The Craig Veltri Interview - Ariana Troni 2

Ariana Troni of Harrisburg, PA Rock/Metal band Ruiness returns to The Interview to talk about the band's output over the last year, including their new single "Ignite".

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:19

And the interview. Almost a year ago today, we were introduced to a Harrisburg PA band called Ruinettes. Their lead singer Ariana Troni spoke about her life, the startup of the band, and how quickly her life was changing as a result of the immediate buzz that they had earned, including after the interview winning Best New Band at the Central Pennsylvania Music Awards. The latest single, Ignite, is certainly a have fun storming the castle kind of metal song, and it will be my pleasure to play it at the end of this episode. Recording in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and calling in all the way from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Here she is, Arianna Trone. Ariana, or Ari, if you prefer, welcome to the interview. Thanks for having me again. I'm excited. You talked a lot about settle down being a song about you kind of lamenting your nine to five. You actually revealed in the interview we're getting ready to change from one full-time job in HR to another full-time job in HR. How close are you now to uh being full-time rock star?

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Uh, in my dreams, yeah. It's definitely still uh what feels like a 50-50 hustle. Uh the music stuff's definitely starting to feel like its own full-time job, which is always, you know, could be a fun thing in its own way. Um, but I do enjoy the job that I changed to as my, you know, bread maker for right now. Uh that's pretty cool. It's a food distribution company, can't really give too much on that, but it does have some fun perks in the sense of like, you know, getting to try some interesting food and whatnot, which is and that gets some really weird artistic freedom there too. So that definitely scratches that itch way more than when I was feeling that when writing Settle Down.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Well, I I'll say this about Settle Down. That song, and I have been doing this for almost four years. I have about 200 different episodes, almost every single one of them has featured a song, maybe sans about 20, 30 episodes. So about I listened to about close to 170 songs for this uh thing alone. I will never do a ranking, but I will say that Settle Down remains, and I don't say this to everybody, one of my favorite songs still to this day. And the sound that you guys still manage to have carried over through your last set of singles, I I'm you talk about the writing process that you guys were doing. It was kind of a ping-pong kind of uh kind of thing. Is that still the uh still the thing that uh that gets the songs written and out?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Absolutely, yeah. We just we're just learning more in the game of ping pong essentially, but it's it's definitely that, you know. I still come up with like a tap on my leg, send my guitar player, you know, be singing some kind of melody I created with the lyrics, and then he'll build something around that, or he'll be like, Hey, I created this. Can you do something with this? And I'll be like, sure. We just uh we have a new producer, shout out Hayden. He is the current guitar player for if not for me, and he is an incredible ear, he is an incredible brain to pick, and he's just so talented when it comes to mixing and mastering. He gets what our vibe is, what we're looking for, and just really helps build that. And I think that really speaks volumes in like what I feel is growth for us. Um, but we definitely otherwise are doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Can you point to something a little more specific? Like, what does this new producer like can you put like what's one thing that you are doing now that you weren't doing when you were starting?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

I know better questions to ask. Um, I'm starting to hear more than I used to be able to. It's no discredit to anyone that we've worked with in the past. I just think it's more of a I didn't know how to say it, but Hayden gets what I'm trying to say. And I get to see him one-on-one whenever the other one we had prior, Chris, phenomenal man, constantly on tour on the road. We didn't really get to do the the the intimacy of like actually being in their studio and working with them directly that way. And I think that adds an extra layer to what we're doing now, even though if not for me's popping off, so we're like, hey, they come back, but also go go.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Well, uh, I'm sure he'll find find his way back to Central PA at some point. But the output still seems to be to remain on singles. Last year, uh, you were saying that Ruin S is working on an album, and we said a year later, and uh it and it's uh three singles. Uh is that just uh just what's more efficient for you guys at the moment?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Or is there as we're still learning with with the way that the world's changing, um, because dropping a whole album could waste potential of individual songs getting highlighted in ways that they might deserve. And we we've had some people more established than whenever we first were getting our toes dipped in the water there, um, give us very positive receptive feedback to what we do have recorded a full album. Like it is it is ready. Um, it's just the matter of getting like the artworks and everything finalized and like the extra behind-the-scenes stuff. But I I was very humbled and flattered to hear, you know, more seasoned ear say that they feel just dropping an album would be a waste to a lot of the songs on it. And I was like, okay, so we're we're trying waterfall releasing. Um that's just a new thing for me as well with navigating this, but it seems to be doing well, and then we just kind of have to keep up with the momentum. So I'm trying to get better with social media before just like boom, full album, you know. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

I've had one or two artists uh over the last couple of years have said what they've done is usually they do the waterfall and then it's a physical record, uh, an album, vinyl, CD, what have you. Is that the end game for you?

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Yes. Yeah, now I don't know that we'll do every single song as like single, single, single, and then eventually just boom, it's an album. I still think we'll have a couple that you won't get to hear until it's all fully on that first one. But yeah, but we're also if we're cooking up some other stuff that I think we're keeping shush for now, but we're we're we're scheming some other stuff for future too to kind of help get that ball roll quicker then.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Uh I think we wait for it on Bated Breath, Ariana Troni with Craig Veltrian Interview, proud member of the Scarfire Media Podcast Network. The brand new website, Scarfiremedia.com, is live now. Check out all the services that we can offer you here on this wonderful platform called Scarfire Media, including the Scarfire Media Podcast Network. We believe the I believe the flame will be coming back up very soon. And check out all the great podcasts on the Scarfire Media Podcast Network, including the Cool Brother Podcast, including Amy Susani's brand new podcast, including Mommy Rockstar, coming very soon. And thank you for listening to the Craig Veltree interview. So uh the the three singles that have come out since Settled Down, uh Afterlifeline, The Decline, and of course Ignite, which we will talk about later. The Afterlifeline is the one I believe that uh got yourself a full music video treatment. You had uh it's just live footage of you and the band. It was Afterlifeline, full footage of you and the band. Why was this song one that you wanted to bring up and why did it did you feel that it would be most representative for Ruin S on Sally Lloyd or Digital Video?

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Well, I feel it was our strongest song at the time. And also I've felt the most writing that one. Um, the song itself is a sad song. It's it's a song written in grief. Um, had a friend commit, and I wasn't as close to that friend as a lot of my very close friends were. So it was like dealing with my own grieving process to it, but also being very receptive to those I was around all the time that were going through it worse. That was my grieving, was writing it. So I think it just resonated harder with me that that was my choice one, but also it's the one that I think a lot of people just sang back the most that were like, yeah, this is our hype song. If we were gonna do like some kind of like live video to something, this would be the one. So at the time, for sure, that one.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

For a song that is that somber, I want to have two follow-ups for that. Number one, afterlifeline. How did that concept come to you in the writing process?

SPEAKER_01 8:39

I don't have a good answer for that. It just kind of just shows up. Like I I ruiness is my first time taking myself serious in writing and actually trying it and pushing it. And it's ever since I've kind of gotten rid of that like mental block that held me back from it, it's just and it just comes up, it just happens. Like, I don't know what else to say with it, but it just it just occurs. And it it's sometimes really quick, and I'm like, oh. And then sometimes I'm like looking up adjectives of things of like, okay, not adjectives, um, synonyms. Geez. Synonyms, yeah. Yeah, because I want to get certain points across, but I'm like, there has to be something that's gonna flow better with this. But after Lifeline just kind of happened, like that just flew flew out from the experience of what I was going through.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Well, it's still it's it's definitely not a ballad. So, my my second question is this uh I remember Garth Brooks, uh, you know, completely different genre, but follow me on this one. Garth Brooks had uh written a song called Good Ride Cowboy about his uh late friend Chris Ledue. And his thought process was Chris Ledew's life was not going to be mourned because every moment of Chris Ledew's life was a celebration. Was that kind of the idea of the musical background to these uh rather uh rather somber lyrics?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah, I mean I I think the musical background just stems honestly from my influence as a musician. Um, Haley Williams, early paramour, I think, all that. That was my biggest like influential part in my life with music. So I feel it reflects. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Still is present, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

And um huge, huge influence on who I am as a musician. So I think that just kind of comes out with like the writing. Like that's what always got me with her, is was like her hooks and like the no matter what she would sing about, it would still also be upbeat in its own way for the most part. She's she's definitely dipped more into that melancholy sound now, which I also love and I'm dipping into too. So uh ballads, we do have those coming up as well. Um, not that I said plural, but when it comes to that one particularly, I kind of took the more somber side whenever the bridge would happen, and I would just do that like really long, held out note because it's almost like a calling kind of thing. Like that was more of the the grief side, I think. Like it was just feeling behind that. Um, but otherwise, I just kind of wanted to scream it out. I think just screaming it out, getting it out would be best. So we did.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

The one that you definitely do scream out, and it is the latest single, Ignite uh light it up. Uh I something considering how you how primal and guttural your your music where it comes from is what I'm trying to say. I can only imagine that uh some something um going on in your life or going on in uh the zeitgeist is just saying burn it down. Was that am I on the right track with that?

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, pretty much. Um, I I say that it's like a song of hope for the hopeless, like like an offering hand situation of like, hey, whatever's holding you back, setting you back, like let's get out of that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Let's do so more of a light in the darkness, really.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's that's my uh Haley Williams. It's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

Yeah, so it well immediately after you guys uh not immediately, but as your singles output initially started coming through, you spoke very uh glowingly about your local scene, glowingly about the uh central uh VA music awards and their uh voting committee. They must have heard you uh singing their praises at the very least, just uh well, playing heard the record because they gave you Best New Band last year, they nominated you this year. The immediate praise from uh from your from your local media, uh what does that meant to you? Everything.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Everything, everything, yeah, honestly, because it's if if you don't have fans, what are you doing? You know, and it's not I'm not saying that you need to have like hundreds and thousands, but like you need an audience, right? Like at least in my in my feeling of like that's that's what I enjoy about it is uh the sense of everyone just kind of having that distraction in that moment and just vibing. So the fact that I'm able to do something that gives people that temporary release, that's all I've ever wanted. If I can keep going, keep climbing, cool. I'm gonna I'm gonna keep trying. And this is where it stays. I mean, it is what it is. Like I'm still having the best time, but it just we keep getting some like neat opportunities or just really really good feedback to the point that I feel like I'd be a fool to not at least keep trying, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

So what immediately within we kind of talked uh last year about goals as well. Where do you uh and and I do want to talk about the decline, but since we're on the subject, but uh you seem very goal-oriented, your band seems very goal-oriented. What are some of your goals for this year?

SPEAKER_01 13:38

For this year, I want to get better at content, I want to get faster at it, I want to make better content, I want it to be figure out what I want to do as like a content creator in general, because that's something that you will get typecasted into. Like if you get an acting role in a major film and you're the bad guy, you're typecasting as a bad guy role there. So I want to pursue this authentically me as possible, but I have to understand if I finally have a video pop off, is that what I want to be known for doing forever? You know, and I'm trying to approach it in a healthy way that long haul me would be happy.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

You're treading carefully, is what you're saying.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Yeah, yeah, I'm planning. I'm still, you know, but I'm also just like trying to keep up with it, trying to get good at it, and just see what works out of all the randomness, too.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

I have I've always found that that's kind of just being an artist. You gotta that's the goal of it. You throw everything in the wall and if it sticks, it sticks. I mean, I got a song coming out on uh my solo record called Bourbon in Kentucky. I played it live quite a bit. Do I want to be known for it? Not particularly. I'm an earnest songwriter and a poet and all of that fun stuff. Sure. But you know, if if that winds up being being my signature, that's my signature because here's the thing that George Lucas probably doesn't want to hear. Once it's out in the public, uh it doesn't belong to you anywhere, really. I mean, fair. Fair. So so I did want to jump back into the uh as far as uh the decline, and uh it's odd that a song called The Decline uh is just it doesn't seem to dip at all. Um so uh put me on the ping pong table. What happened there?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Um to be honest with you, I don't remember if that one particularly was something that Greg started off with musically that I wrote around, or if it's something I I believe it was a hybrid of the two. Like I took some ideas that I had archived that I wasn't sure what to do with, and he had something, he was like, Hey, how do you feel about this? I'm like, okay, but what if you give it like something like this though, and then we just kind of it was more involved ping-pong. It was like the quick back and forth game, not the not the far send. You know what I mean? It was yeah, that was definitely more of a I couldn't tell you if the chicken came first or the egg in that situation. But um, I can't.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

This is a horrible joke, I know, and I'm gonna keep it in my back pocket. Keep going.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

No, keep it, keep it. Oh my god, I'm the queen of dad jokes. I just had a Facebook memory come up that's a dyslexic man walked into a bra. And that's from 13 years ago, and I still thought it was gold.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Okay, you asked for it, kid. The uh what uh chicken and egg are laying down in bed. The chicken lights a cigarette and says, Well, I guess that answers that question. What are you saying about the decline as I update my resume?

SPEAKER_01 16:27

As we declined the jokes. That's that's that's part of the song. No, um, I was just kind of I'm in my own little healing journey where like I kind of try to focus on different things about myself and what I can get better with. And the decline was written about like the dark places that your mind can go at night if you let your brain stray. Like it's easy to get distracted during the daytime, you know, the sun's out, I'm with my friends, uh, there's all these people around. I get, you know, all that kind of serotonin, whatever. But when nighttime hits and you're alone with your thoughts, it's really easy just to spiral down. And this personified the spiral essentially, almost giving it like a creature vibe to it. And that that was the whole point of it.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Well, you mentioned the goals as far as uh the social media is concerned, as far as the goals of uh future music at the moment. When's the next uh single, potential full album coming from Ruinous?

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Next single will be out as soon as I'm done editing the artwork, almost done. So we'll we'll have an official release date for it. It's called Ghost. You ready to hear first? But yeah, it's uh it's think us, but think jazz.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

You but jazz. Okay. Um, so I'm I'm thinking when you say that and you mix rock immediately, I start thinking fusion, although it's in Chicago or something like that. Am I on the right track? Guess you'll have to listen. Okay, I guess I will. Well, Ariana, we have a nice way of closing here on the Craig Velcher interview called the No Kidden Questionnaire, but since it's your second go-around, you qualify now for the No Kidden Questionnaire 2.0. Oh God. Ariana, what is your what sound or noise do you love?

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Uh blurt laughs. Anyone that laughs really hard, one of my favorite things, makes me laugh right away.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

I I've I've said this before. There are there are people there are people in my family who have some of the all-time great laughs. That is the thing that I will miss about the most when they are gone. So definitely one of mine. What sound or noise do you hate?

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Uh chewing really loud when they're eating. I'm panicking. I don't know why I'm panicking. I'm just like, I have to say the first thing that comes to head right away. I remembered it was a quick draw. Uh but yeah, if someone chews really, really loud, like I understand eat, eat your food, but if you're just like nails, nails on chalkboard.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Up to me. Or or better, the ones that uh still pass a certain age are eating with their mouth open, doing it at the same time. So they have a lot the other level of grossness.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

But uh just just go like this. If the food's too hot or something, like if I think I need to keep my mouth open, I'm just like, hey, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

I channel my inner Japan or or have to answer or have to answer something. You know, you know, turn you know, you know, use your ventriloquism training. Use the uh use the upper palate and just start talking through your nose. Uh what is the one song that you are not yet tired of playing, singing, or listening to? Like you know. It's just fun. It's just fun.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Well, it's it's the the back and forth that Greg and I do, and that leading up to the last chorus there. It's just that edge, like getting to like do it more and more live. I feel like it's just getting more and more like raw and authentic. I'm like, let's go. So it's just more practice. I get more hype on the the growth.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Tell me if this if you're running into this, do you ever find yourself doing a song for a very long time? And after a while, you're thinking to yourself, maybe we should go back in the studio and do it again because what we're doing with this, we should have been doing it in the first place.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Uh yeah, we have one we don't even play anymore that's never been like recorded correctly, like none of it. We just yeah, we got rid of it, and I figured I'm like, let's I I'm kind of just keeping that one in the pocket because I think it'd be funny if people like used to come out originally and like, hey, we're finally releasing this like years later, if we choose to do a rewrite of it, cool. And if not, it could just be one of those things that just it it it existed for a minute, it can it can die now.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

See my entire first record, except for one song that made it onto onto the previous one. If reincarnation is real, what animal or organism do you hope to come back at?

SPEAKER_01 20:37

I want to be an otter.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

An otter? Yeah, those are adorable creatures.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Yeah, it just looks fun. They just look like they're always enjoying everything and they get to swim really fast.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Are you somebody that uh prefers beach and lake uh vacations as opposed to the mountain or outdoors?

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Uh no, honestly, you won't catch me that far in the ocean. If I don't know what's underneath me, I'm out.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

So the pool and nothing else.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Yeah, uh, hot tub and baths.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Uh I'll leave that there. Uh what is your favorite food to make at home?

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Uh I'm a sucker for soup.

unknown 21:12

Soup.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

It's like the perfect fridge clean out thing, but it's also my inner Italian just comes out and I'm like, what like wines can I use up to, you know, whatever? And then I always have different broths and buoyans and everything on stock, so it's whatever.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

So do you have a you say it sounds like you have a system when it comes to comes to your soup. So you have a favorite one?

SPEAKER_01 21:34

French onion. I'm I buy bags of onions, and if I know they're gonna go bad soon, I'm like, well, gotta make a batch.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Otherwise the onions are gonna start walking and then really make you cry. But uh Ariana, you you mentioned your Italian background, this will be fun. What is your favorite curse word? Quintessential fuck. Like it fuck is just the OG, the goat. And certainly a flexible one if you worked in any context. Absolutely absolutely. Plus uh in its intended meaning, it's fine. If you were given this is the last time we ever speak to each other, if you were given the choice, last question of the question. Last question of the questionnaire, if you were given the choice between starting life with your current knowledge again at the age of six, or ten million dollars, which would you take?

SPEAKER_01 22:27

Ten million dollars. I'm not gonna go through all that again. No. You know. No. No, because you're sick, you're a kid. They're just gonna be like, You're a kid, you don't know anything, and then you're gonna have to deal with that shit for like twelve years before people even kind of listen to you.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

No. Like all of a sudden you start uh hitting on Apple and uh Napster and uh and uh and become an early investment in like a Tesla, depending on what age six we're talking about here. And then still you're gonna have to go to your room. I can't watch our reader.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Oh my god, push back the age to smoke cigarettes.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

I forgot about that. Waiting for it.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Not that I smoke anyway, but it's just I like it as a choice. I like to say no on my turn.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

I like to say no, but not because you told me to say it.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Yeah, it's because I can't.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Well, Ariana, as you know, this is the part of the program you should enjoy the most. Yeah, but I guess you'd enjoy this most. It is time. For shameless self-promotion. You mentioned a new single ghost coming out very, very soon. Where can we find it? Where can we find it? Plug your pluggables.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Okay. So Ruin S, we have a website, www.ruin S.com, R-U-I-N-E-S-S. Uh, everything streams on all streaming platforms. We are not ticky, we do not discriminate. So just plug it in, check us out, and we'll keep you posted. I post a lot on Facebook and Instagram particularly, trying to get TikTok rolling a little bit more. Uh fun fact, I am trying to sing random bits of circus revive songs in hopes to catch their attention that they might let us open for them in Philly. So I've been plugging that in TikTok this week. So yeah, if you want to go check that out, that would help.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Well, you mentioned going to Philly. Are you venturing outside of uh Central Theatre? Are you gonna be doing some touring at all this year?

SPEAKER_01 24:28

We we have some runs in the works. Uh there's there's some life stuff going on with some members, good stuff, but just just letting them have their moment and time with that early enough in the year before you know pushing, all right, we're going back to boot camp bitty and then cranking in more shows. So that's why I'm trying to do more of a media focus right now.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Can't uh get out there and walk into the towns of strangers doing doing this uh defend the blues brothers. So uh Arianna, a pleasure as always, not merely to chat with you once again, but uh your music's killer. I'm you got a fan in Pittsburgh for life. I adore your band, I adore you. Thank you so much for joining me here today on the Craig Veltry interview.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

Thank you so much, man. It's a pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

The Craig Veltry interview, where Craig Veltry interviews wonderful people is a production of Scarfire Media, the voice of the independent artist. Written and edited by Craig Veltry, your announcer is Megan Pennington, the opening theme shop I Love You, written by Trent Channel and Craig Veltry, performed by Craig Veltry, produced by Jack Gavin. The new single Inside the Cabin, the debut single from Moonshine Dragon Bonds, is available now inside the cabin record due out March 28th. Trying to update the event calendar because you must know where I am at all times. Friday, March 13th, Moonshine Dragon Bonds will make an appearance on your Jaguar Podcast here in Pittsburgh. We'll be taking the thing around 4.30. The podcast proper will be dropping on Monday and will be available live as we shoot 4.30 on Friday the 13th. Then later that evening on Friday the 13th, to Fair Veroni, where we laid our scene and lay it down heavy for our friends at the Holbar, Megan and I and Moonshine Dragon on Sprom at 8 to 11 p.m. For full dates, including Pittsburgh, Nashville, and New York City, visit my website, Craig Velchy.bandschool.com. For booking info, including full band on this podcast, email me at craigveltryofficial at gmail.com. You can find the interview on Facebook by searching the Craig Veltry interview, YouTube at Craig Veltry Music, and you can find me on Instagram or as my old roommate the Tommy Thomas used to call it. Instagirl at Craig.velchree. And this has been the Craig Veltry Interview. With that, I'll pass. Here's a live performance of Ruiness performed on WITF in Harrisburg. It's Ignite, the latest from Ruiness on the Craig Veltry Interview. Proud member of the Scarfire Media Podcast Network.