Meet Ruby Coleman, the sophomore singer and guitarist of her No Doubt-inspired band, Toxic Lung. Ruby has been playing the electric guitar since she was a little girl, and has been steadily climbing the ranks at On Track Music Guitar School as a part of a few previous bands. 

Toxic Lung primarily plays covers at gigs set up by the director of On Track, such as the Student Fest or Summer Jam. Ruby says most of her inspiration comes from the 90’s punk and ska band, No Doubt, or more specifically, from No Doubt’s lead singer herself, Gwen Stefani. Ruby says that she can relate to Stefani in the sense that she was the only woman in a primarily male band, stating that she sees Stefani as a role model as she was “the only woman in ska at the time…she was so different from everything.” 

“With her fashion style, her playing style, and that a lot of the music that I play is more punk and ska based…I love playing her music and she’s my biggest inspiration.”

Ruby stated that although her band has only played covers before, she would like to dive into the world of original songs and songwriting herself. She’s experienced some anxiety in presenting lyrics to band members, but she hopes to gain that confidence in the near future. “I plan to write my own songs, but I kind of get nervous to show them to people or I never can really imagine how they are…It is definitely something I want to do, but it’s not something I’m actively doing. But I do have songs written.”

The main piece of advice Ruby would give to young, aspiring musicians is to find their biggest inspiration. She says it is important to have someone to look up to, to find a dream goal to reach, and work towards that outcome. 

“It’s a lot easier to find an idol to look up to, to find your playing style, your singing style. It’s almost like finding your voice. But that can apply to songwriting too, playing guitar and singing.”