Current Members Of My Ruin:
Tairrie B: Vocals
Meghan Mattox: Bass
Mick Murphy: Guitar
Yael: Drums
Ex-Members Of My Ruin: Ex-Bassist: Kenny Lowry (Recently left)
Ex-Guitarist: Melanie Makaiwi
Ex-Guitarist: Lance Webber
Ex-Drummer: Marcelo Palomino
Ex-Keyboards/Samples: Todd Osenbaugh
Hired Musician: Robin Diaz
Hired Musician: Chris Hamilton
MY RUIN HISTORY: FORMED in 1999 out of the ashes of TURA SATANA, MY RUIN were at first Miss Tairrie B's motley crew of musicians which included Melanie Makaiwi, Meghan Mattox and Lance Webber, expressing her desire to make it alone. A collaboration of minds and different styles, the album SPEAK AND DESTROY was full of angst, emotional conflict and heartache bleeding from fresh wounds.
Miss B has always been prepared to speak her mind on important issues such as rape and women's rights. Her views and opinions have made her the target of many sexist comments and abuse from the media and religious outfits alike. However, all her work is personal to her, she's not hurting anyone and many of her fans see her as a strong female role model who is not afraid to speak up and say HERE I AM IN ALL MY HONESTY AND TRUTH. She has inspired women and men the world over into being stronger, wiser and prettier than they only wished they could have been. AND HER BAND ROCKS TOO!!!!
The UK tour was a sucess, leaving fans wanting more. Terror was the on single, blasphemous girl, the motto.
Then came a line up change in 2000 - new guitarist Mick Murphy, new drummer, Yael, and meghan on bass completed the line up. The ever outspoken Miss B put more focus on the band as a whole and rehearsals made their unity strong. The album A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE...OF VIOLENT ANGUISH was released.
A highly successful UK tour later, and the band are preparing for a live/studio album for release only in the UK where so many of their fans are based. After this they hope to switch US Labels and get recognition in their home country too! Check the news section for more info and updates.
MORE MY RUIN HISTORY: My Ruin was formed by Tairrie B after Tura Satana split up. She wanted to do her own music and that's probably why she uses different musicans. The single 'Tainted Love' was the first single that was released by the band. They also have a song called 'Sick with it' on the soundtrack to '8mm'. The album Speak and Destroy was released in september 1999. Speak and Destroy will be released in late august 2000 in america on the record label Spitfire Records. The track list is a bit different with one live track ("preacher"), one remix ("tainted love", both instead of the regular versions) and two new songs (instead of "monster" and "bright red scream").
The new album is called A prayer under pressure... of violent anguish and will be released in september in europe on Snapper music (the same label as the last album). It's a bit different from "speak and destroy" since the mucisians are different. It's a bit more heavy than "speak..". The band also did their own tribute song for Lynn Strait (from Snot) called "rockstar", it was supposed to be on the album "strait up" but by some reason it's not.
In february 2001 My Ruin released an live album called to britain with love...and bruises. It was recorded live in a studio just before the tour of britain started in late 2000.
In late 2001 Meghan Mattox left the band and was replaced by Kenny Lowry. You can read what the rest of the band had to say about it here.
SPEAK & DESTROY IN TAIRRIE'S WORDS: About 11 years ago I used to be a Rap artist. I went by the name of TAIRRIE B (one of the reasons I have chosen to use the name MY RUIN for this album is that I feel it is just a little more fitting).
I recorded my first album on EAZY E's RUTHLESS/COMPTOWN label through MCA, titled 'THE POWER OF A WOMAN'. I have worked with everyone from NWA, EVERLAST and SCHOOLY D to SALT & PEPA. Upon finishing my second rap album (which was unreleased due to me forming the band MANHOLE) I was told that I could never cross over or make a RAP/METAL album so I might as well not even think about it.
Well, I thought about it and decided it was time for me to start talking about things that really mattered and affected me on a daily basis. MANHOLE was born, and with the production help of Ross Robinson (KORN/LIMP BIZKIT, etc) we gave birth to what I still consider to be my first real record 'ALL IS NOT WELL' which was released on the Independent Noise label. This record addressed social and political issues such as RAPE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXISM and RACISM (all the topics I was told as a rapper not to go near).
Some critics found my lyrics and attitude controversial, and because I delivered my message in such an angry and violent manner I think it made a few people uncomfortable, but that was the point. With the vocals done in a rap style and the music being heavy, intense, hardcore metal we got the obvious comparisons to bands like DOWNSET, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and of course BODY COUNT.
During the making of our second album the band was forced to change its name due to circumstances beyond our control (and some shit band from Texas!). Our label was forced to change its name to F.A.D. and all Manhole CD's were pulled from stores and reissued with a new cover, 5 live songs and a new name. Hot on the heels of our 2nd record.
So came TURA SATANA and 'RELIEF THROUGH RELEASE', recorded with production help from Michael Vail Blum. However, while this record had many of the same elements as our first record it was obvious we had grown both musically as well as lyrically, which helped us in creating our own unique sound, vibe and persona.
'RELIEF...' took its listeners on a tour of DANTE'S INFERNO with its focus being the three stages of hell within the various relationships being described. Whether the subject matter was inner band turmoil, mother/daughter or male/female relationships, the lyrics were always written in the first person sense, unlike 'ALL IS NOT WELL' which was sometimes told in the third person style.
'RELIEF...' became extremely personal for me and it was sometimes difficult to perform many of the songs live. I've always believed in both GOD and THE DEVIL, and that without a HELL there could be no HEAVEN. These are my own beliefs and they seem to be the common thread which bonds all of the records I have made together in some way.
After five years I felt it was time to leave my band. It was like breaking up with someone. Three someones. We toured the world four times together, twice as openers and twice as headliners. We played festivals, some to up to 120,000 people and we managed to develop a strong fan base all over the world. This was despite little to no help from our supposed record company, but is attributable to our own hard work and the bands we were privileged to tour with such as BIOHAZARD, FEAR FACTORY, TYPE O NEGATIVE, PITCHSHIFTER... the list goes on.
We created such a huge buzz for a band on an indie label that after all the hype, rumours (good and bad) and constant DRAMA surrounding myself and the band we found a place for ourselves that I know in my heart I can return to with my new project and feel good about myself and what I'm doing again.
My record SPEAK AND DESTROY is the next step in my career, my natural progression; I've worked with exciting and creative musicians who have helped me write a record which has no boundaries and no apologies. The music sets the tone for the words and the journey is the destination. This record is being released in Europe first where my following as an artist has always been strongest and where both the press and fans have always given me so much true support.
I hope you listen to my album with an open mind, an open heart and without bullshit preconceived notions of what the fuck I was supposed to have done and didn't do. Because whether I am singing, screaming or SPEAKING I'm doing exactly what I want to do and I did it my way. It's MY RUIN."
TAIRRIE B., Los Angeles, April 1999.
A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE... OF VIOLENT ANGUISH IN TAIRRIE'S WORDS: "CHANGE CHALLENGES WHO YOU ARE AND TESTS YOUR CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF" someone once said. This album started with a simple prayer and ended with what I hold in my hands now. Making a record is always somewhat religious experience for me in one way or another. Anyone can be beautiful, boring and ordinary. I enjoy what I do because it's ugly, painful and brutal. It is also real for me. My inspiration usually comes from what is going on in my head at the time. It doesn't necessarily always come from what is taking place in my life but what has taken place. I decided to call the album…"A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE…OF VIOLENT ANGUISH" for many reasons. I think if you dig deep enough as a listener then you can find the many meanings behind the title and define it for yourself. . "MY RUIN" started as just a name to call my solo project after leaving my band "TURA SATANA". Last year I released "SPEAK & DESTROY" in Europe and put together a touring band which consisted of my former drummer MARCELO PALOMINO, LANCE WEBBER and TODDY along with MELANIE MAKAIWI and MEGHAN MATTOX, who were the first women I'd ever played with". The past few months had been kind of strange. I did not have a label in the states until just recently. Coincidentally my label in the UK wanted me to record a new record. I came to realise that I still like the feeling of being part of a band and not a solo artist with whatever musician available to back me live and on record. For "MELANIE" and I a lot of things changed. I truly believe that you can never move forward by standing in the same place and besides it's always exciting to reinvent yourself. I think that working with "MELANIE" helped to open up my mind in many ways. She is a very unique and creative guitarist who brought a totally different element to the project besides what I was used to. I felt the same way about having worked with "BUSHAQ", but the truth was and has always been that I love heavier music. Although I liked recording songs like "TERROR" and "JUNE 10th", they were not really the songs I wanted to play live. As an artists you have the right to try something different once in a while, even if it's just to remind you to stick to what you do best.
"SPEAK & DESTROY" was a sort of combination of things. That was what I liked about it and also what I didn't like. Overall it was very experimental but the problem was I should have recorded it all in the same studio with one producer so it would have sounded like a more cohesive album. A few months ago I met "MICK MURPHY", former guitarist and lead singer for a band called "MOVEMENT". We clicked immediately. Mick reminded me of something I often forget which is ...""YOU DON''T HAVE TO BE A SINGER TO SING". I've always referred to myself as a vocalist because I don't consider what I do as singing. I decided I wanted to work with Mick as a guitarist and writer for the simple reason that he rocks and in my opinion writes music that not only compliments my voice but also intensifies it. Mick not only played guitar but also created the music on the new album, which gave it the heaviness that sets it apart from my previous incarnations., His sound has a very southern feel to it (for obvious reasons…he's originally from TENNESSEE) and he completely understood my vocal style and ideas immediately. Soon Mick introduced me to his friend and former band member - "NICK RASKULINECZ" who had recently produced bands like GOATSNAKE & SUPERDRAG and who at that time was in the studio engineering the new "MARILYN MANSON" album. The funny things was, he had recorded the music for "BLASPHEMOUS GIRL & DIAVOLINA" which "ARES & CHRIS HAMILTON" of the band "DOWNSET" and written and played on for me off my last record. At that time he was engineering the soon to be released "DOWNSET" record but we had never actually met. Nick finally heard "SPEAK & DESTROY" and we discussed the idea of working together on the next record, which took place sooner than expected. We agreed that it needed to sound more like the heavier side of the last album and more like a band effort. We asked Meghan (who had played bass with me on tour) to be a part of writing and recording the new songs because unlike many other female musicians in the scene today Meghan is more than an image holding an instrument. She is a truly talented player who just happens to be "FEMALE"! Along the way we ended up writing with a couple of guitar players/friends "OMAR DOOM and LISA LEVERIDGE" and soon Mick was 4 tracking and putting together all the material including programming the drum patterns. When it came time we then asked our friend "CHRIS HAMILTON" of "DOWNSET" to record them with us in the studio. We decided to track and mix the album at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood beacuase it had an interesting sound and an interesting old school '70's vibe. The truth is no one really wanted to make a digital pro-tooled record. "A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE…OF VIOLENT ANGUISH" is 14 songs strong with two short spoken words segments, which appear at both the beginning and end of the album. "SELECTED PRAYERS" include "BEAUTY FIEND, STICK IT TO ME, LETTER TO THE EDITOR and POST NOISE REVELATION" which confront topics head on and "STRAIGHT UP"…speaking of which, we have recorded our own tribute song called "ROCKSTAR" (dedicated to the late "LYNN STRAIT" of the band "SNOT") there are tracks which deal with my own LOVE/HATE dichotomy of "RELIGION" and "RELATIONSHIPS" such as "HEARTSICK, SANCTUARY, HEMORRHAGE, LET IT RAIN and MASOCHRIST (which will be released on the single only)". It also boasts a long overdue duet featuring "JESSICKA" from "JACK OFF JILL" appropriately titled "MISS ANN THROPE" as well as covers of "DO YOU LOVE ME?" by "NICK CAVE" and the classic "BLACK FLAG" song "MY WAR" (which features Mick on duet vocals). We decide on these particular songs to cover because they were very inspirational to us while writing the album. Although "CHRIS" recorded with us, he will not be touring the record "MICK, MEGHAN and MYSELF" would like "MY RUIN" to be looked upon as a band from their point forward and are currently rehearsing with a drummer to be announced at a later date. "A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE…" is definitely the antithesis to what is being force-fed down the throats of the MTV/TRL record buying youth. Embracing and exorcising personal demons goes hand in hand with the always-present religious imagery. The major difference between this record and the last is the dynamically intense depth of the music and the vocals, better musicianship and top-notch production and this time nothing was compromised.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...I want to address a statement which was made to me during our listening party by a journalist I really respect upon hearing the new record for the first time. He said "I THOUGHT WE'VE GROWN PAT THE ANGRY THING?" Well on that note: "IF IT SCARES YOU TO SEE A WOMAN WHO ISN'T SUBMISSIVE TO THE MALE DOMINTED ROCK CULTURE STEREOTYPE BUT INSTEAD STANDS STRONG ON HER PRINICIPALS AND IS NOT AFRAID TO OPEN HER MOUTH ONCE IN A WHILE TO VOICE HER OWN OPINIONS, THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM NOT MINE. UNDOUBTABLY THIS CONCEPT IS HARD FOR SOME PEOPLE TO CONTEMPLATE IN A WORLD OF LIFELESS LYRICAL CONTENT AND PRE MEDITATED MUSIC WHICH CONTINUES TO INFILTRATE IMPRESSIONABLE YOUTH I TRY MY BEST TO CONFRONT THE COMMENTS HEAD ON BY SAYING IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT MOST BANDS USUALLY HAVE A TEAM OF PEOPLE WORKING WITH THEM TO CREATE AN IMAGE THAT IS WHATEVER IT NEEDS TO BE IN ORDER TO SELL RECORDS AND GENERATE PRESS. DELIVERING CONTROVERSY, QUOTES AND POUTS ARE ALL AN EDITORS WET DREAM BUT THE MINUTE YOU DEFEND YOURSELF IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION YOU ARE LABELLED HARD TO WORK A OF COARSE A BITCH! THERE IS ALWAYS A DOUBLE STANDARD WHEN IT COMES TO FRONT MEN WHO VOICE OPINIONS...THEY ARE ALLOWED TO WITHOUT A FOLLOW UP INSULTING LABEL ATTACHED. I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR WHO I AM. WHILE CORPORATE AMERICA KEEPS PROMOTING THE FAKE COPYCAT IMAGING PROCESS OF PRE-CONCEIVED, NON TALENTED DESPERATELY SEEKING SUBSTANCE, DO ANYTHING TO BECOME ROCKSTARS, COSMETICALLY CRAFTED AND HYPED UP, PLAYED OUT BULLSHIT I OFFER YOU SOMETHING TO SEDUCE AND ABUSE YOUR HEART. SOMETHING TO GIVE YOUR MIND THE MUCH ANTICIPATED "FUCK" IT HAS BEEN WAITING FOR. WE AS ARITSTS SET OURSELVES UP AS TARGETS FOR IDIOTS WHO CANNOT SEE PAST THE VIDEO "GOD/DEVIL" THAT IS BETTER KNOWN AS "MTV". AS WE REMAIN HOSTAGES TO CERTAIN JOURNALISTS WHO COMMIT RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST US ON A DAILY BASIS AS WE ARE ADVISED TO SIT DOWN, SHUT UP AND PUCKER UP. I MUST ADMIT THAT ASS KISSING HAS NEVER BEEN MY GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IN FACT I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT. ONE PERSON'S OPINION IS JUST THAT. THE INFERNAL MACHINE THAT DICTATES WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE PLAYED ON THE RADIO BEGINS WITH THE FUCKERS AND ENDS WITH PURGATORY OF WHAT WE BELIEVE IN AND WHAT WE MUST COMPROMISE IN ORDER TO CONTINUE. THIS RECORDS CONTAINS CONFESSIONS, OBSESSIONS, SELF EXAMINATION AND MUSICAL GRATIFICATION. I'LL QUIT WHEN I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO GIVE. So until then….THE ANGRY AETHETIC WILL ALWAYS BE THERE WHETHER IT SLAPS YOU IN THE FACE OR KISSES YOU ON THE LIPS. BEING VULNERABLE DOES NOT MEAN YOU CANNOT BE ANGRY. HUNGER EQUALS PASSION AND HONESTY IS THE HOLIEST DISEASE .