Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Valle from local band TV’s GOODTIMES.
Hi Michael, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was in the backseat of my parents’ car when I was 5 and we saw a motorcyclist get in an accident. We pulled over. Tragically, he was dead. I didn’t know that at the time, all I knew was from his radio played the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I would later learn that song was “Isn’t it a Pity?” by George Harrison.
I remember being floored by the whole situation, but especially by this sense of how music could underpin, highlight, juxtapose, conflict with, and reinterpret a moment.
That’s where this band started, more or less.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Everyone wants to be in a band but no one wants to practice. Plus, it ain’t easy in this town when you refuse to kiss the ring and play nice with all the ketamine/coke heads. That’s why I’ve always liked Waylon and Willie; not that the former didn’t do his share of skiing but rather the whole “outlaw” thing, that’s always really resonated with me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
A lot of bands in town play the blues, they play soul, they play punk, they play shoe gaze— whatever it is they play, they play that one thing. They are keeping alive the tradition of blues/soul/punk/etc.
The tradition I’m interested in keeping alive is that of songwriting ala Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Elliott Smith, Paul Simon, Elton John, Kurt Cobain, and obviously more than I can mention. Of course, I love bands like Black Sabbath, Zeppelin, Pantera, Soundgraden— riffy, rocking bands who can rip your head off with their backbeat and distorted guitar. I think, in whatever ratio, each of our songs has a little piece of all of these bands/artist floating around in them. And towards that point, honorable mentions to Radiohead and Sex Pistols.
Each of our songs tends to have a pastiche they bounce off of that’s different than any of the others we play so the through line becomes the narrative voice of the lyrics and the overall attitude we bring to the music.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Figuring out what you don’t like can sometimes be a hell of a lot easier than figuring out what you do like. Determine your dislikes, dissect why you dislike them, and then avoid them. Subvert them. This can act sort of a diving rod towards what does inspire, motivate, and interest you creatively.
Now let’s see if I find any water.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: tvs.goodtimes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TVsGoodtimes
Image Credits
Halloween the Dancer
