Diandra Interviews Valley: Life Is One Big Maybe
Listening to Valley’s Maybe: Side B, I kept on thinking, “Wow, they are about to get EVEN bigger!” The album combines youthful zest with youthful confusion. It has a relaxed uptempo; as if each rhythm had to drive down a road to land on a song. Rob Laska’s voice feels like an echo reverberating the dreams both dreamt and crushed to show that “true youth” lies not in having a dream but in having the capacity to dream. Thus, I was excited to see what inspired them to analyze life as an exciting, scary “Maybe?”
Diandra: How did New York inspire Maybe. Were there any specific spots or stories from the city that transferred into your sound?
Valley: Getting out of our everyday life and living somewhere else, will naturally just change ones’ perspective even if it’s a subconscious thing. We took a lot of what we call “field notes” when we were in NYC, which included voice notes of trains, people, fountains, tapping metal on a fire escape etc. People watching is also another thing we do to inspire a story for a song; watching people commuting on the ferry, on the subway, a fight breaking out in the street. Your imagination as a writer makes up a story for them. On Side B, the song Watery Brain is a good example of a song that was influenced by the city, with all of the hustle and bustle and over saturation of the dense but cultured city it can be overwhelming, and you can overthink it; giving someone a ‘liquid mind’.
Diandra: As high-school friends now touring the world to play music, in what way has touring and becoming a professional artist pushed you to grow?
Valley: It’s definitely strange to look back and remember that none of us at the time had any idea what the future held. I like to romanticize that naive feeling we all had as young people, in a band, trying to muddle our way through our early 20’s, but when I look back and really think about it, I see how much we actually have learned. I think our experience in the industry has pushed us to be resilient, for the most part, and to not sweat the small stuff. The industry is changing drastically and rapidly and to have a sustainable career/life we have learned most importantly that you really have to ride that wave and ride it with resilience.
Diandra: If you could describe each band member in three word and one of your songs, what would they be?
Rob Laska: creative, poet, quirky (Sports Car)
Karah James: Innovative, weird, talented (Nowhere Fast)
Mike Brandolino: inclusive, motivated, leader (Watery Brain)
Alex DiMauro: funny, kind, patient (A Phone Call in Amsterdam)
Diandra: How do you feel Maybe: Side B differs from Side A in how it represents your style and personalities as artists?
Valley: Side A are songs to listen to in the car, and Side B represents songs that are more for thinking or sleeping on. I think in comparison to Side A, Side B is definitely more experimental, involving hints of different styles like orchestral, fusion, ballads, hip hop. Side B is definitely more personal in terms of the lyrics and the content. Side A and Side B are sisters, so I think you will also find a lot of similarities in them- a lot of cross over lyrics, melodies etc.
Valley – A Phone Call In Amsterdam
Diandra: What are certain themes and overarching messages fans can find in Maybe: Side B?
Valley: Some themes within Maybe Side B are the concept that we are all the same in both a hypocritical, robotic way, but also a beautiful, colorful, equal way. Another theme includes the ‘elliptical’, which is a metaphor for being stuck in one place, although it feels like you are moving (buying a house, a car, getting a good job etc) you may not moving in the direction that will make you truly happy. It can be really easy to catch yourself riding this elliptical and going nowhere fast, but as long as we continue to self reflect we can effectively move in the right direction.
Diandra: Visuals are very important to your bands. How do you think “image” plays a role in the power of an artist? What are some artists that you admire in terms of their vision/ usage of visuals with music?
Valley: Visuals are arguably just as important as the music as it greatly adds to the listening experience and the whole experience of your brand. For example, we created a doodle of an object to go along with each song on the MAYBE…ex: Water Brain- rubix cube, Nowhere Fast- an exercise bike, Boys and Girls of 2018 and Everything in Between- an equal sign, etc. In terms of our image, as members of the band, I don’t like to over think that as it can be a rabbit hole of obsession. We never want to be the artists that care too much about how they look, but also there is a fine line to properly brand yourself and ‘dress for success’ as they say! To make this easy for ourselves we chose 4 colours that would be the colours of MAYBE (yellow, navy, sage, and burnt orange) and try to stick to that colour pallet as much as possible! We look up to a lot of artists, in terms of aesthetic, but I think we admire The 1975 for that department specifically…less of their aesthetic and more of the mantra of being thoughtful with everything they do, big and small- it must be on brand.
Valley – Closer To The Picture
Diandra: You have spoken a lot about gratitude in terms of your life and career. What is the one thing you are most grateful for in terms of love, life, career, and creativity?
Valley: We’re grateful for so many things, but I think the biggest one is just having parents that supported us dropping out of school and wanting to make music for a living. They have never doubted our success and we cannot thank them enough for allowing us to follow our dreams. We are also incredibly thankful for the people that actually listen to our music. The fact that we can share our thoughts and feelings and melodies with the world and people actually take the time to listen is kind of crazy, and we will never take that for granted. The last big thing is being really thankful that the 4 of us found each other by happenstance, and, since then, we haven’t really been able to meet anyone else that we connect with so deeply on a musical level except for Andy Seltzer: who co-produced MAYBE with us.
Diandra: What the inspiration behind the title Maybe, and what is one “maybe” that lingers in your mind? In essence, one thing you might want to do or try in your life?
Valley: MAYBE is the feeling that defines your late teens and 20’s. It’s a feeling of constant hesitation. Red and green are easy, it’s stop and go, and there’s no question, but do you ever get to a yellow light and not know what to do, and there’s always a hesitation, and either you stop abruptly, or you step on the gas and fly right through the traffic light. Either way, there is always a doubt of whether or not you make the right decision. I imagine that things become more clear when you hit your thirties, but for now all we can do is write about it and release it to the world in the hope that other people might feel the same way.
Diandra: Can expect a Side C?
Valley: Can’t say yes, but I won’t deny it 🙂
Love their good vibes, and I wish them ALL THE PROSPERITY! Click Here for More Information On Valley And To Buy Maybe: Side B.
