Interview: Ruby Sue- the local scene and the inspiration behind 'Prove You Wrong'

Ruby Sue is a nineteen-year-old musician gigging in and around Norwich. Earlier this week, me and Kayleigh interviewed Ruby about her debut single 'Prove You Wrong' as well as gender inequality in our local scene. We have already released some parts of this interview on our fortnightly piece on BBC Radio Norfolk. If you missed it, not to worry! You can find it here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08fxdp3, our interview with Ruby as well as our bi-weekly update is around two hours and ten minutes in. Without further ado, let's get into what myself, Kay and Ruby Sue discussed.

We started off by asking Ruby when she started to sing and what inspired her. She told us that she could sing before she could walk and talk, and that she's been taking singing lessons since she was five years old. In recent times, she had decided to teach herself, however, she's recently returned to using a vocal coach, which she describes as very exciting. With regards to inspiration, Ruby told us that her dad first made her want to sing and perform, as he has always been in a band. She also explained that she used to go up on stage with him too from a young age, which explains her natural gift for performing. In terms of vocal inspiration and style, Ruby says she's most inspired by her parent's music taste, particularly drawing her style from artists like Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette.

Kayleigh and I have seen Ruby live multiple times now, and her performances never fail to entertain. We asked Ruby how long she'd been gigging her own material for and what she loves about it. She told us that she's been gigging in Norwich with her own music for three years now and that her first ever gig was a Brickmakers open mic night. Ruby described how she loves gigging at local venues like the Brickmakers, but also local places such as Gringos too. We went on to speak about her single 'Prove You Wrong' that me and Kayleigh both love (keep an eye out on Thursday for Kay's review!) The two of us were very interested as to what motivated Ruby to write the song. She revealed that the single is inspired by a situation she experienced at college. Two of her bandmates at the time kept falling out and this led Ruby to be in a very awkward position. She told us that she decided to do what she does best and write a song about it! We also wanted to know why Ruby chose 'Prove You Wrong' as her debut single. She explained that Prove You Wrong was the first song she ever wrote on guitar, as she's only actually been playing for two years, and that she was extremely proud of it.

As our mission at Hot Pink Music is to discuss and listen to female musicians encounters of gender inequality in the industry, we asked Ruby a few questions about her experiences. Firstly, we asked Ruby what she thinks the hardest part of being a female in the music industry is. She answered that the hardest bit for her has been the inequality she's seen at gigs and music festivals in terms of often being the only female on the lineup. Ruby also told us that male-dominated gigs she's played have lead her to feel excluded and left out. She revealed that she's never performed somewhere with more than two females on the lineup, which naturally leads her to feel the inequality at these gigs. We went on to ask Ruby what changes she'd like to see within the industry to make it more equal. She explained that she'd like to see more females performing locally and at bigger festivals. And that because a lot of bands are built around 'lad culture', female bands and musicians are rare. Building on this, we asked Ruby what advice she'd give to any females reading that want to get into the industry, as there is clearly something deterring women from the scene. She told us that her advice would be 'follow your heart and stick with it'. Ruby also advised that you've got to stick with it, despite the unfair backlash, and that even though it may feel lonely or you may feel excluded, you've got to make sure your voice is heard and to use your songs as a weapon!

Finally, we asked Ruby Sue what's next for her career. Ruby revealed that she has a new single out in July called 'Northern Boy' that she's very excited about. She also told us that after the release of her second single, she's looking to put out an EP, and eventually an album! Very exciting stuff that myself and Kayleigh cannot wait to listen to and talk about in the future. For now though, we both highly recommend listening to Ruby's debut single 'Prove You Wrong' that you can find on all major streaming platforms right now! Also, be sure to follow Ruby Sue on her socials which will be linked at the bottom to keep up with what she's doing. Thank you to Ruby for taking part in this interview, and be sure to look out for Kayleigh's review of her debut single.

𝘙𝘶𝘣𝘺 𝘹

Links to Ruby Sue:

https://linktr.ee/rubysuemusic