The LADYKILLER TOUR featuring SICK OF SARAH and HUNTER VALENTINE
SICK OF SARAH
When the girls of Sick of Sarah jumped on the stage of Minneapolis’ prestigious 7th Street Entry on April 7, 2010, the room was shaking with excitement. The sold-out crowd pushed to get closer, waiting for a glimpse of the ladies that had only months earlier departed for a tour across country. After touring behind their self-titled debut LP for most of 2008/2009, Sick of Sarah had built some anticipation for their homecoming, “This was our final Minneapolis show before making the new record, we felt this was the end of the first chapter, and we couldn’t wait to show everyone what was coming next,” says Lead Singer, Abisha Uhl.
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That new chapter, 2205, was recorded in May 2010 at The Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX, a studio made famous for its indie-rock clientele such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Conor Oberst, Portugal The Man, Taking Back Sunday, Trail of The Dead and its extensive amp and guitar collection including guitars from the Stevie Ray Vaughan estate. “We were able to just live, breath and sleep this album 24/7, a luxury we didn’t have our first time recording,” says bassist Jamie Holm. “Most of the songs had been demoed before we recorded, but we had to arrange the songs and write lyrics on spot.” Some of those lyrics were inspired by the rumors of ghosts haunting the studios and housing, pet raccoons, and mementos discarded by previous artists. According to Uhl, “Karen O left behind a piece of paper with the number of a therapist and masseuse in a dresser in our bedroom.” The band’s house and rehearsal space, 2205 Grand Ave, has served both as a rotating home for each member of the band over the last few years and as a central creative hub. This location has become such an important symbol to the band’s identity that every member has a tattoo “2205” on their inner wrist. The address now lends its name to the new LP, 2205. With this simple gesture, the band has taken an important part of their own lives in order to present it to old and new fans alike in the form of a wild, raucous, catchy new album. The excited Minneapolis fans at the 7th Street Entry may have given Sick of Sarah a welcome homecoming, but with 2205 the band are welcoming fans into their own home.
HUNTER VALENTINE
Go in, nail 'em and go home exhausted. Such a simple victory has been the mission of rock bands for decades. It's a noble pursuit; a Do It Yourself mentality that compels musicians to obliterate with powerful songs propelled by live passion and vitality. That's Hunter Valentine.
Blasting out their inimitable rock since the summer of 2004, Hunter Valentine has blossomed, establishing a devoted fan base via their self-financed eponymous 2005 EP and building on that foundation with their 2007 full-length The Impatient Romantic (True North Records). Razing crowds from coast to coast in their decrepit van, nailing select European and U.S. Cities over the course of 200-plus shows, the trio has garnered an international fan base as they build out of their native Canada. Hunter Valentine are now poised to break through with their gripping follow up Lessons From the Late Night (Tommy Boy/Fontana/Universal).
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Raucous and direct, the outfit comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kiyomi McCloskey, bassist Adrienne Lloyd and drummer Laura Petracca exemplifies girls with a united goal, intense friendship, respect and ability that solidifies their edgy albeit refined music. There's no hyperbole when it comes to Hunter Valentine. Everything has a direct message, delivered with a devout refusal for glitz or glamour. The hard line says it all, conveyed by confident, unbridled rock 'n' roll. For McCloskey, Lloyd and Petracca, Hunter Valentine isn't a job or an ambition. It's their essence, and it comes through loud and clear on Lessons From the Late Night. The album (a harder and more dominant affair than their previous releases) finds the trio rediscovering their own unrivalled live sound as well as embracing their own reality: tough girls with a passion for the rock 'n' roll life; souls who know nothing other than the importance of perfecting their craft, chasing their hunger to tour in vans and sleeping on fan floors for the thrill of playing live.
As primary lyricist, McCloskey draws on her real-life experiences for Lessons From the Late Night's thematic thrust. “I'm inspired by a situation, picture or emotion that I just can't shake from my head,” she apprises. “It could be the sad look of a girl I see on the bus weekly that has been imprinted on my mind, someone crossing me in a friendship, the passing of a relative, watching someone struggle with addiction or whatever needs to be processed within a song in order for me to move forward in life. If I didn't have songwriting I would probably be locked up by now.” Most importantly though, Lessons From the Late Night finds Hunter Valentine returning to their core, unleashing their live prowess onto record. Performing is their passion; where they make lifelong fans due to an unbreakable calling to have fun no matter what. At that, Hunter Valentine delivers with engaging, upbeat shows that blindside and never relent. “It's a kick ass, high energy, entertaining, heartbreaking, heart racing, rush of emotions. You leave satisfied but wanting more,” Petracca asserts. “This band is my family; my life. This is our primary goal and we have the opportunity to excel at music so we're into it full-throttle. This is the only thing we want to do until we master it. The day we step away is the day we've done it all and there's nothing more we can do.” That's DIY. That's Hunter Valentine.
VANITY THEFT
The ladies of the Dayton, Ohio, indie-pop band Vanity Theft are young and pretty. Their songs are mostly about past romances. And when they talk, guitarist Brittany Hill, singer-keyboardist Alicia Grodecki, and drummer Elyse Driskill tend to giggle a lot With a moniker that sounds like the name of a Joan Jett B-side, the threesome — who dropped their full-length, Get What You Came For, in February via Vigilante Music/Adamant Records — fit right into the storied legacy of all-girl bands bent on debunking benign all-girl conventions.
