"The Valentines' sound is pure rock and roll with
a frisson of power pop; a natural outgrowth from Gore's garage punk
roots." Huffington Post
Amy Gore and her Valentines have pure Detroit pedigrees in
spades – their musical backgrounds give them the chops they need to rock, but
it’s the on stage synchronicity that drives the band. Their first single
was released in 2011, and garnered praise from Huffington Post, Detroit Metro
Times and others. After spending the summer recording, the band announces the
release of their first album, on October 13th with a record release party
planned in Detroit that evening at the Lager House. In Love was
produced, engineered and mixed by Al Sutton and includes special guests Luis
Resto (Was (Not Was), Eminem), funk guitar genius Dennis Coffey and guitarist
Jackson Smith’s pianist sister, Jesse Paris Smith. It will be available on
vinyl, cd and digitally. Look for their second video for “Fine Without You&
rdquo; very soon, and here is the video for the first single, “Driving Around”. http://www.youtube.com/user/thisisamygore
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Amy Gore has been the heart and
soul of bands like Gore Gore Girls and Gorevette, producing critically
acclaimed albums and performing with icons like The Cramps and Blondie. In
early 2011, she’d written a batch of new songs and booked a one-off show at
Detroit’s Blow Out festival to perform them. Originally named Amy Gore and the
Squires, Gore assembled Jackson Smith (T-Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Revue,
Electric Six) on guitar, Leann Banks (the Von Bondies) on bass and Joe Leone
(Grayling, Fletcher Pratt) hitting the skins. It became obvious on stage that
the band’s chemistry was too potent to walk away from. "We had no
expectations beyond that first show, but the chemistry on stage was instant and
powerful. It was as if everyone in the room knew something special was
happening. Afterwards, Jackson called me to say they wanted to contin ue as a
real band, he and Joe were really impressed with my songs and the vibe on
stage. I couldn’t ask for better band mates, so we decided to move forward.”
A name change followed (they dubbed it the Valentines
following a particularly prolific songwriting session Gore had over that
weekend in February) and the band began recording and playing high profile
shows. In April of 2011, the band entered the studio with Al Sutton (Kid Rock)
at Rustbelt Studios. Gore and the band have stylistically evolved from her
roots in the punk/garage world, the Valentine’s sound is pure rock n’ roll with
power pop touches; the songs are unbelievably infectious. Smith’s guitar work
gives these songs their edge – his bluesy solo on “So Lost Now” rips through
the pretty vocals and wouldn’t be out of place on a T Rex album. Smith performs
in the Patti Smith Group and other bands – he is on hiatus while touring, Franklin
Hambone, Jr will be playing guitar at the live shows.
Amy Gore and Her Valentines came together organically and
quickly gelled into a band that sounds like they’ve spent years together. The
band’s dramatic stage presence demands attention – great song craft and
unforgettable melodies will keep audiences in thrall long after that first
glance.
See the band on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/thisisamygore
Learn More About the Valentines: http://thisisamygore.com/
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