band that’s darkly passionate, highly outspoken and thoroughly unrelenting in their live stage performance. Their latest album “The Brutal Language” is a major thrill-ride in distorted doom riffs and howling death cries. I consider it an absolute honor to have nailed this interview down with My Ruin’s lead singer, Tairrie B, lead guitarist, Mick Murphy, bassist, Chris Lisee and drummer, Matt Lechevalier .

Rocket: What do you think is the biggest misconception about My Ruin?

Mick: That Tairrie is a nightmare and difficult to work with. I have worked with her for 6 years and while she can have her moments like most people can who are in a band whether male or female, she works very hard and is very serious when it comes to this band both on a business and artistic level. She expects a lot from people she works with because she gives a lot. When people are slacking she lets them know and either they get it together or they’ve got to go. We work well together because I understand her and vice versa. I am the musical director and she respects what I bring to the band. She is the creative director and I respect her vision and share it.

Tairrie: That we have gone through tons of line up changes and labels. Not really. Compared to most bands we know, we don’t even come close. Being in a band is like any business, sometimes people just don’t work out for one reason or another and it’s not always a nice goodbye. I also think that people who have heard tracks from the first My Ruin album “Speak & Destroy” tend to think that is what we sound like now. The fact is, that album was a solo album. A transitional experimental recording in a way, which took me from my last band to where I am today. My Ruin are in no way a “Gothic” band and whenever we hear this terminology used in describing us, it kinda freaks us out. No one was or is a Cure fan….hahaha. The Birthday Party & Nick Cave, yes but I think it’s funny and also sort of sad that people immediately assume that dark lyrical content equals goth. I think I have been accidentally put into various genres over the years sometimes based on the way I look rather than the music I play. We all have our personal musical influences and they are diverse and inspire what we all bring to the band. Especially Mick & I as far as the songwriting and recording on the new album.

Chris: I agree with what both Mick and Tairrie said. Before I joined the band I was aware of many of the “misconceptions”, and now having been a part of it for the past year I have a first-person view of the “realities”. I know that the people that are into the band for the right reasons will do the research and homework and understand what it’s all about. Other people are going to think and say and believe whatever they want regardless of the facts, and I think that’s where the “misconceptions” start.

Rocket: The new album “The Brutal Language” is released on your own label Rovena Recordings. Why?

Mick: Bayside Distribution offered us an imprint and we went for it.

Tairrie: The offer came to us and it felt like a good decision. We are very happy with the choice we made. Who knows what the future will bring. Right now, this is where we are. We are on a label called Undergroove in the UK/Europe via our label.

Rocket: What exactly were you trying to achieve this time out with your music? Tell us something about the new album that people may or may not know.

Tairrie: Mick played all the instruments and produced it. He’s not much for bragging about his playing but he really has a lot to brag about with what he just accomplished. It was strange when our rhythm section quit while making our album but it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us.It was time to clean house and the trash decided to take itself out this time. Saved us the trouble in the long run I guess. It was no secret, none of us were happy. Mick made the decision to rerecord all the tracks our former members had laid and when he did, the record came to life for us in a way we never expected. We came to life with it.

Mick: “The Brutal Language” has more of a rock vibe, more guitar solos, a deeper sound, different new vocal styles, metaphorical

lyrics, less flash/ more backbeat. It’s a more focused album. Every My Ruin album is different from the last and we didn’t want to make “The Horror of Beauty II”.

Read The Complete Interview Here:

http://www.metalunderground.com/interviews/details.cfm?newsid=18246