For those who know nothing about Miss Tairrie B, let me start with a little history. Thirteen years ago she released a rap album on EAZY'E's, then RUTHLESS/COMPTOWN, label through MCA. The album was called "THE POWER OF A WOMAN" and at that time she went under my name...TAIRRIE B. Tairrie had a couple of videos on MTV for the singles "MURDER SHE WROTE" and "SWINGIN WIT T".
During her rap years, she worked with everyone from NWA, EVERLAST, SCHOOLLY D to SALT & PEPA. At the end of making her second rap album "THE GODMOTHER", she brought in a live rock band called SUGARTOOTH who were on Geffen at the time to record a rap metal version of "RUNNIN WITH THE DEVIL". They called it "RHYMIN WITH A DEVIL" and addressed black verses white racism within the hip-hop community head-on.
On Tairrie's second album (which was never released), she felt as though she had started to grow as a writer and wanted to talk about subjects which were much deeper to her than just the typical bragging and boasting content she had previously done. The song was very ahead of its time and it also helped her to realize that she wanted to form her own band, instead of a DJ, and write lyrics that meant something to her. Tairrie knew she had something to say and she was convinced that this was the direction she should go in.
Tairrie's label, however, felt very different. She was quickly told that the rap/metal thing would never cross over and she should just forget about it. Obviously she didn't listen. Tairrie took her tapes and left RUTHLESS RECORDS and began looking for band members. She had a great deal of love and respect for hip-hop, but as time went by, Tairrie saw and experienced things that made her change her mind. She began to feel very out of place in a world that she had admired, because instead of being judged on her ability, she constantly had to defend herself based on her race and gender.
In early 1995, Tairrie put together her first band and finally found a place for her voice. MANHOLE was born, and in 1996 with production help from ROSS ROBINSON of KORN, LIMP BIZKIT and SLIPKNOT fame, they gave birth to what Tairrie still considers to be her first real record, "ALL IS NOT WELL". The album was released on the independent label NOISE RECORDS in both the U.S. and Europe.
This record addressed social and political issues such as RAPE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXISM, ABORTION, and RACISM. These were all the topics as a rap artist she was told not to go near. Some critics found Tairrie's lyrics and attitude controversial and because she delivered her message in such an angry and violent manner. Tairrie was told that it made people feel uncomfortable. That was the whole point. With the vocals done in aggressive rap style and the music being heavy and intense hardcore metal, they got the obvious comparisons to bands like "RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, DOWNSET and even BODY COUNT.
MANHOLE toured extensively in both the U.S. and Europe, but thier label seemed to have an ongoing problem with getting the record in the stores. With help from like KERRANGE and METAL HAMMER, they began to build up what would later become a very devoted following in Europe, but in the states it was an uphill battle. MANHOLE was told to begin work on thier second album after being out on the road for quite some time. Not only was the band discouraged with the record company's lack of ability to promote them correctly, but also inner tensions within the band were straining relationships and creating a lot of stress.
After recording, and hot on the heels of thier soon to be released second album, the band was forced to change its name due to circumstances beyond thier control (a punk band of the same name from Texas had the rights to it) and the label was forced to change its name to F.A.D. All the MANHOLE CDs were pulled from the stores and reissued with a new cover and a new name.
So came "TURA SATANA", named after the supervixen that starred in the infamous RUSS MEYER cult classic "FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL!" MANHOLE co-produced their second record (which was ironically titled) "RELIEF THROUGH RELEASE" with Michael Vail Blum. While this record had many of the same elements as their first record, it was obvious that even amidst the constant turmoil, they had grown musically, which helped them in creating their own unique sound and persona.
In 1998, upon the release of "RELIEF", TURA SATANA was asked to tour in Europe as a headline act for the first time. The only problem was that their record company refused to give them any tour support whatsoever. They finally decided to make some changes and asked out longtime guitar player to leave the band due to irreconcilable differences. TURA SATANA got a new guitarist and made the decision to tour as much as they could and support their record and themselves in Europe, where they could stand on their own. On the outside, the band seemed to be doing great, but on the inside, the stress (due to no label support) was ultimately helping to tear them apart.
TURA SATANA tried to stay focused on their record and touring as much as possible. Unlike the first album, "RELIEF" took its listeners on a sort of DANTE'S INFERNO-type of journey with its destination being the three stages of hell within the various relationships being described. This time instead of the hardcore activist stance, Tairrie's lyrical content was much more focused around the love/hate, god and evil aspect of the male/female relationship. "RELIEF" became extremely personal for Tairrie and it was sometimes difficult to perform many of the songs live.
From the beginning, religious imagery has always been the common thread which bonds all of Tairrie's records together in one way or another, along with a healthy dose of sex and violence. Although most of Tairrie's lyrics have hidden meanings that are very personal, her goal has always been to let the listener interpret them for themselves. After five long and very rough years of struggling with their record company to get their albums in stores and struggling with each other to get along, Tairrie felt like it was time to leave her band.
TURA SATANA toured the world four times together and played festivals with up to as many as 120,000 people. Despite little and sometimes no help from their record company, they managed to develop a strong fan base all over the world and even won INDEPENDENT BAND OF THE YEAR at the KERRANGE Magazines Awards.
After a few months of a "break" of sorts, freshly open wounds were starting to finally scab. The scars that Tairrie's former band had left on her were still nothing compared to those that she continues to write about. They just added to her catalog and gave her more of a reason to continue what she started years before. In late 1999, Tairrie was blessed with a new project with the name of MY RUIN, for the reason that this is what she was told would happen to her if she left. Tairrie's record "SPEAK & DESTROY" was the next step in her career, and her natural progression as an artist. On the "SPEAK & DESTORY" album, which was recorded in both England and Los Angeles, Tairrie worked with many different and talented musicians who helped her to create a record which has no boundaries and no apologies.
The record was first released on the SNAPPER/MADFISH label in 2000 in Europe. Tairrie liked the idea behind working with various musical influences on this particular record. She put together a live band and toured, but she still did not have a label in the states yet, so Tairrie came home to focus on getting the U.S. deal.
Enter SPITFIRE in the states. With a label in place, Tairrie decided it might be nice to do something a little different on the record for its release. She took off two of the previous songs "MONSTER" and "BRIGHT RED SCREAM" and replaced them with the two tracks "FEVER" and "MASOCHRIST". She also replaced one of the opening tracks "PREACHER" with a live version of the song and added some heaviness to their cover of "TAINTED LOVE"" giving it a new mix.
No matter how brutal or vulnerable Tairrie delivers her words, they are always one hundred percent honest. "You can't be a real artist until you can come with the truth and open yourself up to the harsh reality that not everyone is gonna like what you do or for that matter you. It would be nice to be asked to describe the lyrics of a song for once instead of being asked who I am fucking. I don't want everyone to like me, but I certainly don't want anyone to fear me. I simply want them to listen with an open mind, an open heart and without a bullshit-preconceived notion of what the fuck I was supposed to have done and didn't do. I am doing exactly what I want. As far as what everyone may or may not think, well, I'll put it like this..."NOBODY IS GOING TO RUIN ME. IF I HAVE TO, I WILL RUIN MYSELF"... and, well, I think you know the rest!" -Tairrie B
With the release of MY RUIN's second album, "A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE OF VIOLENT ANGUISH" in 2001, MY RUIN have transgressed into a heavier element still. A Prayer Under Pressure is the heaviest album that Tairrie B has done, taking on an aggressive Nu-Metal sound with thick grinding guitars and Tairrie proving herself the banshee that many people call her out of disdain. A PRAYER UNDER PRESSURE is my favorite MY RUIN album!!!
