Ruby Vanguard happened suddenly. I didn’t plan it, and I had never really thought about making music until a coworker asked me to listen to a song she had created about our job. I asked her how she made it, she told me about the site she used, and naturally, I had to go check it out.
At the time, I was going through an episode of vasculitis and was very ill. While dealing with the pain, exhaustion, frustration, and uncertainty, I started thinking about something I had rarely heard in music: songs that speak directly to chronic illness.
There are endless songs about heartbreak, loss, love, and relationships, but I wanted something that captured the whirlwind of emotions that can come with being sick — the fear, anger, pain, isolation, hope, and everything in between.
So I started writing.
My first song came more naturally than I expected. Not long after, I put the lyrics into Suno and heard them turned into a complete song. I was amazed.
More importantly, creating gave my mind somewhere else to go. Instead of focusing completely on what my body was putting me through, I could take those thoughts and emotions and turn them into something.
Before long, I had created an entire album chronicling my experience with illness.
After that first album, the ideas kept coming.
I began finding inspiration in everyday life — my own experiences, my family, friendships, frustrations, memories, and the things people go through that aren’t always easy to say out loud.
My second album was about needing your friends when life gets difficult. Somewhere during that process, I realized I wasn’t simply creating random songs.
I was creating stories.
That became the foundation of Ruby Vanguard. Every album tells a story, and every song has a reason for being there. The genre may change. The voices may change. The mood definitely changes. But the emotion behind the music is always intentional.
As I created more music, I also started learning how to shape the sound more carefully — choosing different voices for different songs while still trying to keep each album consistent.
And I kept learning.
AI became a major part of that process. I use tools like Suno and ChatGPT to help me develop ideas, work on lyrics, explore musical direction, create imagery, understand marketing, and learn about distribution.
For me, AI became more than just a button I pressed to generate something. It became a creative partner and a way for me to learn skills I never expected to be using.
I never thought I would be making music.
But here I am.
At the heart of Ruby Vanguard, I want people to know that whatever they are going through, they are not the only ones carrying something.
Our situations may be completely different, but pain, fear, frustration, loneliness, hope, and resilience are things many of us understand.
Through Vanguard Notes, I’ll share the stories behind the albums, the ideas behind individual songs, what I’m learning while making the music, and probably a few things that went completely wrong along the way.
I’d also love for readers to interact, share their own experiences, and connect with one another.
Some Ruby Vanguard songs are hopeful. Some are reflective.
And yes, some are angry.
If you’ve ever been sick, frustrated, dismissed, overwhelmed, or just plain tired of dealing with life, I’m pretty sure you’ll understand why.
My hope is that somewhere in all of it, you find a song that speaks to you — something that helps soothe your heart, your mind, or maybe just makes you feel a little less alone.
This is Vanguard Notes.
The stories behind the music, and the life behind the stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment