Introducing Next:
Hello. Please introduce yourself.
My name is Chris Qualls and I play synth and write songs for the band Electric Valentine.
How are you today?
I'm doing well...a little tired. I had to wake up early to finish a mix for an upcoming deadline.
What was the biggest influence behind your bands formation?
Lauren and I were in a band together called A Kiss Could Be Deadly for
a couple years. It was pretty punk rock with some electronic elements
thrown in. Eventually we hit the point where we wanted to start
writing full on dance/pop songs, so we started writing and recording
what would eventually be the first batch of EV tracks. When the other
band broke up, we started really focusing on Electric Valentine.
How did you all meet?
Lauren and I met in college. I was out front of a bar smoking a
cigarette and she came up and started hitting on me. I didn't realize
she could sing for another year and a half because she was a little
intimidated by me being in a successful band at the time. We met Liam
a couple years later when we were playing with his former band Love
You Long Time. We hit it off and jammed a couple times. His band
went on hiatus right about the time that our original drummer moved to
the east coast. We approached him about playing with EV, rehearsed
together and it was a perfect fit. Since then we've been destroying
clubs across the US.
What is something that people wouldnt know about your band just by looking
at you?
We're all MMA fighters. Lauren is actually the #2 ranked female
fighter in all of CA. We settle band disagreements in the octagon.
Where do you continue to pull your inspiration from?
I try not to listen to other electronic artists or DJ's. I pretty
much just listen to indie pop rock like Brand New, Spill Canvas, Jimmy
Eat World etc. I find that helps me create EV songs that don't sound
like other artists in our genre.
What really grinds your gears?
"You America, fuck you" haha.
What does Electric Valentine mean?
Electric Valentine is the chemistry between a boy and a girl.
You have the opportunity to write a newspaper headline that will be read
around the world, what do you say?
"War is over"
Where do you see Electric Valentine in 5 years?
Bigger, better and slightly more awesome.
What has been your proudest moment this far?
I loved playing warped tour. When I was a kid I went every year and
swore one day I would be there performing, going to the artist BBQs,
hanging out with cool other bands all day and complaining about the
absurdly long catering line. It was a pretty big deal.
Also, we got to do a huge cd release party at Studio 54 in the MGM
grand last summer. That was pretty validating. We had our posters up
all over the casino, got picked up in a limo and had our new album
spun in front of thousands of crazy vegas party people.
Do you have anything in the mix now that we should keep our eyes peeled for?
Everything is top secret right now. But there are big big things coming.
Say something to inspire the people who would like to pursue a career in
music.
Go to school instead.
Thank you.
Check out Electric Valentine
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