As Pride month comes to a close, The Aces – who recently celebrated with their Pridestream – say that now’s the time for the LGBTQIA+ community to ‘show yourself a lot of love’ and realize how ‘incredible you are!’

“There is truly nothing like the feeling of living in your truth and being surrounded by people who not only accept you but CELEBRATE you,” Cristal Ramirez of The Aces says when discussing PRIDE with HollywoodLife. With several members of The Aces identifying as queer women, Pride Month is a huge time for the group. The band – Cristal and her sister Alisa Ramirez (vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), McKenna Petty (bass), and Katie Henderson (lead guitar/vocals) – did their part to proudly wave the flag with their PRIDESTREAM, a June 15 event that saw them share their personal coming out stories in between intimate performances from the legendary Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

The final weekend of June will see parades and festivals worldwide – Paris, Milan, and New York City will hold their pride parades, to name a few. While millions will flood the streets in unabashed joy, there will be millions more who will watch from a distance. For those who can’t join in this year’s festivities, The Aces have a message for them, too. “Our hearts are with you, and just know that the day is coming where you will be able to publicly celebrate, but until then, please don’t forget to be so proud of yourself for how far you’ve come,” Cristal tells HollywoodLife.

2021 has been a busy time for the band. The Aces released some bonus tracks to Under My Influence, the album they put out in 2020. “These songs were some of the first we wrote…and although they didn’t end up on the initial body of work, we still felt like they were an important part of the story,” says Cristal over email. During the EXCLUSIVE interview with HL, she shared how the “Sleepy Eyes” video came about, the biggest lesson the band took from the 2020 pandemic, Utah’s best-kept secret, and more. Don’t forget to check out The Aces when they go on tour (details here) this November.

HollywoodLife: How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year? 

Cristal Ramirez of The Aces: ITSSSS A PARTYYYY IN THIS BIIITCH VAXXED BABIES STAND UPPPPP, QUEERS RISE !!!!!

With COVID canceling events last year, did your perspective change on Pride? Did it shift to “Wow, this really means something to me now that it’s gone,” or did you reach a sense of “Pride exists without parades and parties?” 

Honestly, it was a bit of both! There was a strong initial sadness when we knew we couldn’t experience pride in the traditional fashion (parties, etc.) But once that wore off, we found really fun ways to celebrate how we could. It was a good reminder that underneath all the parties and events, it’s important to remember the reason we celebrate. It’s so much more than going out, it’s about celebrating those who came before us and paved the way for us to be able to be out and proud. Specifically, the incredible Black trans women who led the movement.

What would you say to the person celebrating his/her/their first Pride this year? Or those who wish they could be celebrating? 

Ahhhhh to those who are celebrating: soak. it. UP. There is truly nothing like the feeling of living in your truth and being surrounded by people who not only accept you but CELEBRATE you. Just have a fuckin blast.

To those who aren’t/can’t: our hearts are with you, and just know that the day is coming where you will be able to publicly celebrate, but until then, please don’t forget to be so proud of yourself for how far you’ve come. Treat yourself, spoil yourself, show yourself a lot of love, and celebrate how incredible you are! There will be a day when you are at your first pride, hang in there.

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You recently shared some bonus tracks to your 2020 album, Under My Influence. Was this as a special thanks to your fans? Or did you feel like, “Damnit, these tracks are too good to keep to ourselves?”  

It was a bit of both, to be honest! These songs were some of the first we wrote in pursuit of Under My Influence, and although they didn’t end up on the initial body of work, we still felt like they were an important part of the story. So we wanted to give them their own little moment to shine.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/lTgtQZHnXqw?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent’ allowfullscreen=’true’ style=’border:0;’ sandbox=’allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation’>

You also shared a video for “Sleepy Eyes.” Who came up with the idea to have your fans (and, from the adorable shots in the video, your fans’ pets) in the video?  

It was actually the idea of one of our amazing team members at our label! Her name is Pearl, she’s great, and the video turned out amazing!

Usually, artists collect bonus tracks and B-sides into compilations, and sometimes, they’re better than the A-side. Do you have a favorite B-side from another group/artist (or a deep cut that you think deserves love?)  

Always, I stick by the notion that the best track is usually never the single. I distinctly remember listening to Doja Cat’s album when it first came out and hearing “Say So” (which at the time was not a single, just an album cut) and feeling like it was such a no brainer…. I guess TikTok agreed!