INTERVIEW BY IRVIN RIVERA

Badass quartet THE ACES has proven that no pandemic can stop you from creating music. If you have stories to tell and experiences to share, you just have to bring it all and put it out there. Sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez (vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), McKenna Petty (bass), and Katie Henderson (lead guitar/vocals) recently released their album UNDER MY INFLUENCE amidst the pandemic where music serves as a remedy; a gift to those who listen.

The album’s unapologetic, raw and honest lyrics give it an overall familiar sense of freedom. There’s an undeniable powerful energy of relatability from each song that tells layers and layers of experiences from the band.

In this exclusive interview, THE ACES chatted with us about their creative process, the evolution of their sound from their debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic (2018) to Under My Influence (2020), the power of collaborations, and creating music during the pandemic.

What's the story behind your sophomore album, Under My Influence?

Cristal: That’s a very loaded question because I don't think there's one story. I think our main goal for Under my Influence, was to be as transparent and break through to a different emotional place on this record. I think we just knew we were chasing more than anything like a feeling. We really wanted these stories to be almost from paper to song, like very journal-entry style, and very, for lack of better word, invasive into our personal life and emotions. So that was the main goal with the record. It was just trying to get to a deeper place and to give our fans and just the world in general a much deeper look into who we are as people. So I would say that is in a short form or way what the story is about.

How were you able to form the album, given that there are so many layers involved?

There are so many stories in it and I love it. It's just like watching a movie unfold. How was it, given that there are so many stories that you have in this album?

Cristal: Yes, I mean, I think they kind of run into each other because this record was made by telling the stories of our lives at a particular time. Like being in our early 20s, and I think that all of it is like a story at that time and we really tried to track listed in that way too. So you kind of start somewhere and take it somewhere, and there's a whole kind of story to all of the songs together in that specific order. So yes, I think it was kind of easy to put them together.  I think they fit together pretty easily because of that; they're kind of are their own story. You know what I'm saying?

How was the creative process like? Do you mind giving us like a little glimpse into your creative process as a group?

Cristal: Alisa and I, we write all the songs together. And so we'll go in and write, get a bunch of demos together and then we show the girls. And then they kind of come in and help on the production side of things and write their parts and help the whole thing come together as a whole. But yes, that's kind of our process and has been our process for the past few years.

Now, going back to the album, how different is “Under my Influence” from “When my Heart Felt Volcanic?”

Cristal: I think it's really different because we're just older in general, and have just been through a lot more when we wrote When My Heart Felt Volcanic. And so it kind of just feels like we’re completely different people, almost. And when we wrote where My Heart Felt Volcanic, it just feels like very different times of life. I think sonically as well, we weren't afraid to experiment and like see where the record would take us. The sound there is still very Aces but has evolved in a big way.

Speaking of evolution, how would you say your sound has evolved from the first time you created music all the way to today?

Katie: I feel like we've evolved so much as a band but through this process of our first record, I think we really found our identity. And after that, we weren't afraid to push our sound and really try new things and because we know who we are as a band. And I feel like that makes it easier to explore and be experimental and push ourselves on this record and try new things, and I don't think that's something we're afraid of, and we're not afraid to genre bend and we don't ever want to be just the same thing. Do you know what I mean? 

Where do you usually get your inspirations from?

Cristal: It really depends. Like sometimes its inward, sometimes it's outward. I think that we just really try to write from our own experiences. So the inspiration kind of comes from just our life experience. 

Which artists inspire you as a group?

Cristal: I think there's a lot of inspirations. We all are kind of individually inspired. There’s five different artists- I think a big one for a band, is the 1975, we've always been really inspired by them. Paramore, Hayley Williams was huge inspiration for us as kids. So it's ever-changing, you know, like Alisa and I grew up listening to disco music and 80's pop and then Ken and Katie, like the alternative and rock side and I feel like the combination of those influences makes up The Aces.

That's amazing. And you can actually hear those references and inspirations from your sound, which is really cool.  What would you say are the highs and the lows of your career so far?

Cristal: I would say the highs have been like everything we've been able to do. We've done so much in the past three years, specifically with like touring, and getting to see the world and creating a really amazing fan base. And I will say the low has definitely been the pandemic, but I think that that's for a lot of artists,. Putting a record out during the pandemic has been really challenging. But overall, I think we've grown a lot as people, as a band.

Speaking of the pandemic? How is that challenge being dealt with?

McKenna: I think that something that is super great about our dynamic as a band is that we've been together for so long. We've been able to adopt through many phases like the teen years and everything. I think having that strong foundation and relationship with each other has been super helpful because we can lean on each other and be there for each other in that way. But we're still trying to do whatever we can to connect with our fans, whether that's, you know, whatever you need do on social media, or,  live virtual performances, we're just trying to brainstorm and figure out how we can connect with our fans. And that was a huge reason why we decided to put out our record during the pandemic because we thought that our fans need the music more than ever right now. So yes, just trying to find opportunities.

Speaking of the fans, when you when you make music, do you also think of the fans in creating music or would you say it's mostly about your experiences and how you feel personally?

Cristal: I think it's a combination of both, I think it's very much combination of, I mean, first and foremost, we make music, obviously for ourselves, and because it's what we love to do. But specifically with the second record, we're super conscious of who we're talking to and conscious of the fans that we're making music for because we weren't seeing them every night for like, you know, over a year touring as much as we were. So we were super conscious of it. It was almost like one of those things where it's like, we felt like we owed them more, like in a way, we owe them to go deeper into say more and to do more. I just think we wanted to be more personal with them and give them more of ourselves. So yes, I would say it kind of mix the both, like they're definitely in the back of our minds, any time that we do anything, really.

Now let's talk about collaborations. What's the best part about collaborating with other people? You collaborate amongst yourselves, but how was it collaborating with Justin Tranter, Jesse Shatkin, Zach Skelton, Mike Green, and all these people that you collaborate with in your projects?

Cristal: Really amazing. They're awesome, awesome dudes. We also collaborated with a woman named Simon Wilcox, absolutely phenomenal. So we've been really lucky in getting to meet so many really talented people. And obviously, Justin is like an absolute powerhouse. So, yes. It's been amazing, and they've all been so kind and just really supportive and helping us make the records we want to make more than anything. And it was really awesome to see that all the people are supportive. We feel really lucky to say that all of them have been so kind and gracious and awesome as well. 

That's awesome. Aside from music, what else keeps you busy nowadays?

Cristal: Honestly, not that much. All of us exercise a lot, and that's a big thing. McKenna is a master chef cook. 

McKenna: I've been cooking a lot. 

Cristal: What else have we been doing? 

McKenna: I got a puppy so I've been taking care of my dog and hiking and trying to get into nature as much as we can. We went to the beach all together last week. Just trying to get out. 

Cristal: Social distance, of course.

Yes. That's nice though.

Cristal: Yes, we've been so focused on this record. The last three weeks we just focused on staying connected to our fans and how we do that and how we continue to put on a show for them and whatever process that means. And I think that that's taking up a lot of our attention. This pandemic, which has honestly been kind of nice because we've been distracted from everything and been able to like really work towards something and put out a record. So we feel pretty grateful for that, to kind of have this record during such a weird time.

Absolutely.

Now, are there any advice that you can provide to any aspiring artists out there, who also want to break into the industry?

Cristal: Of course, yes. I think my main piece of advice for anybody who wants to get into music is just do something. I think the biggest enemy of progression is just being indecisive and perfectionism, you know, so just put something out. It's never going to be the best you can do, no matter how much you tweak it, and you know what I'm saying? It's always and even still with our records like Under My Influence, there's still so many things there. I listen to it and I'm like, Oh, I probably could have done that better. I think that's just part of the process and you have to get comfortable with not nothing ever being perfect because it never will be. You know, so just do something, make some kind of progress, put something out and then do it with your whole heart, and yes- that right there.

I love that, that's really beautiful. I mean, that you can't really get it right and you can't really get it perfectly. So just do it. I love that. It's awesome.

Cristal: Totally, thank you. 

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

What would we be as a band guys, what book?

I feel like as a band, we could be something like you're a badass. Like we're pretty cool. We love motivate each other and we love to motivate like our fans. And I feel like we are really good at picking each other up when one of us is down, and I think that is very motivating and inspiring. 

Yes, that's a great, great example.

I stand by that.

Our whole theme is just optimism. So, yes. You're a badass, that's the book

The Aces, you're a badass.

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