Three-quarters of the all-female Utah-native band The Aces are queer.

It’s not four of a kind, but it’s pretty good odds, regardless. The Aces’ 2023 album “I’ve Loved You For So Long” (Red Bull Records) features some of the catchiest and queerest songs you are likely to hear. In other words, there’s no question that these are same-gender love (and love lost) songs, beginning with the title track, featuring the lines, “You’re taking me back babe to where it all started/Wearing your hair up in your New York apartment.” When lead vocalist Cristal Ramirez sings “I don’t know when I fell/She doesn’t know as well,” there’s no doubt about what she’s singing about on “Girls Make Me Wanna Die.” That same openness is found on “Not The Same,” “Person,” “Suburban Blues,” and “Attention.” Sonically, The Aces’ pop style could qualify them as a queer Haim. In 2024, The Aces are embarking on a multi-city tour beginning with a set at the West Palm Beach music festival on May 4 at SunFest and continuing through the year. Cristal generously made time for an interview in advance of the tour dates.

Gregg Shapiro: Cristal, for those not in the know, please say a few words about the formation of the band The Aces.

Cristal Ramirez: The Aces are a four-piece band from Orem, Utah. All women. Three of the four of us are queer. We make indie pop rock music, I would say. We started together when we were really young. I’m 28 now, we started when I was like 10 years old. We grew up and went to school together. We started playing music in our small suburban town because we were drawn to it individually. We’ve been playing together for almost two decades.

GS: What are the best and worst parts about being in a band with your sister Alisa?

CR: [Laughs] I think the best part is that we’re so close. The difference in our ages is barely even a year and a half. We’ve grown up inseparably. It feels like we’re almost twins, in a way. We understand each other better than anybody in the world. That synergy between each other aids the way we write music, the way we play, how we show up in the band. It’s like we can read each other’s minds, which is an amazing quality to have in a creative partner. The downside of that is that it’s your sister. We can drive each other a little crazy sometimes. But there’s comfortability, although sometimes that comfortability can be a little smothering. I think we’ve done a good job together at learning how to navigate times where maybe our relationship is a little more strained.

GS: What is the story behind the band’s name?

CR: There’s really not a great story. As I said, we were young, 10 years old. We had booked this show in our community, probably at a flea market or something, and we needed a name really bad. Originally, it was The Blue Aces, and then it turned into The Aces, years later. I thought it sounded like a rock and roll band. We needed a name for that show, and then it just stuck.

GS: Who are your top three musical influences and how do your influences align with the other band members?

CR: I think band influences are different than personal influences. Alisa and I, being sisters, grew up in the same household, so a lot of our influences were the music our parents listened to growing up. A lot of ‘80s pop, disco, and feel-good music that you wanted to dance to: Whitney Houston and The Pointer Sisters. Also, our dad is Honduran, and so there’s the Latin influence like Selena and Marc Anthony. We grew up dancing a lot. Our relationship to music was influenced by dance music and disco. Katie (Henderson) and McKenna (Petty) grew up with classic rock and ‘80s new wave and alternative bands. I think the marriage of those influences is what The Aces are: disco indie pop. You hear a lot of disco influence across much of our music but paired with alternative influences like The Cure and Depeche Mode.

GS: The Ace’s songwriting is credited to the band and Keith Varon, who also co-produced and plays on the band’s most recent album “I’ve Loved You For So Long.” How does the songwriting process work?

CR: It changes. We’ve made three albums and each album has a different approach. “I’ve Loved You For So Long” was just the four of us and one main collaborator. We’d go in and write songs together, and he’d mainly produce. A song like “Suburban Blues” was written in a room and played, like we did when we were kids. Then there’s other songs where maybe Keith had a guitar idea and we started writing on that. We’re very involved in our writing and we write everything that we put out.

GS: As you mentioned, 3/4 of The Aces’ members identify as part of the LGBTQ community, and songs such as the title cut, “Girls Make Me Wanna Die,” “Suburban Blues,” and “Not The Same,” to mention a few directly address queerness. How important is it to you to include that content in your songs?

CR: It’s kind of innate in a way. At the end of the day, it’s really who we are. It’s a part of our lives and how we identify, how we show up in the world within a romantic relationship. It’s a massive part of what we’re inspired to write about: our relationships, and love, and romance. At the same time, I think it’s super important to be out and show up as our authentic selves because I think that saves lives. I think the more visibility you have, and the more vulnerable and brave you can be in sharing every part of yourself, that’s the part of you that society might deem less commercial, less sellable. That’s a very big aspect in the music industry. That’s the reason why we’ve been able to create such a strong fan base and a strong culture around our band. I think that that authenticity really resonates. The people that really get our band: it’s a deep connection to the music and to the artistry and to who we are as people. I think visibility is super important because visibility saved my life as a young kid in suburban Utah. Getting on YouTube and getting on the Internet and trying to find people that look like me, talk like me, and love like me. That was so crucial in life as a person and as an artist. I hope that our band can do that for other people.

GS: Has The Aces ever played any Pride Fests?

CR: Oh, yeah! We did a whole Pride tour in 2022. We played eight different Pride Fests across the country.

GS: The Aces are performing as part of the amazing line-up at SunFest in West Palm Beach in May. Are there any bands you’re especially excited about hearing?

CR: I think the lineup, in general, is exciting for us. But more than anything, we just love our fans in Florida. It’s been a place we’ve wanted to come back to more frequently because it feels like the fan base in Florida is so passionate. We just did a show in Orlando. It was one of my favorite shows on the entire tour. More than anything, I’m excited to expand our market. It feels like the queer audience in Florida is so dedicated and enthusiastic.

GS: In September and October, The Aces will be on tour with Goth Babe. What are you most looking forward to about those shows?

CR: Goth Babe is a good friend of ours. We met him at a festival a few years ago in Iowa, I think. He’s been supportive and sweet. He’s so kind to bring us out on tour with him. We’re really looking forward to playing Red Rocks. I’m excited for all the venues we’re playing with him. Some of them are truly iconic.

GS: Have The Aces started writing songs for the follow-up to “I’ve Loved You For So Long?”

CR: Yes, we have. I’m about to go into a session today. We haven’t stopped writing since we came back from Japan and Australia in November. We immediately started writing again. I’m excited about the direction we’re taking and the kind of music we’re making. Yes, more music is in the works.