Photo Credit: Orland Welsh (link http://www.myspace.com/drunklando)
The last couple of months have been pretty eventful for Lauren Baird, Chris Qualls, and Liam O'Neill, aka Electric Valentine. The electro pop band dropped their debut album, Automatic and started a street team. Eventually they started giving out their debut for free. Then, in one of the most atrocious examples reverse karma, their Huntington Beach studio was broken into and everything was taken. Lost were studio equipment, computers, hard drives, and 100 million dollars in cash and bonds. (One of those things was not stolen, I'm not saying which) Even though the band has a lot of prep work to do before they drop their Body To Body Remixes and start a stint of shows later this month, Chris was willing to take some time and answer a couple of questions.
To start off with the most generic rookie blog question ever: Where did you get the name?
Our last band was called a kiss could be deadly and we had a lot of problems with that name. We were a disco/punk type of band but everyone assumed we were a metal or post-hardcore band because of the name. With this new project we wanted people to know right away that it was a dance pop band. We liked the idea of using electric as the first word and wanted something feminine for the second word to go with the little boy/girl dichotomy we had going on. Lauren came up with the valentine and we were both sold on it right away.
I wrote A Night With You as a song for our last band but the other members didn't really fit with our style. Lauren and I really liked it and didn't want to see it go to waste, so we discussed the idea of a side project. The two of us were approached to be part of a backing band for an artist going on a European tour. I finished up the first version of a night with you in a London hotel room on the first night of tour. The next day I played it in sound check just to check the mix on big club speakers. I didn't realize it but the headliner was listening and invited us to perform the song during the show. We went back to the hotel after the check and started the EV myspace. The song went over really well and we passed out flyers with the new myspace URL and within a few days we were getting a thousand plays of day from kids spreading the link through word of mouth.
“I feel we can adapt and restructure as we write. It makes it easier to do what's best for the song.”
How has the writing process or recording process changed since you first started?
For the most part, our recording process for EV is the same as when it started. Because we have our own studio and engineer our own stuff, it makes it really easy to record as we write. All my previous punk rock bands had songs completely written and arranged before we started the recording process. I like the way we do it now because I feel we can adapt and restructure as we write. It makes it easier to do what's best for the song.
This picture actually has nothing to do with any question, nor do I know what context it was taken
Your debut album, “Automatic” is available in stores like Hot Topic, in your merch store, and even on iTunes. So what’s the reasoning for suddenly deciding to give it out for free?
We're really proud of the album and just want people to hear it. The music scene has changed drastically and we try to embrace the new digital revolution. Kids get music for free regardless and if we make it as simple as clicking on a link on our website then we have a better chance of turning random Internet traffic until actual fans. If people like it they can come to a show to support, or pick up the physical cd which comes with a special bracelet.
Unfortunately, thieves recently broke in to your studio and stole your gear and even your computer and back up hard drives that had all of your files and music. That must be devastating but what is the game plan now?
Yeah, it was pretty devasting at first but I've always believed everything happens for a reason. Now I'm more determined than ever to make the best music I can. We've gotten a lot of donations from fans and it's really inspiring to see how much people care about this band. It really helped me realize that this is bigger than the two of us.
Is there any way that our readership can help you guys out with your current situation?
We are accepting paypal donations. You can send them to Evdanceparty@gmail.com Also go pick up our album for free on our myspace page. Help us spread the word about the band
You can pick up their excellent album on their myspace and give them a listen. Also for those of you who want to support them, you can buy the album or visit their merch shop. Just picked up picked up a sweet package on sale for a shirt, tour poster, and 5 song download for $20.00. Thanks again to Chris and Electric Valentine and looking forward to your follow up record.
Links
EV's Myspace
Paypal address: EVDanceParty@gmail.com
EV's Merch Store
EV on Twitter
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