Album Notes

The Valley - press clippings

"hearing this blast of early grunge inspired hook laden melodic and fuzzed out mayhem makes my heart grow big. Think like Mudhoney and the Fluid meets Dinosaur Jr and the Stooges, throw in a little Sonic Youth, and they all go and write some infectious pop songs together."
-by Marcel Feldmar, Big Takeover Magazine ___"Their fuzz-heavy sound hits a couple early-'90s cornerstones--from the atmospheric dips and swells of bands like Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine to the lighter sludge of the early Sub Pop catalog, the band places pop overtones in otherwise heavily textured rock."
-Jennifer Maerz, The Stranger ___"This Seattle band debuts with a promising mini-album of grungy alt-rock combining hard-rock muscle with catchy song hooks. Think prime Sub Pop, particularly bands like Mudhoney, Seaweed and the Fluid." -Don Yates, KEXP


THE VALLEY a history
2000
After joining a string of upstart Seattle bands that seem to implode just as they start to take off, Dan Beloit decides to start a group featuring his own songs merging fuzzed-out, wall-of-sound guitars with sing along melodies. This will be a band that will never break up regardless ofline up changes or the ebb and flow of trends in the music industry.
2001
Dan recruits a couple of old friends and christens his new group "The Valley," after Eastern Washington's Lewis-Clark Valley, where all three members grew up. The band immediately starts playing small clubs in and around the Seattle area but clubs don't seem to know what to do with the group. Considering Seattle's rich history of loud guitar rock bands, The Valley seem surprisingly out of place. Too "punk" for the rockers, too "rock" for the punks and way too loud and heavy for the indie rock crowd. It took a while for The Valley sound to rub off on local
bookers and promoters.
2002
In early 2002, then Valley drummer David Welker introduces Dan to guitarist Taku Mineshita at a sold out Hives show. Taku tells Dan "he wants to join his band." Taku agrees to take over on bass while Dan loans him his bass equipment and rehearsing begins. Now with Dan on guitar, The Valley is reborn. During this period the band continues to play small gigs and slowly starts to garner attention from other local musicians and bands in Seattle.
2003
The Valley continues its assault on the Seattle music community with more and more shows coming their way. The band records some demos at world famous Egg Studios with producer Conrad Uno (Mudhoney, Fastbacks, Presidents of the United States Of America, The Posies) at the helm. These sessions inspire long time friend Trent Merrill to release a 7" single in the summer of 2003 on his startup label, The Swingline. The limited edition single features the crowd favorites, "Marked Star" and "Cruiser." The single generates a few spins on regional college
radio stations including Washington State University's KZUU. To generate interest, the band books out of town shows in Portland, Oregon, Missoula, Montana and their home town of Clarkston, Washington. Back in Seattle, local critics and club-goers finally start recognizing The
Valley's over the top, emotionally charged live sets.
2004
March of 2004 found The Valley without original drummer David Welker. With shows still booked, Dan turns to long time friend Jim Laws to fill the vacant spot until the group can find a permanent replacement. Jim's musical approach to power drumming opens up the group's sound.
Dan and Taku convince him to join the group full time. The band sounds so good that in the fall of 2004, they head back to Egg Studios to record with producer Johnny Sangster (The Briefs, Mudhoney, The Makers). The band intends to relase a three song E.P. but the sessions yield
so much material that the group decides to release their first self-titled L.P.
2005
On January 11th, The Valley release their self-titled debut record on Swingline records. Within days of receiving the disc, local radio station KEXP invites the band to perform live on the air on January 14th. The next night, The Valley hosts their record release party to a sold out crowd at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle. With the record being released locally in a limited run, the band has gained attention from local radio and media. Only weeks
after its release, the band has been featured on the three major rock radio stations in town; KNDD, KISW, and KEXP. They've received outstanding reviews of both the record and their live performances in local papers. The buzz the
band is building is attracting national radio and media.

After some hard rocking years, The Valley have arrived.