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Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Darling Valley (Jordan Stewart): Ashleigh and I grew up in the Albany, NY area, where we all live now. Lauren is from a little outside Albany, and TJ is our Connecticut-transplant. Ashleigh and I went to high school together, although we didn’t actually speak to each other until we were both in college (probably because I was such a goof in my younger years). TJ and I met when we were in college in Oneonta, NY, where we bonded over music and were in another band together. After college, TJ moved to Albany and met Lauren through his job. I like to think I’m the one who got them together, since their first date was to see a comedian when I ended up not being able to go.

 

As far as the band itself goes, the whole thing started as a solo project for TJ back in 2012 called ‘Accents.’ That project grew to eventually include Lauren and I, as well we as a few other members. After those other members left to pursue other projects, it was very natural for Ashleigh to join and complete the line-up, and that’s really when we became the ‘Darling Valley’ that exists today. We were two married couples and best friends first, so the transition to being band mates was very natural.

 

For me personally, it was never really a choice of whether to become a musician or not – its just what I’ve always constantly been pulled to. Before I could even play guitar or really write songs, I would play the harmonica and perform Weird-Al-esque parody songs for my friends. I think we all have always had that performance bug in our genes. Whether it was theatre, chorus, punk rock bands….we’ve all been performing in the arts in one way or another since we were wee little ones.

 

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Darling Valley (Ashleigh Whitfield): As Jordan said, we used to go by the name Accents, but it was too generic of a word – we were impossible to find online. The existence of another band in the Albany area called “The Accents” certainly added to the confusion. So, we needed a new name that wouldn’t run into any of the same issues, but it took a while to find one that embodied who we are as a group now. After about six months of discussion, we ended up with a very long list of possibilities. We each chose our top three, and Darling Valley remarkably made it onto everyone’s list. It was pretty amazing, considering how many options we had to choose from.

The name itself was inspired by our oddly close relationships with each other. We recently bought houses in the Hudson Valley that are literally sixty seconds apart (we clocked it), and we all tend to call each other “darling.” The name “Darling Valley” is basically a description our weirdly tight-knit group.

 

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Darling Valley (JS): Our first two albums and EP were all released on a Name-Your-Price basis on Bandcamp (as well as through digital outlets like Spotify, Apple Music, etc). So, we definitely see the merit to making your music easy to share, especially if you’re a musician trying to reach as many people as possible to gain a following. Recently, we have been giving away our new single for people who sign up for our mailing list at our website and at shows, too.

 

At the same time, it seems like there is less and less of a need for an artist to give away albums for free if they are also releasing them through streaming services. That is the cool thing about those services: they make music really accessible to a large audience of people. In the end, there are a lot of ways to distribute music to people online, whether it is free or paid. I think the more important thing nowadays is trying to make a connection with a listener, when it’s so easy for them to just skip to a new song.

 

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Darling Valley (JS): I think it’s really important to get to know your local music scene. Go see other local bands and get to know the radio stations in your area that give a chance to local musicians. We are lucky in the sense that we have a few stations in the area that really support local music. I think we’ve always tried to treat other musicians and venues with respect, which goes a long way. Also know that you can always get better. I can fully admit that the first songs I wrote sucked, and the first shows I played were horrendous. But, you keep grinding it out through open mics, at coffee houses, opening for friends’ bands, and somewhere along the way you’ll start to find yourself as a musician and get better at performing. It just takes time!

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Darling Valley (TJ Foster): My bandmates often ridicule me for being too prolific when it comes to writing songs. That’s the part of the process I find the most enjoyment in though, writing and developing a song. Most often I just sit down with my acoustic guitar and see what happens. I never decide “okay, I want to write a song that sounds like this” or “I want to write a song in 6/8 timing.” I’ll play a chord progression and try different melodies over it at different tempos/rhythms/etc. If something eventually sounds like it could have potential, I’ll record a voice memo on my phone and just let it marinade until I have enough memos for a nice collection of song blueprints. When that time comes, I’ll revisit them all and weed out the weakest of the bunch, which is much easier to do with a fresh ear than in the moment. The fun part is I record all of these with made up lyrics, literally just singing whatever words happen to come out of my mouth on the spot – there’s always a line or two that somehow finds its way into the final product.

 

Songwriting inspiration really comes to me in a lot of different ways. Musically I take a lot of inspiration from whatever bands or artists I’m binge-listening to at the time. While tracking/mixing our new record, it was really just a lot of Ryan Adams. Talk about prolific – I can’t hold a candle to his output. I actually find his process really fascinating. He seems to write his songs and not really think too much about developing and building upon them, he just hits record and captures the moment. There’s something to be said about not overthinking a song. To me, saying what you want to say is more important than making sure every little nuance is EQed the right way or whatever. I’m definitely a lyrical songwriter, and lyrics should come from a very honest part of you. That openness shouldn’t be masked by digital frills and all that. I guess that was a long and drawn out way of saying I’m really inspired by the organic side of music – capturing a song in its natural form, almost like a photograph.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Darling Valley (TF): Yes – we have a beautiful website that was designed by our friend Tom who actually lives over in the UK.www.darlingvalleyband.com is where you can view it. Beyond that, we use the usual suspects for sharing our music (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). It’s admittedly becoming increasingly difficult to get the word out with the ‘pay-to-interact’ models a lot of these social media platforms are adopting, but it’s a catch 22 because it’s also easier than ever to find any information you want on up-and-coming artists. We’re lucky in that respect nowadays; we’ve been in the position before where someone in the audience at one of our shows came up to us immediately after we finished our set and told us he bought our record on iTunes while we were performing. Technology is certainly a blessing and a curse.

 

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Darling Valley (Lauren Foster): It would probably involve Jordan and I having unlimited access to the world’s finest gin and tonics. Oh and I’m sure there would be some music making thrown in there somewhere.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Darling Valley (JS): We try to remain really active on social media, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter … or even Snapchat sometimes! Again, we’ve been really lucky to have support in our local community from the awesome radio stations in our area like 97.7 WEXT and 102.7 WEQX. I think there is a ton of value in actually making personal connections with people too.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Darling Valley (TF): Well, the biggest thing we’re focusing on right now is our new record. It’s called Crooked Orchards and it’s coming out June 24th. We put a lot of love and energy into recording it, and now we’re going to be doing the same thing when it comes to promoting it. We have a music video filmed for a song called “You’ll Go Far, Kid” that we’re planning on releasing a couple weeks prior to the album release that we’re really excited about. It was actually written and directed by an 8-year-old. We don’t want to give too much away just yet but it’s super adorable.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Darling Valley:

(LF): If I weren’t making music my energies would probably be spent annoying my animals. Which, in turn, means annoying my husband. Let’s just say that me making music keeps all of us sane.

(JS): I’d be very sad! But, I’ve always had an interest in screenwriting and actually co-wrote a TV pilot. I probably would pursue that more if I wasn’t playing music.

(AW): I’m a Young Adult Librarian! I always wanted to be a writer or work in theatre, so in college I had the grand idea to become a playwright. If I weren’t in the band, I probably would have gone down that road a little further. As it is now, I get to spend my days helping kids while surrounded by books, and then I go home to my second job of being in a band with my husband and best buds. I’ve got it pretty good!

(TF): If I wasn’t making music, I’d probably be curled up in the corner of a room, wallowing in self-pity. Haha. In all seriousness, I’ve always wanted to be a writer so I’d probably dedicate that newly-available creative time to that outlet.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Darling Valley (AW): One of the healthiest things anyone can do is leave their work at work. I have a bad habit of checking my work email in the middle of the night, and we all tend to bring bad moods home with us occasionally, but separating work life from band life allows us to focus a little more on whatever the task at hand might be. As far as our personal lives, the fact that we are two married couples who are also best friends ensures that we aren’t sacrificing important relationships for music. We’ve all had to miss out on the occasional family event, and we sometimes struggle to fit our other friends into our busy schedules, but in the end, it’s all about priorities – TJ and Lauren’s daughter, and our group’s conglomeration of furry family members are always at the top of the list. When you start out knowing what you are and are not willing to compromise on, the rest of it just falls into place.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Darling Valley (LF): 2016 has already been an awesome year for us. We’ve finalized recording, mixing, and producing our new album and have worked out our live set to include our favorite new songs. In less than a month we’ll finally be able to put this record out there – and hyperventilate, cry, and smile. It will be like sending our youngest child off to college. I believe the 4 of us are more proud of this compilation of music than we have been of anything that we’ve been a part of musically. So in 2016 we look forward to promoting the record, performing as many live shows as our mortal lives allow, and as TJ said, soon you’ll be seeing our music video for our next single, “You’ll Go Far, Kid.”