The Incoherent Ramblings Of Victor M. Ruiz

I just got done watching the Foo Fighters’ documentary Back And Forth. I love these types of band documentaries, and all though I don’t consider myself the biggest Foo Fan, I have massive amounts of respect for what the band has done, especially Dave Grohl, who is really part of a dying bread of musicians. This documentary was very inspirational, and reminded me why I formed my first band when I was 15, and reminds me of the real fun that I’ve had playing with assorted people along the way, and makes me long for certain connections that once existed between me and others.

I have actually been demoing songs for about a month now. The idea is to record these songs in a studio in the late fall or end of the year. I remember what it was like to get together with at least one other person in the bands or projects I played with, and connected when writing material. This time around I have roughly 16 songs that I could potentially record, but I’m shooting to do between 8 to 10.

The process has been interesting, and although I have laid some decent ground work for the majority of the songs, they still need a lot of work. Also, I haven’t made that type of musical connection that I mention above, I really feel that me coming from someplace very different has lead to me not “playing well with others” or others not giving me the opportunity to show what I’m capable of. As a result, I’m going to move forward and play and sing all of the material. I’d love to include people from bands that I’ve come to know from the interviews I’ve done, but I am not sure people would be interested, or have the time to get involved.

There is a lot of doubt involved in this process, again, would people be interested in what I’d like to put together, in the vision that I have in my head? I know that I can have people play that will play circles around me, but will the material then lose its essence? Will my playing live up to what I have in mind? It is important to me that I enjoy what I’m playing and recording, I honestly could care less if someone thinks it’s metal enough or not, if it’s heavy enough or not, cool or not. I don’t intend on putting this material out to sell money, play shows, or anything similar to that. It’s honestly just self gratification, and once it has been completed will either be available as a free download, or be connected to some sort of charity if I do intent on having people pay for it.

If you ask what it sounds like, it’s a mix of all things that have influences me, and that I’ve loved listening to since I was a kid, a little rock, a little metal, and a little bit of punk. I hear things like Kiss, Anthrax, Prong, Led Zeppelin, Monster Magnet, Misfits, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, and a various assortment of other things. I’m sure some people will listen, and think, “wow, what’s he smoking, it sounds nothing like that!” but that’s what it sounds like to me. As far as the lyrical content goes, everything from personal topics, to political things, to sci-fi type things, to themes touched upon in books and movies.

I’ve honestly thought of giving up podcasting all together just to focus on this as my main hobby, there is a lot less drama involved, but I do have a few interviews in the can, and have hours of material for my classic albums column, if nothing else, I’ll release that once a month till all 36 episodes are out. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll touch upon this further in the coming months.

-VMR