"They are going to be physically assaulted with the
low end and volume" – Dan Beloit of The Valley

The Seattle Rock group the Valley does not play for an audience, but rolls over it like an 18-wheeler with its air horns blaring the whole way. The trio pushes the heavy as far as heavy can go and has a sound that can only be described as huge. The Valley is Dan Beloit (guitars and vocals), Taku Mineshita (bass guitar), and Jim Laws (drums.

The easiest way to describe The Valley is to say they are very loud, very heavy, very cool, and are pulling influences from every conceivable form of heavy rock going back to 1966. The only way to get the full effect of the Valley is to see them live. It’s impossible to say The Valley sounds like any other band in Seattle because they don’t. The Valley’s sound is totally its own. Shear volume, monster drum sounds and feedback are the hallmarks of a Valley show.

The first time I saw them I was stunned by the sheer volume at which they play, even inside a small club. The Valley is one of the loudest bands I have ever heard inside a Seattle club or a club anywhere else for that matter. They literally rattle your bones when you see them in concert. Luckily for my particular tastes in rock music, they are also one of the best. At the most recent show I attended, audience members were passing around earplugs just before The Valley plugged in, as if in some sort of religious ritual they have performed many times before.

The drum sound alone is worth the price of admission to a Valley show. Most drummers will break out a 26” bass drum for that giant and boomy John Bonham sound. The drummer for The Valley uses what is probably the largest bass drum on the scene right now. Jim Laws bass drum makes Bonham sound like a choir boy, especially when he uses a mic on it. It’s a vintage Ludwig 28” marching band bass drum, converted into a set bass drum. This particular drum is designed for parades and football game half time shows, not to be played inside a bar (but no sense ruining the fun by getting technical about it). The drum is so huge it’s the very first thing you notice when The Valley sets up to play. It’s a key ingredient in their sound for sure, because the bass drum sounds like thunder rumbling underneath and offsets the harmonic overtones caused by tube amps cranked way up.

The Valley’s guitar sound is unpredictable live because feedback is totally welcome from guitarist Dan Beloit. Every song They play is written, recorded and played in a structured form, but what exactly will come out of the cranked tube amps in the way of feedback, distortion and other sounds is anyone’s guess. Dan plays both rhythm and lead while also handling lead vocals and tends to be rather theatrical live, moving closer then further away from his amp to produce various forms of feedback. This style is what Hendrix used back in the late 1960s and it sounds just as cool in 2008 as it did back then.

The Valley is just about to go into the studio with Tony Reed, who heads another monster trio Mos Generator. They also have an upcoming EP recording, a west coast tour and a bunch of Northwest dates planned for spring and summer of 2008. Here is what Dan Beloit has to say about the band The Valley.

Interview with Dan from The Valley
February 2008

G: How exactly does the valley get its huge and unique sound as a three piece?
D: A big part of it is our gear, but it’s also the way I approach the guitar. I have always played in three-piece bands, where there is lots of space to fill. We use old tube amplifiers that only sound good cranked. With the way I finger chords, I usually have open strings ringing and with the high game fuzz pedals we use, they produce harmonic overtones. The listener gets the impression that there is more stuff going on than there really is. A big thing I always wanted to do with this band is for when people come to see us, they’re not only going to get visually stimulated but they are going to be physically assaulted with the low end and volume.

G: Dan, why exactly does The Valley play so damn loud?
D: it’s all about the SPL or sound pressure level. That is what you feel when you come see us. The pressure coming out of our speakers is sound and air and that is what vibrates your spine and hits you in the gut. You can’t do that with a combo amp or even a drum set. It only comes from an amplified sound source such as a guitar amp and cabinet.

G: Has anyone ever suggested you turn it down a notch or two?
D: Every sound man in town hates us already. We were actually asked to turn down at the Showbox when we played the KEXP Yule Party back in December. The sound man had us registered at 110dB (a jet plane is about 130dB). I think we are banned from a couple of clubs in town already. Fuck em, ya know? They just don’t get it. Right now we are looking for a full time soundman to work with us around town and on tour. Then we can really start opening this thing up!

G: The Who was in The Guinness book of records for the loudest rock show in history, so you’re in good company. You would break that record given the money for equipment I assume, correct?
D: Yes, for sure. When the time comes for us to play bigger venues, we’ll be ready with more stacks. Have you ever checked out High On Fire live? They are the loudest band out there right now. Matt Pike is the lord of volume.

G: You seek out feedback on stage in a way similar to Jimi Hendrix. Is he is an influence of yours?
D: I think all guitar players are influenced by Jimi, even if they don’t think they are, ya dig? I mean, chances are the person they are influenced by, was influenced by Jimi. The biggest thing that turns me on about his playing are the noises and the way he made the guitar sound like something other than a guitar. He could make it sound so sweet and then make his guitar sound so bad. It was beautiful. I’m sure if he was alive today, his pedal board would be the size of a truck. He pretty much invented the loud, fuzzed out guitar sound. All those guys, from Pete Townsend to Neil young, to current players like Doug Marsh, to Jack White, all are ripping Jimi off. As a guitar player, you can’t help it. Jimi already did it all!

G: Tell me about the recording planned with producer Tony Reed of Mos Generator.
D: We were approached by Van Conner (Valis/Screaming Trees fame) to be a part of his Northwest compilation that he is putting together for Small Stone Records out of Detroit. All of the bands that are involved in this compilation recorded with Tony, so we jumped at the chance to be apart of the compilation and to record with Tony. I am a huge fan of his band, Mos Generator, and everything I have heard coming out of Temple Sound Studios has sounded great. I am really excited to work with Tony, we are going in the second week of February and it’s going to be a blast!

G: What’s it like playing in a trio with Taku Mineshita and Jim Laws?
D: I’m the luckiest guy in town... Jim and Taku are great to be in a band with. Both guys give 110% when we take the stage and both are down for pretty much anything I bring to the table. I’ve known Jim since around 1991. We played in a few bands back home when we where kids. Jim was the best drummer in town of Clarkston, WA. Even when he was in middle school he was playing in a bar band with cats twice his age. Jim makes my songs better, period.

Taku is awesome too. He didn’t pick up a bass until the first time we jammed (he borrowed my bass equipment at first). I met Taku through my original drummer at a Hives show back in 2001/2002-ish and he pretty much just told me, “I want to be in your band.” How can I argue that? Taku’s bass style has developed from playing with The Valley and it’s very unique because his role is almost that of a rhythm guitar player.

G: What is on the agenda for The Valley for the spring and summer of 2008?
D: Well, besides the Small Stone records compilation, we are working with a new label out of Olympia called Rx Evolution. They are going to release a 10” vinyl version of our EP that we released last fall. We are also working on a couple of tours down the west coast for late spring/early summer along with a bunch of regional northwest dates. Also, we are currently working on new material and are planning to do another spring session at Chroma Sound with Johnny Sangster. It’s the same studio and same producer as our last EP. This session will be to record another 6 song EP for a late summer or early fall release. Our master plan is to release 3 six song EP’s over the course of 28 months, so we will try to have the third one out by spring ‘09. Other than that we just want turn on as many people to our music as we can.