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Nashville Pussy

After playing a gig with these fine people, the guitarist Ruyter Suys drove the next town over with me, 2 hours round trip, and got my guitar out of pawn.

The band is cool. But she is really cool. She's unassailable.

Ruyter Suys (born Ruyter Lara Johanna Pakon Suys; November 5, 1968) is a Canadian rock guitarist best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the hard rock band Nashville Pussy, which she established in the late 1990s with her husband, vocalist and guitarist Blaine Cartwright.

Suys and Cartwright formed Nashville Pussy in 1997, blending punk, Southern rock, and hard-hitting guitar riffs into a raw, high-energy sound. Suys assumed the role of lead guitarist from the band's outset, providing the searing solos and rhythmic drive that became central to their style.

Ruyter Suys's guitar style is characterized by a blues-punk fusion that emphasizes frenzied solos and high-energy riffs, drawing heavily from aggressive rock traditions. Her playing often veers into erratic, "spaz-out" territory, blending raw punk aggression with deliberate bluesy phrasing, as she has described her tendency to let her "erratic side get the best of me".

The band earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the track "Fried Chicken and Coffee" from the same album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999.

Known for their raucous live performances and irreverent humor, they have toured extensively with Motörhead & other acts.

In 2011, Ruyter Suys joined d**k Delicious and the Tasty Testicles as a full-time guitarist during the recording of their album A Vulgar Display of Obscurity, contributing to tracks such as "Hormones in the Beef" and "Beer s**t, AIDS, and Bad Drugs," both featuring her guitar work alongside Mastodon's Brent Hinds.This project allowed Suys to explore a heavier, punk-metal sound distinct from Nashville Pussy's sleaze-rock roots, with the band touring in support of the release in 2014.

Suys is recognized as a trailblazer for women in guitar-heavy rock, particularly within sleaze-punk and high-octane genres, where her frenetic, blues-punk solos have helped redefine female roles in male-dominated scenes. In a 2023 interview, she reflected on nearly three decades of career, stating that she can finally see her influence, as young girls aged 9 to 18 approach her with admiration, saying things like “I can’t believe you’re real” and expressing desires to emulate her blend of sexuality, anger, and technical prowess on guitar