Tuesday 20 September 2016

Interview with AARON BOYER from VALLEY OF THE SUN

 

Today's guest is Aaron Boyer. Drummer from the awesome Fuzz/Stoner Rock crew – Valley Of The Sun, who released a superb new album called Volume Rock earlier this year.

Signed to Fuzzorama Records (Truckfighters Record Label). Valley Of The Sun profile has steadily been rising over the last couple of years thanks to great albums such as Volume Rock and their acclaimed live performances.

The band are about to head out on an European Tour with DOT LEGACY. I was given the chance to catch up with Aaron before he travels to Europe with the band. This is what went down....

Hi guys. Thanks for doing this interview. Hope things are well with you today. How is the mood in the Valley Of The Sun camp. Excited for your forthcoming European Tour.

Aaron: No problem, always glad to do an interview! We're excited for the tour as well, counting down the days until we leave.

You have a tour with Dot Legacy happening soon. What can people expect from the tour.

Aaron: Our last tour was all in Germany and Switzerland. So people at those concerts were able to see the band as a 4 piece, we've recently added a second guitar player. This tour is focused on territories outside of GSA, so it will be the first time for these fans to see the band as a 4 piece. As far as Dot Legacy, they're 4 French guys who jump around like crazy on stage. I think all those who come out will have a great night of rock and roll.


How did the tour with Dot Legacy came about. Were you fans of their music before arranging this tour.

Aaron: One of the guitar players for Dot Legacy is named Arnaud. He's been on every VotS tour, doing jobs from sound-guy, driver, and even playing bass on one tour. I also co-own a booking agency and backline company with him called Total Volume. We've been friends for years but our bands have never shared the same stage, so we wanted to rectify that situation and put a tour together with both of our bands.

You toured Europe already earlier this year. How was that reception to that European Tour.

Aaron: That tour was only in Germany and Switzerland. The reaction was great. We've spent the most time in Germany over the years so we've built a really solid fan-base there. It was a lot of fun, but I'm really looking forward to hitting many more countries and cities on this tour.

What were your favourite moments from that European tour.

Aaron: Towards the end of the tour we played in Frankfurt. It was a normal show, but that night I woke myself up with a massive fart. We all had a good laugh for about 10 minutes. It was hilarious. And that same night, Adam our guitar player, decided it would be funny to cover a passed out Ryan with these caramel corn puff snacks. When he woke up he had no idea how or why he was covered with these things. That was probably my favorite night, we were exhausted from being on the road for 3 weeks and all a bit slap happy.

Will you be performing dates in the USA after you return from Europe.

Aaron: We have one concert in the USA after we get back, but that's it. The US market is far different than the Euro market. Bands that can sell out 500 person rooms there play to 100 people a night if they're lucky here. It's crazy; you'll see a band travelling in a nightliner there, but when they're in the USA they're in a shitty 20 year old van that breaks down. If you don't have a major label behind you in the States you are struggling.


You released your superb new album – Volume Rock earlier this year. Congrats on another great album. Have you been pleased with the responses so far.

Aaron: It's my favorite album we've put out. It's the record I've always wanted to make with this band, I guess the third time is the charm. It received a lot of good reviews, but we haven't played live enough over there to really gauge the fan response. Honestly, at this point I feel like we're constantly trying to beat our first EP, "The Sayings of the Seers". People really loved that EP and it's a battle to try to one up it.

Was it an easy or harder process recording Volume Rock compared to your previous album.

Aaron: It was a really enjoyable experience. Our previous bass player who was with us for years had to leave, he was offered a career promotion that was too good to pass up. So Ryan and I decided to write and record this album with just the two of us. We don't have the same taste in music, but we were able to perfectly blend our tastes and styles and make an album we both really love. Many people don't know this, but "Sayings" was also recorded by just Ryan and I.

Did you do anything different when recording Volume Rock.

Aaron: We really didn't do anything differently. We worked at the same studio with the same producer as our previous albums, so everybody already had relationships with each other and knew everyone's work styles. It was an enjoyable experience. The only different approach was that the aim was to make a straight forward rock album in Valley of the Sun style. Our last full length we tried to push some boundaries a bit and the songs weren't as easy to catch on to, we wanted to make this one as easy to digest as possible.

You've hooked up with Fuzzorama Records (Truckfighters Record Label) once again to release your new album. Why did you choose Fuzzorama Records.

Aaron: We've been friends with the Truckfighters guys for years now. And we have a contract with them for multiple albums ;)

Did you have offers from other record labels.

Aaron: We had some licensing offers, but nothing that we felt happy with. The music industry is a tough place, and realistically no deal is that great anymore. I've got friends who have been on major labels, going on massive tours and walked away penniless. When we signed the deal with Fuzzorama we were happy with the terms. This is by no means a job for us, it's a very expensive hobby that let's us travel a bit and meet some awesome people.

You've played Truckfighters a number of times over the last few years. I saw you guys in London back in 2014 and you kicked ass. Made me a fan of your band that very night. Was that intimidating supporting a band such as Truckfighters who have a brilliant and well deserved live reputation. Or did you just focus on your own thing.

Aaron: We've known them since 2011 when we did a USA support tour for them that I booked. It was their first time in the States. Our music is different as is our live show. Dango jumps higher than anyone in VotS, but they've never had a drummer who performs as crazy as I do, so it's cool ha-ha

You can't let other bands intimidate you, you just have to go on stage and own it. If anything, knowing you're playing with great live bands drives you to up your performance.


Did the guys provide any helpful advice during your time supporting them and working with them over the last few years. Not a bad choice of guys to have fighting in your corner.

Aaron: They've been great to work with and have provided us a lot of help. I'm happy that we've been able to have the relationship with them that we've had.

Well Adam thanks for doing this interview. All the best for the European Tour. Hope you have a blast. Before you go do you have anything to say to your fans.

Aaron: Thanks for doing the interview! I'd like to encourage all of our fans to come see the band this tour. We'll be taking a break after this run and won't be back with the regularity that we have been for the last couple of years.

Words by Steve Howe and Aaron Boyer

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for arranging this interview. Thanks to Aaron for taking the time out to talking to me. You can buy Volume Rock here.

Links


-----------2016 European Tour-----------

UK dates presented by Snuff Lane

22/9 Manchester, UK Rebellion Manchester
23/9 Bristol, UK The Mothers' Ruin
24/9 London, UK The Unicorn Camden Live

27/9 Malle, Belgium Jeugdhuis Babylon
28/9 Ghent, Belgium Muziekcentrum Kinky Star
29/9 Caen, FR La Demeurée
30/9 Nantes, FR La Scène Michelet
1/10 Paris, FR Espace B Paris
3/10 Poitiers, FR @le cluricaume cafe
4/10 Olten, CHF Le Coq d’Or
5/10 Munich, DE @ 8 Below
6/10 Berlin, DE Urban Spree
7/10 Halle, DE Rockpool eV
8/10 Chemnitz, DE @Zukunft
11/10 Cluj-Napoca, ROM @The Shelter
12/10 Bucharest, ROM Fabrika
13/10 Sofia, Bulgaria Mixtape
14/10 Larissa, GR @stage club
15/10 Athens, GR Death Disco