The Aces (indie pop band)

The Aces (formerly The Blue Aces) are an American alternative pop band from Provo, Utah.[1] The band has four members: guitarist Katie Henderson, bassist McKenna Petty, and sisters Alisa Ramirez (drums) and Cristal Ramirez (lead vocals and guitars.)[2]

The Aces
The Aces performing at Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA, 2017
Background information
OriginProvo, Utah, U.S.
Genres
Years active2016 (2016)–present
LabelsRed Bull Records
Members
  • Katie Henderson
  • McKenna Petty
  • Alisa Ramirez
  • Cristal Ramirez

Their first single as The Aces, "Stuck", was released in 2016, eventually reaching #38 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in late 2017.[3][4] The band's second single, "Physical", was released in 2017 in advance of their debut EP I Don’t Like Being Honest.[5][6] The band is signed to Red Bull Records. The band's debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic was released on April 6, 2018.[7] The Aces worked with six producers on the records, but Dan Gibson and Simon Oscroft were particularly influential, being involved in half of the material.[8]

The Aces joined 5 Seconds of Summer for their Meet You There Tour, in support of their third album, Youngblood (2018). Following this tour, they embarked on their own North American headlining tour in support of When My Heart Felt Volcanic, the Waiting For You Tour.

Career

Origin

The Aces began when sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez were eight years old. Although neither sister could exactly determine when their musical career visions began, the Ramirez sisters were raised in a music loving household where their father would dance salsa with them and their mother played 1980s pop artists like Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.[9] With a piqued interest, they began to jam out while studying and taking notes from their favorite bands on YouTube.

One Christmas season, the sisters had asked her best friend, McKenna Petty, to ask for a bass for Christmas. Soon after, the trio, all self taught, formed the Blue Aces. They began to jam and experiment in their neighbor's garage. In 2008 the band was officially formed when Petty's friend, Katie Henderson, joined the group.[10] Collectively, The Aces began to sharpen their talents and get their raw exposure throughout high school while performing locally at venues and bars. Over the years, as they expanded their presence within their local music scene they were listed on the “Top 10 Best Bands in Provo” by Provo Buzz and “10 Best Utah Bands You Should Know” by Paste Magazine.[11] In 2014, the girls decided to professionally pursue a musical career after watching 18 year old singer, songwriter Lorde win her first Grammy.[12]

With no industry ties, the girls began their hunt for professional connections first starting by working with accomplished producers. Particularly the key to buzz surrounding them, record label soon came calling for them. In 2016, Red Bull Records signed them.

As the Blue Aces (2012–2014)

Katie Henderson, McKenna Petty, Alisa Ramirez, and Cristal Ramirez started as the Blue Aces in 2012. They released two EPs as the Blue Aces before they changed their name to The Aces.

I Don't Like Being Honest (2014–2017)

In 2016, they wrote two songs independently: "Volcanic Love" and "Stuck". Soon after, The Aces were signed with Red Bull Records and the band embarked on songwriting and recording sessions.

On June 23, 2017, the band's debut EP (under the new name), I Don't Like Being Honest, was released. Their debut single, "Stuck", reached No. 38 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[3] During SXSW they performed at Nylon, Noisey, Rachael Ray's Feedback House, and Quantum Collective's SX Invasion. For the rest of 2017, The Aces found themselves sharing the stage with alternative bands such as Joywave and Portugal. The Man.[13]

When My Heart Felt Volcanic (2018–2019)

Early February 2018, The Aces teased their upcoming debut album. To celebrate, they announced their tour with indie pop band, Coin. Two months later, on April 6, 2018, The Aces released When My Heart Felt Volcanic. On May 16, 2018, The band performed on Seth Meyer's Late Night Show. Their song “Strong Enough” was featured on the soundtrack of NBA 2K20

The Aces were announced as the opening act for 5 Seconds of Summer's Meet You There World Tour. Subsequently, they announced their first ever headlining tours in the US and Europe, When My Heart Felt Volcanic, the Waiting For You Tour. They played festival stages and larger venues for the rest of 2018 and early 2019.

Under My Influence (2020–present)

On March 4, 2020, The Aces released their first single of their second LP, titled "Daydream". A music video for the song was released on March 24, 2020.[14]

On April 6, 2020, the second single was released, titled "Lost Angeles". On May 6, 2020, The Aces revealed the title and track listing of the album, Under My Influence, along with the release of a third single, "My Phone is Trying to Kill Me".

Their fourth single from Under My Influence, "Kelly" was released on June 1, 2020. The album was originally slated for release on June 12, 2020.[15][16] However, on June 7, the band announced that the album would be delayed in response to the George Floyd protests.[17] The band's official website revealed the new release date as July 17, 2020.[18]

Band members

The Aces consists of Katie Henderson, McKenna Petty, Alisa Ramirez, and Cristal Ramirez. The band started while they were all in school together. Sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez, along with their best friends, decided to start turning their musical after school get-togethers into a career.

  • Cristal Ramirez – lead vocals and guitar
  • Katie Henderson – guitar and vocals
  • McKenna Petty – bass and vocals
  • Alisa Ramirez – drums and vocals

Musical style

The Aces have cited as musical and career influences Paramore, Earth Wind and Fire, the Beatles, New Order, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson and Weezer.[19]

The Aces musical style has been described as indie pop and alternative pop. They are an all-girl band and members have expressed the desire to break the idea of the "girl band/girl group" genre. The media has often looked at gender first rather than their music when referring to The Aces. Cristal Ramirez said in an interview with Capitol Sound DC, "we are just a band! I don’t see why people have to see gender all the time and make it a thing. But at the same time, it is unique and it is a strength of ours that we are all women. We wanna inspire other girls and we get that all the time –fans coming up to us and being like ‘oh my gosh you guys are so inspiring I wanna be in the music industry’ or ‘I wanna start a band.'"[20]

Discography

Albums
List of studio albums, with release date and label shown
Title Details
When My Heart Felt Volcanic
Under My Influence
  • Released: July 17, 2020[22]
  • Label: Red Bull
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays
List of extended plays, with release date and label shown
Title Details
The Blue Aces
(as The Blue Aces)
  • Released: May 11, 2012[23]
  • Label: Red Bull
  • Formats: Digital download
Gave You My Heart
(as The Blue Aces)
  • Released: April 18, 2014[24]
  • Label: Red Bull
  • Formats: Digital download
I Don't Like Being Honest
  • Released: June 23, 2017[25]
  • Label: Red Bull[26]
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles
List of singles, with year released and album shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US Alt. Songs
[3]
"Stuck"
(original, Spanish version or RAC remix)[27][28][29]		 2016 38 I Don't Like Being Honest
"Physical"[30] 2017 —
"Baby Who" —
"Touch" —
"Fake Nice" 2018 — When My Heart Felt Volcanic
"Volcanic Love" —
"Lovin' is Bible"[31] —
"Just Like That"[32] —
"Last One"
(original or Spanish version)[33][34]		 —
"Waiting For You" —
"Daydream"[35] 2020 — Under My Influence
"Lost Angeles"[36] —
"My Phone is Trying to Kill Me"[37] —
"Kelly"[38] —

Music videos
List of music videos, with year released and director shown
Title Year Director
"Stuck" 2016 Alisa Ramirez
"Physical" 2017 Charlotte Rutherford
"Baby Who" Alisa Ramirez
"Volcanic Love" 2018 Nico Poalillo, Alisa Ramirez
"Last One" Alisa Ramirez
"Daydream" 2020 Alisa Ramirez

Tours

Headlining
  • Waiting For You Tour (2019) (United States)

Opening act
gollark: It wasn't that. It was some weird historical factors, and it being easy to write compilers for, and being tied to Unix.
gollark: Idea: go to the fairly recent past, bring a random laptop or something, wow people with your more powerful computer.
gollark: The programmers of the past were better than you, and made their programming languages from scratch on less power than random microcontrollers have.
gollark: With lots of tooling already.
gollark: On fast computers.

References
  1. BBC Music 5 April 2018 Mark Savage The Aces: 'Not all girl bands are the same'
  2. NME Apr 7, 2017 New Music Of The Day: The Aces – 'Physical'
  3. The 405 18 May 2016 The Aces unveil the impossibly joyous 'Stuck'
  4. "Alternative Songs". Billboard. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. NPR. April 6, 2017 The Aces' Sparkling 'Physical' Asks Pop Music For Some Substance On Sex
  6. Clash 23 June 2017 Robin Murray Track by Track: The Aces 'I Don't Like Being Honest' EP
  7. The Aces – 'When My Heart Felt Volcanic' Review
  8. "In Interview: The Aces on debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic – Live Manchester – Manchester gigs, theatre, dance, museums and more". Live Manchester – Manchester gigs, theatre, dance, museums and more. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  9. SXSW 2017 Music Discovery: The Aces on Their New Single & First SXSW | Billboard, retrieved 2019-10-27
  10. Savage, Mark (2018-04-05). "The Aces: 'Not all girl bands are the same'". Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  11. Records, Red Bull. "The Aces – Red Bull Records". Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  12. "Chartbreaker: Pop-Rock Quartet The Aces Were Inspired By Lorde To Get Serious". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  13. "INTERVIEW - The Aces Talk Debut Album, Perform "Fake Nice"". Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  14. "The Aces - Daydream (Official Music Video)".
  15. Deborah (2020-05-06). "The Aces announce new album, stream new single". Indie is not a genre. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  16. Matozzo, Marissa (May 6, 2020). "The Aces wants you under their influence". Paper Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  17. "Dear Aces Faces". Instagram. 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  18. "The Aces Official". The Aces Official. 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  19. "Get to Know: The Aces | MTV UK". www.mtv.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  20. "Interview: The Aces". Capitol Sound DC. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  21. Mylrea, Hannah (April 5, 2018). "The Aces – 'When My Heart Felt Volcanic' Review". NME. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  22. "The Aces Official". The Aces Official. 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  23. "The Blue Aces – The Blue Aces EP Release". Amazon. May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  24. Mann, Court (April 17, 2020). "The Blue Aces take a step forward on new EP". Herald Extra. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  25. "The Aces release debut EP 'I Don't Like Being Honest' out now". Inquirer. June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  26. "I Don't Like Being Honest – EP by The Aces on Apple Music". Apple Music US. June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  27. Graves, Shahlin (January 11, 2017). "Interview: 2017 Must-Know – The Aces". Coup De Main Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  28. >"Stuck (Spanish Version) – Single by The Aces on Apple Music". Apple Music US. June 23, 2017.
  29. "Stuck (RAC Mix) – Single by The Aces on Apple Music". Apple Music US. August 11, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  30. Gotrich, Lars (April 6, 2017). "The Aces' sparkling 'Physical' asks pop music for some substance on sex". NPR. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  31. Jones, Abby (21 March 2018). "Today's Song: The Aces' "Lovin' is Bible" celebrates love under any higher power". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  32. "The Aces premieres new song "Just Like That" on SoundCloud". PM Studio. March 11, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  33. Haas, Anna (July 23, 2018). "The Aces give a sugar rushed performance in "Last One" music video". Paste Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  34. "Last One (Spanish Version) – Single by The Aces' on Apple Music". Apple Music US. September 7, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  35. "The Aces are back with their fab new single, 'Daydream'". Dork. March 5, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  36. Kaplan, Ilana (April 6, 2020). "The Aces talk new single "Lost Angeles" and making music during COVID-19 pandemic". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  37. Muir, Jamie (May 19, 2020). "The Aces have revealed a new music video for 'My Phone is Trying to Kill Me'". Dork. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  38. Kenneally, Cerys (June 1, 2020). "The Aces release new single "Kelly" to coincide with Pride Month". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
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