MY RUIN Overcomes Personal Adversity To Produce New Album

Los Angeles-based hard rock band MY RUIN will be making its triumphant return to the stage Friday, January 19 at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, California as it heads up a night of massive riffola for a very special show to celebrate frontwoman Tairrie B's birthday and to debut songs from the group's newly recorded album. Support at the gig will come from Long Beach local rock 'n' rollers REVOLUTION MOTHER (fronted by pro skater Mike Vallely) along with the L.A.-based metallers FLATLINE.

In late September, the night before the band was set to enter the studio to begin recording its new CD, Tairrie was seriously injured and nearly lost her arm in a car accident. After four surgeries, including a skin graft, Miss B decided to record her vocals only weeks into her recovery with her voice stronger than ever and is looking forward to her first show back. "I'm still alive and very thankful to still be able to perform. When your own mortality is questioned you learn to appreciate the beauty of life and although I am still healing, I thought it would be a good idea to get back on stage as soon as possible to let myself as well as the friends and fans of our band know I am okay and can still rock just as hard, if not harder than before," said Tairrie.

"Mick and I have spent much of the past year and a half on the road and getting to know Chris (Lisee; bassist) and Matt (Lechevalier; drummer) and after a successful summer tour of the U.K. and France, we all felt it was time to write a new album and record together so we could take things to the next level with this lineup. My accident happened the night before we were slated to begin recordings and obviously through us all for a loop."

According to Miss B, MY RUIN guitarist/producer Mick Murphy (who is also Tarrie's boyfriend) suggested possibly postponing the recording sessions, but Tarrie felt it would be better to stick with the original plan. While she was in the hospital, the band went into The Hobby Shop recording studio in Los Angeles (built and owned by producers Mudrock and Scott Gilman) with longtime friend and co-producer Duane Burda to begin tracking. Tairrie made the decision to record her vocals only six weeks into her recovery, wearing an arm brace and taking painkillers to get her through the process. "I was heavily sedated for the first few weeks after the accident and was unsure when or if I would be able to record before the New Year," she said. "Mick was incredible throughout everything. He cleaned and dressed the wound for me daily, which was sometimes a very brutal experience in itself, as they could only sew the top half of my arm closed for the first few weeks so the bottom of the injury was exposed muscle. There were definitely times I wasn't sure if I would regain use of my fingers or arm again because the injury was so severe."

Instead of keeping the accident a secret, Tairrie decided to document and share her experience through the band's online blog with words, photos and even videos. "I think it was very brave of her to be so open about all of it," said Mick. "I think many people in bands would be too worried about their image to share such a personal thing with their fans and the public. I admire her for that."

Added Tarrie: "I feel blessed that I have the band I do today. It's all so different than before. We're friends and we actually get along, which is so important when sharing your life and music with other people. You have to trust and respect them and vice versa. Chris and Matt share our vision and believe in what we do. They believe in me and really helped me pull through this ordeal and continue to heal."

Tairrie admits that recording was rough on her at first but the accident actually helped give her voice a much-needed rest. "When it came back, it amazed me how it sounded after everything I was going through at the time," she said. "It's the strongest it's ever been."

On the direction of the new album, Mick said, "We're not reinventing our sound, we're just perfecting it. Our new songs are heavier, brighter and more intense. This album was very focused and well thought out, even though we went through so much chaos with the accident; it was a pleasure to record. The dichotomy of life and death is very present throughout. Not only did I lose my father this past year but I nearly lost Tairrie, my girl of seven years. We went through some very intense moments together and she is the throat and heart of MY RUIN. Without her, there is no band."

Having recently finished mixing the new album with Duane Burda, MY RUIN has decided to keep the CD title under wraps for the moment until a release date is set. The band will be debuting seven new songs at the upcoming show and plan to film the event to be the final segment on their DVD, "Spilling Open", which they will be releasing this year. "We had to put editing on hold for a minute due to the accident and recording but this show will be the perfect way to end our last album 'The Brutal Language' and a great way to introduce our next one," said Mick.