Heartt and Harmony: The Musical Metamorphosis of Lara Ruggles to Sharkk Heartt

Learn More About Sharkk Heartt:

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/sharkkheartt

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/sharkkheartt/

Website:  https://www.sharkkheartt.com/

Episode Highlights

• Early Inspirations: Discover the roots of Lara’s musical journey and her early encounters with the piano.
• Stage Name Significance: Explore why Lara chose the name Sharkk Heartt and what it represents in her career.
• Advocacy in Action: Learn about Lara’s involvement with NIVA and her role in supporting independent music venues.
• Upcoming Attractions: Get the inside scoop on Lara’s new projects and where you can catch her live performances in Tucson.

Unveiling the Heartt: Lara Ruggles’ Journey to Sharkk Heartt

Welcome to a special episode of Life Along The Streetcar, where we delve deep into the musical and personal evolution of Lara Ruggles, Tucson’s own melody weaver, who performs under the enchanting stage name Sharkk Heartt. This page offers you an exclusive look at our interview with Lara, complete with embedded video content, a SoundCloud podcast, and a detailed transcript of our conversation.

The Spark of Creation: Musical Beginnings and Inspirations

In the lush backdrop of Tucson Gallery Studios, Lara shares the origins of her musical journey, reminiscing about her early reluctance towards formal piano lessons and how personal challenges shaped her artistic path. “I would just plunk things out on the piano at home. I remember crafting ‘The Real Lara’s Theme’ as a kind of declaration of my own musical identity,” Lara recalls, her words echoing her deep connection to music from a young age.

From Lara to Sharkk: A Name, A Persona

The transformation from Lara Ruggles to Sharkk Heartt was not just about a change of name but a profound evolution in artistic expression and personal growth. “Sharkk Heartt represented a new chapter, where I could funnel my experiences and the intensity of my music into a persona that stood out as distinct and robust,” Lara explains. This section reveals the thought process behind adopting her stage name and how it serves as an armor and amplifier for her music.

Championing Spaces: Advocacy and the Independent Venue Scene

Lara’s involvement with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) highlights her dedication beyond performance, towards sustaining the cultural infrastructure that supports artists. “When COVID hit, it became clear that independent venues would need a unified voice to survive. That’s when I stepped into a more active role with NIVA,” she states. This advocacy underscores the challenges and triumphs faced by independent venues during the pandemic.

Echoes of the Future: New Projects and Upcoming Gigs

Looking ahead, Lara discusses her upcoming projects and performances, offering listeners a preview of what’s next for both Lara Ruggles and Sharkk Heartt. “I’m currently working on two albums that represent the dual aspects of my music and persona. They’re about bringing everything full circle,” she reveals, setting the stage for an exciting musical continuation.

Connect and Follow the Hearttbeat: Stay Engaged with Sharkk Heartt

Dive deeper into the rhythmic world of Sharkk Heartt by visiting her official website and following her on Facebook and Instagram. Experience her latest tracks, upcoming concert dates, and get behind-the-scenes content that brings you closer to Tucson’s vibrant music scene. Check out SharkkHeartt.com, follow her at @SharkkHeartt on Instagram, and like her Facebook page to keep up with her musical journey.

Get Involved: Engage with Life Along The Streetcar

Interested in learning more about this interview or how you can feature an inspiring local Tucsonan on our show? Contact Tom Heath today! We are always on the lookout for compelling stories that highlight the spirit and passion of Tucson. Nominate someone today who is making a difference in our community and help us showcase the diverse and dynamic voices of our city.

Tom Heath

Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the Old Pueblo and you’re listening to KTDT Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson community sponsored all volunteer powered rock and roll radio station. On this week’s show, we’re going to speak with Lara Ruggles, also known as Shark Heart. Lara’s unique journey through the music industry has led her to champion independent venues as part of the organization called NEVA, and you know, she’s not just a musician, she is a force for change. So we stopped by the Tucson Gallery Studios earlier in the week and talked about her musical endeavors, the vibrant world of live venues, and the life experiences that shape her art. Today is May 6 2024. My name is Tom Heath, and you’re listening to life along the streetcar. Each and every Sunday, our focus is on social, cultural and economic impacts in Tucson’s urban core. And we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about. From a mountain to the University

Tom Heath

of Arizona and all stops in between. You get the Inside Track right here on 99 .1 FM, streaming on downtownradio .org. Also available on your iPhone or Android, their very own Downtown Tucson Radio app. And if you want to interact with us directly on the show, we recommend you do that on Facebook and Instagram under lifealongthestreetcar. And if you want more information about us, maybe listen to some past episodes or contact us, you can head over to our website, which is lifealongthestreetcar .org. We were joined earlier this week by Lara Ruggles, also known as Shark Heart. We met up at the Tucson Gallery Studios and recorded a little interview. Her life is just really connected through so many different ways, but really bringing a positive environment and vibe into this world through her music, through her efforts, and thought, you know, we just need to showcase her and her wonderful gifts to the world. And I hope you enjoy the interview recorded with her just a few days ago at the Tucson

Tom Heath

Gallery Studios. All right, so we are with Lara Ruggles, a Tucson kind of native, kind of leftist, kind of prodigal daughter returned.

Lara Ruggles

I guess you could say that.

Tom Heath

And I was, I was doing the research for this and I’m like, I don’t even know where to begin that. Like there’s so many threads of your life that, that connect, but they all, they all come through in your music. So you are, are you first and foremost a musician? Yes. Okay. Absolutely.

Lara Ruggles

That’s where my whole heart is.

Tom Heath

Well, then let’s start this interview with where your whole heart is. We’ll get to the other stuff later, if we have time.

Tom Heath

How long have you been in music? When did you get the desire to be a musician?

Lara Ruggles

So I’m going to take you all the way back to when I was like eight or nine.

Tom Heath

Okay.

Lara Ruggles

And we had a piano in the house growing up. And at that point, we lived in Richmond, Virginia. we hadn’t, my family hadn’t moved to Tucson yet. And my mom was always asking me if I wanted piano lessons. And I was like, no, I’m fine on my own. And I would just plunk things out. And I knew that the, the protagonist in Dr. Zhivago shared my name. And so I listened to the song Lara’s theme for, and so we pronounce it differently, but I listened to the song Lara’s theme and I didn’t like it because at that, when I was eight and nine, I liked music that just was just repeated the same theme over and over and that, that piece of music, it’s really melodic and it goes all over the place and it’s really fun. Um, but it’s not repetitive the way that I, my eight year old brain liked to hear. And so I sat down at the piano and I like still have this little piece of paper. That’s like sheet music that I wrote called the real Laris theme.

Tom Heath

We’ll take one second here. You wrote this, so did you get lessons on how to write or you just…

Lara Ruggles

We had books and like my mom had sat me down and like taught me a little bit about reading sheet music.

Tom Heath

Okay. So you knew what all the little letters and numbers and symbols were at eight years old. I thought you were going to tell me about mimicking the song, but you actually wrote sheet music.

Lara Ruggles

I did. I wrote the sheet music.

Tom Heath

Okay, so we have eight -year -old Lara redoing Lara’s song.

Lara Ruggles

Yes, yes. And then like fast forward a couple years and my sister started taking violin lessons and then she started to get good. Like she got beyond that like screechy, you know, hump of learning to play a stringed instrument and she started getting good. And I was like, oh no, my like sister who’s four years younger than me is better at music now than I am. We can’t have that. And that’s when I went to my mom And I was like, okay, I want, I want those piano lessons.

Tom Heath

Okay. And, uh, so at eight years old, you’re like doing it on my own, but then the

Lara Ruggles

competition, it was all about competition when I was like 15 or 16, I decided that I wanted to be like the Arizona version of jewel.

Tom Heath

Okay.

Lara Ruggles

Um, cause I also like lived out east of Tucson at that point, like out in the desert and, um, like had gotten my own horse and like, yeah, kind of lived this like life that mirrored hers in some ways. And so I really identified with like her story. And I was like, but she started writing songs when she was like 15. So if I want to be at the same place that she’s at, I got to start now. And I got to like, I got to figure out how to write lyrics and make it all come together. So that’s, that’s like why I wrote.

Tom Heath

Then in your competition, in competition with Jewel.

Lara Ruggles

Exactly.

Tom Heath

And, and your sister, you got a man, you probably didn’t sleep a whole lot. a lot of people coming after you. You had to go get it. Oh man. So you, you, uh, you grew up here in Tucson. Then you wrote music, you lived in the desert. You were going to be Arizona’s jewel.

Lara Ruggles

And then you left us. I did. Well, I moved away for college. I moved to Prescott for college. And then like my last year of college, um, my boyfriend at the time, and I moved to Colorado, He had a job opportunity there and I spent like a semester as a guest student at Naropa University and Yeah, it ended up being a that ended up being a great place for us for Quite a while. I lived in Colorado for nine years and then still playing music

Tom Heath

I assume and yes We’re gonna be the jewel of Colorado at that point or had you moved on to someone else that you were gonna emulate

Lara Ruggles

Well to be honest, like I took a break for a couple years right after college just because immediately upon graduating college, I had that realization of what it actually meant to have student loans and make student loan payments. And I was like, oh no, I need a real job to make this work.

Tom Heath

The artist’s dream is crushed.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah, in that, yeah. So sometimes I wonder if I had it to go back and do over again, would I have quit school after my third year of college so that I didn’t double my loans. Maybe, maybe, maybe. But, um, but I ended up, I ended up with a job that, that was great for a few years and, and was really meaningful. But, um, but I took a break from songwriting and, and it wasn’t until, you know, I kind of reached that point. I think that all artists do where you just feel like your soul is getting crushed a little bit more every day. And there’s no like valve for expression that I realized I needed to take a step back and dive back into music.

Tom Heath

And then you play now under the moniker of Shark Heart.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah.

Tom Heath

With two K’s and two T’s.

Lara Ruggles

Yes.

Tom Heath

Is this something that dates back to your Colorado days or is this more of a recent?

Lara Ruggles

That kind of happened right as I was moving back to Tucson in 2016. I had released an album the year before that and I was working on like a new collection of songs that I felt like were going in a different direction. Like looking back on it, it’s not that different. It’s all me, right? But like at the time I was like, wow, this is really different. People aren’t gonna recognize this as like Lara Ruggles. And I think I was also trying to create some distance between like me and my artist persona, like some kind of artifact that could allow it to like hurt a little less if someone was like, yeah, that’s not my thing.

Tom Heath

I got you.

Lara Ruggles

And it worked for that, for sure. And so now I’m in this like confusing place where I’m like, well, I play the Shark Heart songs and the Lara Ruggles songs as part of the same sets whenever I play for like more than an hour at a time. So it’s kind of confusing for me and probably for my audience, but we just have to muddle our way through it.

Tom Heath

Sometimes art is messy. Sometimes it’s messy, you just have to make, you know, and your diehard fans are probably able to point that out. Oh, that’s the Laredes, that’s the Laredes. I remember that from back in Colorado from her first album.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah.

Tom Heath

So your fans get to get to know that.

Lara Ruggles

For sure.

Tom Heath

We’re speaking with Lara Ruggles, also known as Shark Heart. We have talked a little bit about her history and her music. And after the break, we’re going to dive into some work she does with the National Independent Venue Association and talk about live concert venues and how they’re surviving and doing after the challenges of the COVID era. But first I want to remind you that you are listening to Life Along the Streetcar on Downtown Radio 99 .1 FM and we’re streaming at downtownradio .org.

Tom Heath

Well, if you’re just joining us, we’re in the midst of a conversation recorded earlier in the week with Lara Ruggles, also known as Shark Heart. That’s Shark with two Ks and Heart with two Ts. She has a unique journey. The podcast was recorded over at the Tucson Gallery Studios just on Monday of this week, and we’re gonna get into the second half talking about her role with the National Independent Venues Association. Obviously, as a performer, you’re always looking for places to perform, and I know you’ve worked with local venues yourself here in Tucson, and I was somewhat intrigued because you recently served on the board of a national organization for independent venues. Yeah. And you’re still working with them. Like, how does that how does that come to be?

Lara Ruggles

That came to be through COVID and the unique challenges that that the COVID pandemic presented to venues. There were there was a crew of of venue owners and promoters that had been talking about the need to, like, kind of come together as more of a coalition and be able to activate together and be able to push for like funding and congressional support together. But it wasn’t until COVID that like, that they were like, okay, this has to happen. Like if we’re going to survive, this has to happen. And so they started the National Independent Venue Association and a bunch more independent venue owners and promoters across the country just got on board and started really all working together toward the same goal, which was getting relief funding specifically for independent venues. Because like as the first businesses to close and the last businesses that we’re going to be able to open during the pandemic, like getting a PPP loan that would be good for like 12 weeks, was not going to get them

Lara Ruggles

through, you know,

Tom Heath

I didn’t realize that the the acronym is NIVA. I didn’t I thought that predated COVID, but it really, the idea did, but the association itself came about. And do you know how many members are currently represented across the country? How many venues?

Lara Ruggles

I think there’s something like 1 ,500 current members.

Tom Heath

And I do remember going back to the COVID days that there was then successfully some legislation that was passed. And I remember talking to the team at the Rialto Theater and they’re like, you know, we just need this and thank heavens we’ve got this. Cause I don’t know if we’d have the Rialto. So I don’t know if we’d have some of these venues if they didn’t get that money.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah, I think very likely we would not. It was a $16 billion grant package that got passed in Congress, which represents like the largest public rescue of the arts in US history. So it was a pretty huge success. And it’s been really amazing to see what’s happened in the wake of that and like some of the bills and some of the local funding that has continued to be passed because you now have this national network of owners and promoters who are like working together and saying, this is what we did in our state that worked and that got the attention of our representatives. Here’s all the materials in case anyone wants to try and replicate this where they’re at.

Tom Heath

And is it still primarily focused on funding or have they moved into other avenues of programming or do they?

Lara Ruggles

There’s a lot. There’s a lot that NEVA’s doing. And so NEVA is the 501c6 arm that is able to lobby and work on different campaigns and getting different bills passed. And then they have the National Independent Venue Foundation that is the 501c3.

Tom Heath

Okay.

Lara Ruggles

And they’re working on like a workforce training program called the Venue Operations Experience, VOCES for short. And so they’re working with like six or nine different venues. they like they started with three and they keep adding three more and three more across the country to basically like create this experience, this paid internship experience with the idea of like making getting into the music industry and learning about the music industry more accessible

Tom Heath

for a wider range of people. Okay, so not just not just the musicians, but the people that the

Lara Ruggles

technicians, the engineers. Yeah, yeah. And recognizing that the music industry has been in like a really white dude centric place for a really long time and trying to change that and recognizing that like a lot of folks who grew up in like less advantaged, like marginalized backgrounds cannot afford to take an unpaid internship. And so trying to like, trying to remove some of those barriers and make getting into the industry just more accessible and something that anybody can reach.

Tom Heath

I think that you have to have, usually in those situations, you have to have some type of funding or mechanism, otherwise you’re just gonna continue the same cycle that’s created what we currently have. And if you’re gonna break that, then something has to change and paying the bills isn’t one of those things that can change. You have to find a way to make that happen.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah.

Tom Heath

Do you know, like from an independent venues, I’m assuming in places like the Rialto Theater are involved with this. Are there other, do you know of others in Tucson that are involved with NEVA?

Lara Ruggles

I think that Congress is a member, but I don’t know for sure. There’s definitely other venues in Tucson that are members, but I haven’t looked at the updated list in a while, so I’m not sure.

Tom Heath

Just curious for my, I mean, I can certainly go and check that out. I didn’t realize it existed until I saw it on your resume or your bio, and then when I researched it, I didn’t, again, realize it had just started. This seemed to me like an organization that had been around for decades, because you’ve done so much in the last few years.

Lara Ruggles

I mean, when you get together like hundreds of people who just, their schedules just got cleared for the foreseeable future and they have the energy of music industry folks, like a lot’s gonna happen.

Tom Heath

So then back to the music, you’ve released an album. Are you working on an album right now?

Lara Ruggles

Yeah, I’m working on two different albums right now.

Tom Heath

One for Lara and one for Shark Heart?

Lara Ruggles

Yes, actually.

Tom Heath

I’m figuring this out.

Lara Ruggles

Yep. I just finished recording and producing an album. I worked with Steve and Tracy at St. Cecilia Studios to finish up the production. And I worked with another friend, Steve, in Colorado to start it all off. Steve Varney, who has a project called Kid Reverie that just released a new song. It’s so beautiful. His music is so beautiful.

Tom Heath

He’s out of Colorado?

Lara Ruggles

He’s out of Colorado, yeah.

Tom Heath

Tell him to move to Tucson so I can interview him. Or do at least do a show in Tucson so I can get him on this broadcast.

Lara Ruggles

I’ll let him know.

Tom Heath

Okay, I’m sure he’ll be.

Lara Ruggles

I’ll set something up for him. Yeah, I’ll do it for Tom.

Tom Heath

I’ll get this whole tour going for that Tom guy.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah, definitely, yep. No, but so he’s great, they’re both great, And and I just got the final mixes back for that album. So I’m I’ll just be working to like your master and get the album art done and manufacture and set up the release shows and all of that.

Tom Heath

So what’s the harder part where you are now or getting to this point?

Lara Ruggles

That’s such a hard question.

Tom Heath

Both. It’s all hard.

Lara Ruggles

It’s all it all takes so much longer than you think it’s going to take starting out, like every, every single album I’ve made, I’ve gone, this one’s not going to take me four years when I first start recording it. And then four years later,

Tom Heath

the recording, I mean, you would think, okay, get the song done. That’s the hard part. But then I’ve talked to multiple musicians that it’s like, okay, the song is done. But that’s, that’s just sort of like stage one of this entire lengthy process.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah. Yeah. Because there’s so much like, there’s so much music getting released every day. And there’s such a big online world out there. And like, everything is dependent on algorithms. And, and so if you can’t, like, if you can’t launch a really robust marketing campaign to accompany your album, and like, really get it some attention right out of the gate, then you’re kind of just like releasing it into a void. And so, yeah, I think every artist is like, I want to give this baby its best chance to grow up.

Tom Heath

Absolutely, you put a lot of time and effort into it and you want someone to be able to receive that message on the other end. I think messaging, I’ve listened to a few of your songs and it was a quote from a magazine or somewhere where you talked about, and I’m paraphrasing, but that music has the power to start revolution, but it also has the power to create the healing. And that’s kind of a very powerful statement for that medium. And your music is like that. I mean, you talk about very personal things and topics that are very specific to who you are as a person.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah.

Tom Heath

Do you remember at what point that became part of who you were? It probably wasn’t your eight -year -old self, but was there a moment or a band or a person that you listened to and you’re like, You know what, I can do more with my music or did it just sort of slowly happen?

Lara Ruggles

I definitely think there was like a pivotal period where like, like as a teenager, where I was listening to the like the Lilith Fair generation of songwriters. I was listening to a lot of Jewel and Sarah McLachlan and Tracy Chapman and Tori Amos and Natalie Merchant and like, and really identifying with all of those songwriters and going, that’s, that’s who I want to be and where I want to be. And so I think, I think I knew that music could be that. But I think another part of like, like kind of adopting Shark Heart as as a stage name was starting to get a little bit more radicalized in my adult life and realizing that I really wanted to be conveying a larger, that I wanted my music to be something that wasn’t just personal to me, that wasn’t just like my own valve of like, how do I cope with the feelings of living in the world?

Tom Heath

Right.

Lara Ruggles

But something that had a bigger message.

Tom Heath

It certainly sounds like, in listening to what I have, that you have that message combined with your story. Yeah. It’s not just preaching to the world, it’s sort of your perspective, your evolution through some of these significant issues and how they’ve helped to shape you and how, in turn, it sounds like you’re trying to help shape them.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah, I mean, I think that I think that vulnerability is a really key part of activism, you know, being able to be honest about where you came from and like what you didn’t know a year ago, you know, and, and recognizing that, while maybe we all have a responsibility to take in as many different perspectives as we can and like do the work to try and understand where those perspectives are coming from. We can only ever really speak from our own perspective and acknowledging how limited that is.

Tom Heath

And I think sometimes people try to speak from a larger perspective and it’s very disingenuine. It doesn’t come across in the same way that someone who is, again, like you said, vulnerability of this is what I know. It might be right, it might be wrong, but this is what I know and based upon that, this is what I’m doing. Wow, how do people follow you? What personality

Lara Ruggles

is best to track down on social media? All of my social media handles are Shark Heart. Okay. And I always say, yeah, I always say shark like the dangerous fish with two k’s and heart like the organ in your body with two t’s. Okay. Yeah. So that’s the best way. Shark Heart, Instagram, Facebook, sharkhard .com. Okay. Yeah. I just got on tick tock. I have a, I know I have a friend who, um, has been really encouraging me to, to get on tick tock for a while. And, and I was like, well, I quit my job. I’m spending a year focusing on music. Now’s the time. Now’s the time to make a little bit more space in my life for another social media platform. Of course. And I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.

Tom Heath

Well, that’s that’s good. I think that if you have a whole theory and tick tock, which I won’t get into here. However, are you performing any of the music? I know I saw some concert dates in Colorado, but do you have anything coming up here in Tucson? It’s got to think, I do.

Lara Ruggles

I do. I’ll be playing.

Tom Heath

Check. Yeah, you have to check with my people, Tom. Yeah, I just show up.

Lara Ruggles

Uh -huh. I have a set at the Gardens at Bear Canyon on May 31st, and then I’ll be at Chillin’ at the Chul, at Tohono Chul on June 28th.

Tom Heath

All right, well, we need to get you back downtown, get you back to your roots.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah, absolutely. I just reached out to Congress today about doing something in the fall. Hopefully I’ll be ready to release the album by then.

Tom Heath

Okay.

Lara Ruggles

Yeah.

Tom Heath

Well, Lara Ruggles, I really appreciate your time, your energy, thanks for what you’re putting into the world, and thanks for coming down to meet with us and chat about your music and what you’re doing to strengthen venues across the country.

Lara Ruggles

Thank you so much for having me. It’s a pleasure.

Tom Heath

Clara Ruggles, a force for positive change in our community. Thanks so much for taking your time to join us. My name is Tom Heath. You are listening to Life Along the Streetcar and Downtown Radio, 99 .1 FM and streaming on downtownradio .org.

Tom Heath

Episode 293 is now wrapping up. Thank you to our guest, Lara Ruggles, but stay tuned. Words and Work with Ted Przelski is coming up in just a few minutes. And then Ty Logan with Heavy Mental at the top of the hour. You want to reach us here on the show, Instagram and Facebook are a great way to do that, or contact at lifealongthestreetcar .org. James Portis is our production specialist. My name is Tom Heath. I am your host and producer. And we always want to thank Ryan Hood for letting us use their song, Dillinger Days, to lead off every one of our shows. And we’re going to leave you, of course, with our guest Shark Heart today. This is from a 2021 album called Wars Our Mothers Fought. And this is a test. I hope you have a great week and tune in next Sunday for more life along the streetcar.