PropertyOfZack sat down with the two brothers who represent The Great Valley for one hell of an enjoyable interview not too long ago to discuss their AOL sponsored release, touring, and the future. I had a great time with the brothers and everyone should read up to find out a little bit more about their plans below!
For the record, could you state your names and roles in The Great Valley?
Nick: I’m Nick, I’m in The Great Valley.
Louis: And role?
Nick: I play guitar.
Louis: I’m Louis and I sing lead vocals and I do the drums.
So about a month and a half ago you guys released Stripped through AOL. How exactly did that come together?
Louis: Our manager Alex actually hooked that up. He got in touch with AOL, showed them our debut EP, Wrecking Ball, and once they heard that they were definitely on board. Then we obviously showed them the acoustic stuff and they were excited to get it out.
POZ: Was that kind of a shock?
Nick: We were definitely really happy about it. We didn’t expect it at all since we’re still kind of a new band and up and coming. Its definitely really good exposure.
Did you guys get a lot of feedback from that?
Nick: Yeah, definitely and it was after we released our music video so people got the free downloads and then watched that.
Do you see that as sort of a first steppingstone now that you’ve accomplished something like that?
Louis: Absolutely. We haven’t really had much press as far as internet goes. We had a few blogs here and there, but to have somebody as big as AOL do something…That was cool.
Was it fun recording acoustic versions of the tracks?
Nick: It was really fun. Nice and intimate, lit some candles.
POZ: You had to get comfortable.
Louis: He always sings in his underwear when we track. I figured I’d let you in on that secret.
Nick: That’s why we called it Stripped [Laughs].
Louis: So now when people read that they’re going to picture you, in your underwear, singing.
Nick: Can’t wait.
Tracking back to Wrecking Ball, now that it’s been out for around six months, how would you say the total reception for that’s been?
Louis: It’s been awesome. Everyone that’s heard the record and even just the single are all about it.
Nick: It was definitely a milestone for us. Definitely a weight off of our shoulders because it took a lot for us to release this EP correctly.
POZ: And you had those songs in the works for a while right?
Louis: It was almost two years.
POZ: Was it frustrating at times?
Louis: Oh yeah, but the cool part is, now that we went through that and the balls rolling, all the stuff that we’ve been writing together is like basically ready to go.
You guys played the Stone Pony last night in Jersey. How was the fan reception there?
Louis: It was cool.
Nick: It was cool. We met a lot of new people, some new fans.
Louis: The age range was crazy.
Nick: Yeah, there were like 10-year-old kids there to like 40-year-old woman and men. It was pretty cool. Got out music out there, sold a few CDs.
Louis: Talked to a bunch of kids. They were really receptive.
POZ: Is it kind of cool playing in that venue just because it’s so…
Nick: It’s like legendary.
Louis: And being right across the street from the beach.
Nick: Yeah, you walk out of the front door and you can see the beach. It was cool.
So you have a few Hot Topic dates coming up then a date with You, Me And Everyone We Know. Should we see any scattered dates in the future like this?
Nick: We definitely have some shows coming up. We’re playing…Can we announce that?
POZ: I think you can announce it.
Nick: We’re playing November 4th in Vineland, NJ at the Hangar 84 with Runner Runner.
Louis: That’s probably going to be our biggest show.
Should we expect any other dates?
Louis: I think there are still some other dates that Alex has in the works for us. He’s playing manager, tour manager, booking agent. He’s playing all that right now for us because we’re still working our way up there.
Obviously you guys have put out two EP’s this year, but have you been writing for a full-length?
Nick: Yeah, we’re shooting for 11 songs for the full-length. We have about 4 or 5 songs written right now.
Louis: We have like some 10-second clips recorded. Once we get the main idea then we just run with it from there. We know we can turn them into songs.
Nick: It sounds really good.
When would you guys like to finish writing?
Nick: Definitely by the end of the year. Then possibly record early next year.
POZ: Do you want to do that at home or in a studio?
Louis: A big boy studio, that’d be sick. We still have our options open to who’s gonna produce it and stuff like that.
Is an early summer release possible?
Louis: I would say sooner than that. If we finish all these tracks by the end of December…
Nick: I would say spring.
Louis: The sooner the better.
Nick: Don’t make any promises.
POZ: That’s how everybody gets screwed. Best thing to say is never. Then it comes out and everybody’s stoked. It’s kind of like what Brand New does [Laughs].
Has there been any label talk at all?
Louis: There have been a few labels that have come out to see us already and we have a few more coming out in the future and then we’re going to see where it takes us.
POZ: So if everything feels right you’d like to release the record on one?
Louis: Absolutely. I feel it would be necessary for us to be on a label in order to do this full-time since it’s just the two of us. As opposed to some bands who don’t need a label and can be full-time because they have like 5 members and it’s feasible for them to do it.
Thanks so much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Nick: Check us out on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter. Our Twitter is @WeAreTGV. Tweet us some stuff. “Like” our page and we’ll “Like” you back. Google are names, see what comes up.
Louis: And thank you PropertyOfZack.com for having us.
