Exclusive Interview with Nancy Ruth.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
I grew up in Sidney, British Columbia. My grandfather gave me a ukelele when I was 7, and taught me old standards. I created an act around that as a kid, and performed at local events. When people started throwing money in the ukelele case I thought, this is going to be fun.
Exposed Vocals: What is your inspiration behind your music?
I’ve spent the last 20+ years touring, and the kinds of contrasting experiences you live while travelling are an endless source of inspiration.
The last 14 years of living in Spain have influenced me a lot as well.
And then, there’s always love…
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
I am currently giving away 3 songs when people join my mailing list. That’s an exchange; giving back to supporters. Other than that, I honestly miss the good old days when music had more (perceived) value; both as a music maker and a consumer.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
As I started so young, I had lots of opportunities to sing at school events, local fairs and talent shows. I learned a lot that way, and that opened doors for paid gigs.
As for airplay, if your music fits the commercial playlist arena, I guess you’ve got to dish out the big bucks for a radio plugger. Otherwise, start with college radio, make friends with DJs, and check out some online stations; there are loads of them.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Nancy: When I screw up, I make a quick decision: if I think it will go unnoticed, I just move on. If it’s a big blunder, I exaggerate it and laugh at myself, and invite others to do the same. I involve the audience… sometimes those moments can be a lot of silly good fun.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Nancy: I’ve toured all over the world, but there are still places I’d like to go, like New Zealand, Australia, and China.
One of my favourite gigs was in Tahiti. Swimming in tropical waters was great for my voice. I try to combine sports with music… the better I stay in shape, the more resilient I am, and touring is really demanding.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Nancy: I find gems in my morning stream of consciousness writing. Sometimes I’ll ‘jam’ on words that come from that process, writing in great detail, until I find a line I really like. Then I’ll see where my voice goes with it… my voice will lead the way to a melody, and then I’ll sit at the piano or the guitar and work out harmonic options. Sometimes that will lead to a new riff or progression that fits, and the rest of the lyric follows. It’s a very intuitive process that requires ‘solitary confinement’ in my case.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Do you use Bandcamp, Spotify, ExposedVocals or SoundCloud to share your music?
Nancy:
Spotify: Nancy Ruth
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Nancy: I wouldn’t feel embarrassed about any music I’d listen to; there are always elements of a performance, a lyric, a progression, or production quality that you can learn from, in any genre, from any artist.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Nancy: I do the same thing I’m doing now: writing, recording, and touring. I’d just share the funds: pay my musicians more, pay the studio more, and hire a great team to take care of bookings, logistics, and promotion.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Nancy: I’m working with a studio that uses Cubase, but I’m a mac girl, and use Logic. Both programs do the job. I’d like to buy some new pre-amps for my home studio. Just bought a new mic I really like, an Advanced Audio CM12.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Nancy: Promotion is not my strong point, but most loyal fans are those who have come to my live shows. From there, it’s word of mouth.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Nancy: It would be fun to perform at the Dionysus Theatre in Athens (near the Acropolis)… I was there once and was awe-struck, wondering what those ancient performances might’ve been like. As for a dream band line-up? My current bandmates Juan Soto (bass), Juan Heredia (percussion), with Paco de Lucia and Jimmy Page on guitars, and Chick Corea on piano. That would pretty much sum up my loves of jazz, flamenco and heavy guitar riffs.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Nancy: I’m recording 10 songs I’ve written recently, in Spain, with my band ’Sangria Jam’. You’ll hear influences of jazz, flamenco, latin, rock… it’s so much fun to play this stuff. I wrote the songs with the band very much in mind, so they all get to do their thing.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Nancy: I’d be a comedian. Just kidding.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Nancy: Led Zeppelin II, cassette tape. I was so excited to have made enough money washing dishes to buy a tape. I ended up playing it until it stretched into a warble.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Nancy: That’s hard. Relationships suffer. It’s impossible to do it all: daily practice and study on guitar, piano, voice, then hours on composition, writing out charts, a lot of online business, calls and emails, learning new music programs, gear upkeep, social media, fitness, fashion, tour preparation, rehearsals, tours, visas, logistics… shall I continue?
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to for the rest of 2015 and beyond?
Nancy: Sangria Jam.
