ArtPrize @ The B.O.B. – September 24, 2010

June 2nd, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
ArtPrize found Valentiger performing for 3+ hours outside the B.O.B. from a truly giant stage where over 100 pieces were on display. Earlier in the week, Shirey and Rider had cut a final take on “Sunshines Through,” featuring a 1952 Gibson hollow body, stereo-split through two amplifiers. The boys had been at it all day, but after a quick beer-break at the Holiday Bar, they had finally gotten the lax feel they needed.

Friday night at the B.O.B. was very busy and very windy. The bar was serving beer outside as long as it was kept in the confines of the parking lot where most of the sculptures were located (including the Steam Pig and Lion Made of Nails). The sound carried for miles and they boys carried conversations with people watching from the top tiers of parking ramps and apartment buildings. The same vintage Gibson blew over in the wind and the boys had a hell of a time hearing the monitors, trudging onward through the bulk of their material. Nevertheless, they were having a great time and interacting with the large and ever-passing crowd. It was decided that Valentiger would toss many a t-shirt into the crowd throughout the duration of the performance, though the wind made trajectory quite impossible to predict. To top things off, the human, gold statue broke one of his molds to come play drums on the closing “Summer Babe.” This moment was only topped after the band had finished, with Shirey tripping over a velvet rope, almost completely destroying one of the ArtPrize entries.

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New Holland Brewery – September 11, 2010

June 1st, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
This week in 2010 found Shirey and Rider working hard on a Wednesday to really nail “Into the Sun” down tight in the studio.  The stops needed to be very clean in order to lay a good foundation for Mark Lago’s horn section, one of the outstanding moments on “Oh, to Know!”  Later on in the week Shirey gave his vocals a good shredding on both “Oh My God! This Weekend” and “Another Cool Move” in light of their canceled show at Nick Fink’s that night.  However, all three boys would meet up again Saturday night to perform at New Holland Brewery.

Wilson’s Reservoir opened up the night with their rocking “Small Town Americana.”  Valentiger explicitly noted how much they enjoyed the band’s ecstatic bass player, as he seemed to carry the show’s intensity.  As the boys were sandwiched in the middle of two bands, Eric ended up plugging his bass guitar into the bass rig belonging to Wilson’s Reservoir.  Seeing as how there was a “fuzz bass” pedal conveniently worked into the line, he certainly did not shy away from stomping on it during the set, especially during “Oh, to Know!” and “Another Cool Move.”  A good number of Valentiger fans were out from both Holland and Grand Rapids in support of a lot of the newer material the band was performing.  It was certainly a packed house, given it was a Saturday night, but the crowd was surprisingly receptive to both the rocking and more mellow tunes.  The boys had a great time playing a short set and drinking a few Poets.  To close out the night, Those Eighty Acres performed a slightly longer set, featuring one of their newest members, Nicole Corley on vocals.  It was certainly rich Americana and the entire bill fit together quite nicely for a good night of craft beers and music.  Shirey ended up purchasing a bottle of their Dutchess Vodka and vowed to christen the new album with it upon it’s completion.

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Short’s Brewery – September 4, 2010

April 28th, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
Shirey biked a 40-mile trip again this week, receiving 5 honks on Lake Michigan Drive, one including a “Get the F#$& out of the road!” Further, on Wednesday Shirey and Rider worked very hard to nail an appropriate pace for “Oh My God! This Weekend, landing all the stops while on different floors of the house. Shirey played a twelve string guitar, strung with only six for the track. On Friday, he also cut vocals at 8AM for “Love to Forgive” and “Why I’m Not Great” thanks to Bitter End Coffee.

The weekend drew the band up north with a pretty large crew, camping in Bellaire for a night of Valentiger at Short’s Brewery. There were tents and a lot of rain. It kept coming down as the band played through nearly four hours of material, a lot being from “Oh, to Know!” We all recall Kehoe scatting over a cover song none of us knew the lyrics to, but no one can pinpoint what song it was. Yep. The set definitely ended with the band’s whole crew of friends up on the stage to jam and sing both Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” And we all seen the rain had but it still had not ceased. Back at the campground, all the tents were soaked.  Shirey and Rider really stuck it out to the end of the night at an alternate campsite with new-found friedns who had started a fire early. Shirey slept in the van, while Rider manned it out in the tent, wrapped in a tarp. In the morning, most thought he was some sort of mafia corpse.

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Jukes – August 28, 2010

April 28th, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
At the top of the week, Shirey biked 40 miles round trip to work.  Wednesday found Kehoe laying down his walking bass line for “Good Day, Goodnight,” while Shirey and Rider hit a nice pace for the foundation of “Love to Forgive” on guitar and drums.  Later in the week, Shirey added acoustic guitars and main vocals to the album’s lead single and title track, “Oh, to Know!”

Saturday, the gentlemen landed a good ‘ol rowdy Jukes show on a SATURDAY!  Every thing about a nasty, hot n’ ready Jukes show was pulled out of the bag.  However, there was a surprise guest in honor of the original bass player for Happy Hour returning to China the next morning.  His father would join us for a few songs including, once again Classics IV’s “Spooky” and “Tequila.”  It was quite the spectacle for the already-wound-up crowd.  Also playing the show were fellow acclaimed Grand Rapids songwriters Lucas Wilson and Justin Stover.

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Private Party – August 21, 2010

April 28th, 2011

RETRO SERIES:
This week in Valentiger history found Shirey and Rider laying down the rhythm guitar and drum tracks for “Good Day, Goodnight” and Shirey and Kehoe on a double date to see Stone Temple Pilots at Grand Rapids’ DeltaPlex. The two vowed to buy season tickets to the venue but never pulled through. Scott Weiland warned, “Hey, it’s your celebration.”

Valentiger played one of their more exclusive type of gigs this weekend – a close friend’s wedding. Shirey actually played AT the wedding, even while the bride walked down the aisle and exited. Longtime neglected “Strangely Arranged” was played instrumentally along with “Courses” and newer, untitled tune.

Shirey then met up with the rest of the band at a brewery in Chicago for the reception, where the full band would play a set directly after dinner and before “dance time.” A slew of bride-selected Happy Hour and Valentiger songs were played before they jammed with the father of the bride on saxophone to Classics IV’s “Spooky” and “Tequila.” The sax was also featured on “Into the Sun” and a few other originals. Afterward the band danced the night away as the bride wore Rider’s tie and Shirey straddled his own vest, legs through the armholes. They did shots, they ate cupcakes and they smoked. They ate steak, scallops and salmon. They went to more bars after the reception and they crashed at the grooms pad with his brother in law, staying up until 7AM debating the difference between cheesy and flashy. The brother in law being the original bassist for Happy Hour, pre-Schultz. Shirey fit his entire body inside a pair of Indian pants.

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