Photo by Daniel Leon
Written by Jennifer Moglia
Three months into 2021, a ton of great new music has already been released. Fresh off of dropping their new single "Say it Again" and signing to Anchor Eighty Four Records, we chatted with up-and-coming pop-punk stars Ruthcrest about where they've been, where they're going, and what's next!
Jennifer Moglia: Introduce yourself and what you do in the band!
Adam Garcia: I'm Adam and I sing.
Charlie Carrillo: I'm Charlie, and I play guitar!
Aaron Garcia: And I'm Aaron, and I'm our bassist.
JM: How long have all of you been involved in music, whether it be making your own or just playing/singing?
Adam: Well, Ruthcrest has been a band since 2018, but, we've all been musically involved since we were kids. Growing up we would always jam in the garage to mainly covers in the beginning.
Then as we got older, we started to make our own songs. We eventually played shows and started taking it more seriously.
JM: How did Ruthcrest come to be? Had you guys known each other beforehand or been in other bands beforehand? Where does the name of the band come from?
CC: We all actually grew up with each other! I've known Adam and Aaron since grade school, they're brothers.
We've had other bands and side projects throughout the past [few] years leading up to Ruthcrest, and I think those experiences definitely helped shape where we are at now. Ruthcrest is [the name of] a street from our hometown, La Puente CA...the street where one of our good friends who's no longer with us grew up at.
JM: It sounds like you guys are super close, being family whether blood-related or not definitely helps. Next, I want to congratulate you on signing to Anchor Eighty Four Records!
How did the signing come to be? What was the reaction like from yourselves as well as friends/family and fans? How's it going so far?
Adam: Thank you! Yeah, we were super stoked when we found out we'd be signing to Anchor Eighty Four.
It's kind of been in the making, [a] behind-the-scenes type of thing, so we were happy when we finally announced the signing. Erick of Word is Bond Inc., our current manager, helped us out with that.
He reached out and fortunately Anchor took us on. The support we've been getting from everyone has been amazing.
Especially our fans! We know they've been waiting for some new material, so big shoutout to them for patiently waiting.
JM: So glad to hear that it's going well so far! I always remember Anchor Eighty Four as the label that put out my favorite Grayscale release, "What We're Missing", so I wanted to ask, what are your favorite releases from the label that aren't your own? Are there any artists on the label you'd like to collaborate or tour with?
Aaron: Definitely a banger! All the artists on the A84 roster are solid in my opinion, definitely should check them out if you can.
Right now I'm bumping Dear Youth and their latest album Heirloom, pretty good stuff. Big Smile and Alone I Walk are in my playlist as well.
JM: What are your dream artists to collaborate or tour with outside of your label? Any venues, cities, or festivals in particular you'd like to play when it's safe for shows to happen again? No limitations here, think big!
CC: Japan! We've always talked about touring in Japan, so that's definitely on our list.
Of course, Warped Tour, when and if they ever do make a comeback. It's pretty hard to answer this part, but we think it'd be super cool to tour with Blink 182 and The Story So Far.
JM: Definitely some good choices! I can hear the Story So Far influence for sure, and you'd fit right in on Warped.
You just released a single called "Say it Again" along with a music video, and it looks like the response has been awesome! Is there anything you want to say about the song or the process of making it?
Aaron: Big thank you to our buddies Andrew and Vini; Drew for helping write the guitar and Vini for performing the drums, those two are a big part of the song. The process of it was a little tough - we had done two previous versions and recordings of it before settling on the one you hear now, but after all that, we're really satisfied with the final product.
JM: Aside from "Say it Again" you have "Pre Season" from 2019 and "By Your Side" from 2018 out as well. What makes your new material (released or not) different from what we've already heard from you?
Adam: The songwriting has definitely progressed since then. We also implemented new styles and sounds into our new songs, while still staying close to our core sound. We're stoked to show everyone our new songs!
JM: So exciting! I'm a big believer that your most recent work should always be your favorite, and it certainly sounds like you guys feel that way which is awesome.
It's impossible not to hear the pop-punk influence in your songs, but I was wondering what bands in particular (if any) have inspired your sound or lyrics? I get a lot of Neck Deep/State Champs/Knuckle Puck-type modern pop-punk vibes!
CC: There are so many to list, but along with the bands you named, I think our top influences would be Blink 182, Senses Fail, A Day to Remember, The Used, and Silverstein. There are so many more, pretty much an entire classic Warped Tour lineup.
JM: Thank you so much for doing this! I wanted to leave the last question open for anything you want to say to anyone reading this or your fans, and feel free to plug or promote anything you want here as well!
We want to thank everyone who has supported Ruthcrest. It's been a long time coming, and we're excited to share with everyone what we have in store for 2021!
To keep updated with everything Ruthcrest you can visit our site where you'll find our music, merch, videos, and more. Stay safe and much love from all of us!
Once again, huge thanks to Ruthcrest for answering some of our questions! It can be hard to find musicians who are so genuinely thankful for the support they get and love what they do, and these guys are the perfect embodiment of that.
You don't want to miss what they do next, so you can follow along on Ruthcrest's journey by following them @Ruthcrest on all social media, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, as well as showing your support by picking up some merch on their website! Be sure to let us know who you want to see us interview next by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!
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