Valiant

The Californian / December 20th, 2007

Valiant's Non-Stop Evolution

By: ERIKA SOROCCO - For The Californian

While some bands find themselves stuck in a rut, making it hard for them to evolve with their music; Murrieta-based duo, Valiant, have managed to avoid this dilemma. Through refusing to categorize themselves to one specific genre, the brothers have found that they are evolving non-stop ---- both creatively and mentally.

"Not only are we a two-piece band consisting only of guitars, vocals, and drums; but we are also brothers, and are driven by the same exact force, making our sound unique in itself," Alexander Falvey said. "We refuse to limit ourselves musically to one specific genre, so our sound is always creatively different, and constantly evolving."

Valiant is made up of Alexander and Eric Falvey, who came together as a band in a flurry of Metallica performances, guitar purchases and a little practice.

"My dad took me to see Metallica for my 13th birthday," Alexander said. "I was so inspired to start my own band after seeing them perform. The guitar specifically caught my eye, after I formed an overwhelming appreciation for Metallica's frontman James Hetfield. My brother Jason later picked up guitar almost instantly and Eric the drums. We all caught on to our instruments immediately. Playing together as a band came quite naturally after that."

Valiant plays Friday at Cloud 9 Coffee in Murrieta along with Wendy Bailey, Aesthetic Is Love and Phil Forte. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show is open to all ages. The band will play again on Saturday evening at Cuppy's Coffee in Murrieta.

"Valiant's dictionary definition is boldly courageous, brave, stout-hearted ... a valiant soldier," Alexander said. "We would like to think that this also describes us."

The duo, however, has faced its share of problems over the four years they have been together. Their brother Jason, who had been a large part of the band, left in 2006, and their bassist, Adam, said goodbye as well. But Valiant has taken it all in stride, and have used some of the hardships they have experienced as fodder in their lyrics.

"My lyrics are always inspired by my real life," Alexander said. "Nothing less. I wouldn't feel right writing anything that I hadn't went through myself. I would feel like a phony. Every memory or feeling I've had that holds any meaning in my life, or life in general, I write and share with others through song. I find my songs to be therapeutic due to the high emotion in each."

Alexander plans for that emotion to shine through during their coming Cloud 9 Coffee performance.

"We're doing an acoustic performance due to the regulations of the venue, which is something different for us ---- performing without the drums," he said. "We will most likely have some sort of percussion accompanying the acoustic. But our friends and fans can expect an extra intimate, raw performance, featuring some of our newest material."

Valiant with Wendy Bailey, Aesthetic Is Love and Phil Forte

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cloud 9 Coffee, 25395 Madison Ave., Murrieta

Tickets: $5 - The Californian / December 20th, 2007

Valley News / January 4th, 2008
An open book By: Peter Surowski

Alexander and Eric Falvey are Murrieta rock band Valiant.

Friday, January 4th, 2008.
Issue 01, Volume 12.

Valiant records life story through song


Alexander Falvey, the guitarist of Murrieta acoustic rock band Valiant, keeps a journal anybody can read. He keeps it in his songs.

Every song represents a chapter in his life. Uprooting his family from Pennsylvania, settling in Murrieta, making friends and tragic split-ups are all captured in his lyrics, his emotions in the chords.

Valiant started four years ago in Pennsylvania when Falvey and his two brothers, Eric and Jason, started practicing their music together.

Since Valiant's inception, Jason has quit the band, leaving Alexander the only guitarist and Eric on drums. The loss of an instrument has only deepened the music, said Alexander.

Loss and hardship drive and enrich the music, he said.

Valley News spoke to Alexander after a performance at Cloud 9 Coffee in Murrieta to talk about life, music and the relationship between the two.


Valley News: Your music has a very personal feel to it. How much of that is fiction and how much comes from who you are?

Alexander Falvey: I don't have an identity outside the band. I feel like if you want to know anything about me, just listen to the music and the lyrics. It's all me. All my lyrics are 100 percent from my heart and my experiences, my eyes, my ears.

It's all the things I find important in life, which is mostly human behavior. Bad experiences and negative people [come out in the music] way more than positivity because there's so much [negativity] out there.


VN: Can you give me an example?

AF: The song I opened up with, called "You Lead a Life Not Worth Living," is a perfect example.

Our other brother, Jason, was actually a guitarist with us. After we moved out here, we got into a really bad brother fight. We didn't talk for months, and that's the story behind [the song].

There were a lot of family issues going on. It was the most intense loss in my life. Every song is a chapter in my life.


VN: Clearly, your life has a deep influence over your music. So, how does your music affect your life?

AF: It's so much of my life, my identity and my personality that it is my life. I find it very therapeutic in how it affects me.

I can look back, listen back and feel what I felt at that moment when I wrote [a given song] because it was so intense and so true. I find myself putting on the happy songs when I want to be in a better mood and the sad songs when I want to embrace my depression.

I can learn from it, even though I was naïve to what I was writing when I wrote it, if that makes any sense. I love discovering what the song is really about after I write it. I keep learning from it, and I still learn from the first few songs we wrote.


VN: How does giving people such a candid look into your personal life feel?

AF: I'm not sure many people pick up on it. I don't know how many people dwell on our lyrics out here. Most of our fans are on the east coast. I know those guys hung on every word.


VN: Then what drives you to open yourself up as you do?

AF: I want people to know me, to know that I'm an open book. I try to talk to and get to know as many people as I can. I find it fascinating to listen to bands that I love because you get insight into their life.

Even for actors, when you have a favorite actor, not too many people realize that what you like about that actor so much is that you can see hints of what they are really like through their roles.


VN: What does playing this music with your brother do for your familial relationship?

AF: It's brought us so much closer as family than I ever thought we could be. When you have to depend on each other to play that beat right or sing that note right you become more of a team than you ever were before.

We were always really close. We're a close-knit family, but the music just enhanced it and brought the best out in our relationships. It got some negative stuff out, too.

We're best friends now. Eric's my best friend, hands down. A lot of that has to do with the music and the bond we've created through that. - Valley News / January 4th, 2008

The Press Enterprise / November 4th, 2008
AND THEN THERE WAS TWO

By: VANESSA FRANKO - For The Press Enterprise

After a split with their other brother, Eric and Alexander Falvey of Valiant release a new record.

Since Murrieta band Valiant formed five years ago, the band has gone from four members to two, switched coastlines and delt with family issues. But now brothers Alexander and Eric Falvey are making a go of it with a new record aptly titled "On Our Own."

"We're the underdogs," singer and guitarist Alexander Falvey said. The band started out as a quartet with three brothers, Alexander, Eric and Jason Falvey, and a friend on bass in the emo and punk scene in Pennsylvania. But the Falveys moved to Murrieta in 2006 and a bitter fight between Alexander and Jason ensued. "It was very 'General Hospital,' very soap opera-ish," Alexander Falvey said. But he and brother Eric decided to keep going with the band and wrote the song "You Lead A Life Not Worth Living" about it. Alexander said one of the lines in the song "If you leave, we won't fall," sums up how he and Eric stayed the course with the band.

The band recorded in North Hollywood from April to October with Ron Dziubla, who has played saxophone with Latino pop singer Chayanne. The songs are raw, tapping into very real issues like their parents divorce. "I think it's a very personal record," Alexander said. The band, though, draws from a variety of inspirations, from Alkaline Trio to Tom Petty. Alexander doesn't want to be the guy just singing about breaking up with a girlfriend and he's proud of the emotional depth of the lyrics. Despite the content of the lyrics, Valiant is not a screamo band. "You won't find any screaming in Valiant now," Alexander said.

WHO: Alexander Falvey, vocals and guitar, Eric Falvey, drums

FROM: Murrieta

FORMED: 2003 as a four-piece

SOUNDS LIKE: Even though the band is only two people, Valiant packs a big sound. The duo taps into influences that range from Metallica to Morrissey, and it shines through in the band's work. "It's Ordinary" has an Alkaline Trio sound, while "Bring Back The Party" has a rootsy feel to it.

RELEASES: The band has just released "On Our Own," but is doing a full release of the full-length in January 2009. When the band was a four-piece, it released a disc of six songs in 2005. - The Press Enterprise / November 4th, 2008

PE.com LIVE INTERVIEW / November 27th, 2008
http://www.pe.com/video/music-index.html?nvid=308232&shu=1 - PE.COM / November 27th, 2008