Formed in Long Beach, CA in 2003, the foursome--singer/guitarist Warren Woodward, guitarist/vocalist Chris Stevens, bassist Dave South, and drummer Mike Nielson--paid their dues with other bands working the SoCal circuit (Mike and Chris first played together at the age of 13), but the first time the four attempted to combine their separate pursuits as one entity, things instantly clicked. A mere few months after their inception, the group completed what would become their first full-length, Take... (more)
Formed in Long Beach, CA in 2003, the foursome--singer/guitarist Warren Woodward, guitarist/vocalist Chris Stevens, bassist Dave South, and drummer Mike Nielson--paid their dues with other bands working the SoCal circuit (Mike and Chris first played together at the age of 13), but the first time the four attempted to combine their separate pursuits as one entity, things instantly clicked. A mere few months after their inception, the group completed what would become their first full-length, Take Comfort in Strangers.
Produced by Jason Cupp (The Elected, Finch, Val Emmich) while the band were still unsigned, the debut recalled D.C. darlings Fugazi and Q And Not U, the darker undertones of the first generation of post-punk and art-punk with a hint of mid-'90s Touch And Go Records-style aggression. Shortly after the completion of Take Comfort... the band was approached with a record deal offer by New Jersey's Eyeball/Astro Magnetics Records.
Since the 2005 release of their debut LP, The Valley Arena have relentlessly toured the U.S. and Europe (supporting Thrice), garnered rave reviews in magazines like Alternative Press, Filter and Revolver and, defying all logic, saw their home-made music video voted #1 on Fuse's Oven Fresh show above Coldplay, U2 and Eminem.
Source: riot act
