The Valentines
really impressed me with their recent album so I decided to run an
interview with them. Thanks to Mars for getting it back so quick
and here´s what he had to say on behalf of The Valentines.
Punk
Globe: Hey can you introduce the band to our readers?
MARS: We formed in 2000 here in Bologna. We recorded a demo a year
later that and one song ended in a US compilation called "Rock´n´Roll
War II". Thanks to that in 2002 we did a short East Coast tour of
the US with Rick Blaze & The Ballbusters and at the end of the
year we recorded our first album "No Time Generation". We played a
lot of gigs, among them many support slots with the likes of The
Dictators, The Briefs, The Gluecifer,etc. and important festivals.
We recorded "Life Stinks" in June 2004 and it´s been released in
April 2005.
Punk Globe: How well has ´Life Stinks´ gone down with fans
and press alike?
MARS: All good reviews, fortunately. But you have to think that
we´re from Italy and we play most of all here and Italy it´s
not,for sure, the best place for rock´n´roll or indipendent music
in general. I don´t wanna complain too much because the band had a
good exposure this year on the music press, at least some of it,
but we´re looking further our borders.
Punk Globe: What gave you the inspiration to write such an
album?
MARS: Essentially the idea of working with Daniel Rey. We wrote
some new songs as soon we finished recording the first album,
because we wanted as many songs to choose from for the second even
if we didn´t know at that time that Daniel would have produced the
album. We wrote a lot at the beginning of 2004 especially because
Daniel told us never stop writing because "the next one could be a
hit...."
Punk Globe: How did you manage to get Daniel Rey involved
with the recording/engineering of the album?
MARS: When we went to the US,I don´t know why, we choose to play
"Pet Semetary". Tony, the drummer of She Wolves, a band who shared
our stage, told us he knew Daniel and he would invite him at our
final show in NYC at the now defunct Meow Mix. Honestly we didn´t
believe Tony, but we should because Daniel came to the show. We
were struck! He showed immediately the will to produce us but we
had already booked the studio for the first album so we had to wit
until the second to have him in Italy for the sessions. He told us
that he came to the show because an Italian band with a female
vocalist playin´ one of his song in NYC was intriguing enough.
Workin´ with him it´s been of the greatest moment of my life.
Punk Globe: Do you just play in Italy or have you played
other countries as well?
MARS: As I told before we played in the States but strangely not
in Europe. We´ll play our first gig in Germany in December.
Punk Globe: You´re inspired by a fair few bands but which
5 would you like to gigged with?
MARS:
I´ll list five recent and five that don´t exist anymore (the
dream):
Past: Iggy Pop (both categories), The Who, The Clash, Ramones,New
York Dolls.
Present: The Briefs, The Weirdos, Supersuckers, Iggy Pop, The
Rolling Stones!!!
Punk Globe: How come you chose to sing in English rather
than your native language?
MARS: Because Italian sucks for rock´n´roll. I know English is not
our native language and for sure sometimes we sound weird, but
English is the language for rock´n´roll, no way.
Punk Globe: You guys look as if you like a drink so what´s
your poison and any funny stories regards alcohol you´d like to
share with our readers?
MARS: Actually we´re not heavy drinkers. This band is kinda
straight, not straight-edge! I could tell you a lot of stories
about my previous bands as that time in France when in the middle
of the solo of "Born To Lose" (the Heartbreakers song) I stopped
and run to the toilet to throw-up and then ending the night lying
dead on my guitar while a girl was pissing on the floor beside
me!! But that was in the old days. We are focused only in the
music.
Punk Globe: Its coming up to Xmas so is there any chance
of you wrapping Vale and sending her across to me for Xmas?
MARS: I´ll let you know.... I have to ask her first!
Punk Globe: Have you a Xmas message you´s like to say to
the whole world?
MARS: Please stop the madness of this war and please get ridded
from ourselves of all this hypocrite, fascist corrupted
politicians that are poisoning our planet.
Punk Globe: Anything you´d like to add?
MARS:We already have a lot of new songs for the third album that
we want out before the end of 2006. And we hope to know so many
people across Europe!!! A Valentine from The Valentines!!!!
Thanks to Mars for doing the interview - They really are a
band well worth checking out!
