Can you please introduce yourself and your role in The Great Valley?
I’m Louis. I sing lead vocals and play drums on the record. I’m Nick and I sing back up and play guitar.
How did The Great Valley come together?
Nick and I are brothers and have been playing music together since 1999. We decided to start something new together. We took the ball and started running with it…we still are haha.
Your new EP, Wrecking Ball, came out last month. Tell me a little bit about the EP and the process of putting it together.
The EP is one of the biggest pieces to the puzzle for us. It is our life’s work to date. We want everyone that hears it to understand that we put everything we have in us to make this record. This was the first time “pre-production” was introduced into the process. We had no idea how to do it and are blessed to have worked with such a great producer like Matt Robnett. We just clicked and learned so much from him.
The EP was written and recorded by both of you guys. How was doing this by yourself? Where did you learn how to do this?
It was the most fun, draining, inspiring and ridiculous experience. One word to put it all together would be Meticulous. We left no corner cut or inch looked over to make sure we captured the sound we wanted. This has been bottled up inside of us and finally unleashed. We learned how to do this after YEARS of writing and recording. This may be the first release from us but we’ve struggled to put something like this out our whole lives.
What are your plans to release a full length in the future?
haha funny you ask. Even before we released this EP we were writing for the full length. Once we figured out the formula it has been non stop writing. We can’t help take how we are feeling at the moment and put it down on a track. We’ve been demoing and working to piece the next puzzle together. We think people will be surprised with the newer material compared to the EP.
I heard that you guys are playing acoustically to the fans waiting at the gates of Warped Tour this summer. How are you feeling about that?
Nervous and excited at the same time. Excited to finally get out in front of people and nervous for their reaction. We want people to have fun with us. It was awesome writing and recording so we expect it to be just as fun playing for everyone.
How did you get started playing music?
Our mother is a vocalist and our father is a drummer. It was around us all through our childhood. One day they said, “Hey do you guys want to take music lessons?” and Nick said, “I wanna try the guitar” and I said, “I’ll go for the drums”. haha and the rest has been years of practice. Anytime someone asks me what it’s like to play music with your brother I say, “Imagine hacking at a tree the size of the empire state building with a tiny ax”. We justkeep hacking and hacking at it.
What are some of your goals for The Great Valley?
Our number one goal is to be able to write, record and play music full time. 9-5 jobs are not for us. Number two is to make our parents proud. They have sacrificed more than you could imagine for us to get this far. So our success is their success.
Any last words for our readers?
Yes, follow us on twitter and facebook. Keep your eyes peeled for an acoustic EP we will be releasing soon and come see us at warped tour. We are going to play a set in the morning while the line forms and a set inside at a tent that will be announced that day via twitter. We’ll have a LOT of hang out time so come hang!
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