A Quick Chat with Valiant Stride

You've been together for two years now, can you tell us how the band has grown and evolved over that time? 

Over the past two years, our band has evolved immensely. Our journey together has been one of continual learning and improvement. Having so many members from diverse musical backgrounds has definitely shaped our music in a unique way.

Each member brings their own influences to the table, allowing for a lot of experimentation with different genres.

Hammer To The Wall has a funny backstory, can you tell us about that? 

A man who used to live across the road from me was arguing with his next door neighbour because the neighbour's freshly built wall was apparently crossing too far over into his property. There was a lot of yelling and swearing, and soon the whole street came out to watch the dramatic confrontation.

After heated exchanges, the man stormed back into his house. Moments later, he returned with a hammer clenched in his hand and began swinging it aggressively at the wall. He must have struck the wall at least a hundred times, before he finally brought it crashing down. It was something I just knew I had to write a song about.

What’s your creative process like? 

I usually always write the music first before the lyrics. I don't really have much of a formula behind it. I'll mostly play around with a bunch of chords, experiment with different riffs, and sometimes utilize a looper pedal with a drum pre-set until I'm finally able to piece something together and create a structured song. Once I have that, I'll hum a vocal melody to the music. I've realised that it's something that has to come natural to me. The songs I've written have mostly all been unplanned.

What inspires you to write music?

Personal experiences create the biggest inspiration for me. If the subject matter is something that I can relate to, then I'll have a much stronger connection with the music.

 Who are your biggest musical inspirations? 

My biggest inspirations are Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Deep Purple, and Bob Dylan.

What’s your dream support slot? 

Absolute #1 dream support slot? - David Gilmour. But I'd love be a support for a lot of the classic Aussie rock bands that are still going such as Rose Tattoo, Radiators, Nick Cave, or the Angels.

What artist can you not get enough of lately? 

I've been listening to a lot of 'Goblin' lately. They are a progressive rock band from Italy, and they're very inspiring.

What has been the most memorable moment of your musical career so far?

The most memorable moment so far has been recording the album and seeing it all come to life one song at a time. It's something that's very sentimental to me.

You've got some gigs coming up, where can people catch you next? 

Our next show will be Sunday August 4th at the Bridge Hotel in Rozelle. It will be our biggest and best show yet! 

What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond!

We plan to have our debut album, Righteous Street, fully released by the end of the year. When that time comes, our album launch show will be announced, and all going well, an Australian tour next year.