Valley of the Sun is one of those bands you just can’t resist. From their lyrical themes to their cavernous riffs, they represent the best of what stoner rock can offer to listeners. Speaking to singer and guitarist Ryan Ferrier while the Band is on the road, we discussed riffs, inspiration, concept albums, the pandemic, the band’s relationship with Ripple Records, and their plans for the future. Ryan is not only a brilliant songwriter and guitarist - he is also thoughtful, engaging, and forward-thinking.
As someone who lives in an area described as the Valley of the Sun, I’m a big fan of your band name. Where did that come from? Is it an allusion to your love for the original Palm Springs bands such as Kyuss and Fu Manchu?
I was in a band called Blacklight Barbarian from 2005-2010. Toward the end I was planning on moving to Phoenix after releasing a full length with them titled "Journey to the Valley of the Sun." We started recording the album but never finished it and the band dissolved, as did my plans of moving to Arizona. A few months later the bassist Chris Owens and I formed a new band with drummer Aaron Boyer. As it was somewhat of a continuation of the last project, we thought the name Valley of the Sun was fitting. And yes, I am hopelessly in love with the desert.
Being a band that thrives on killer riffs, I want to ask one of my favorite questions for a band. What makes a good riff? What makes a riff that goes into the throwaway pile? What catches your ear when you’re listening to something you’ve written or someone else has written? How do you think a good riff can accentuate lyrics?
The first descriptor that comes to mind is "feel." A good riff should inspire emotion and feeling in the listener. Maybe that emotion is good times, or rage, or sorrow, or, my favorite, the feeling of the open road.... freedom. I don't really know a formula for how you get there as a songwriter. I guess you either have it or you don't. It's also necessary to write a lot to get just a few good ones. I'd say 80-90% of our song ideas never get fully developed. If they don't hit us right they get tossed out pretty quick, though some of our ideas sit on the shelf for years, only to be rediscovered and developed into a completely different song than was originally intended. As far as the riff's relation to lyrics, that mood created by the music can frequently inspire the subject matter of our songs, though not always. When it comes to vocal melody, I do a fair amount of call and response between the riff and the vocals, easing back the guitar work when it's time for vox to shine and vice versa.
Lyrically, what is your process? Is there a type of scenery that inspires you? Do you write from emotion over anything else or do real word events, for example, inspire you?
The West is super inspirational. The feeling of its vastness and of our insignificance. I find It soothing. Driving into the sunset with your lover is another. Space and astrophysics. Eastern mysticism. It's all really the same overarching theme in my mind. I like to reflect on the mystery of existence, which is baffling, and difficult, and sometimes terrifying... to share those feelings with our listeners, and to provide a message of hope. Jack Kerouac comes to mind... "Everything has already been done. There's nothing more to do. Rest and be kind."
I want to talk about your progression as a band. If we take a look at The Sayings of the Seers then listen to Old Gods, I hear almost an entirely different band that’s heavier and full of more dynamics. What do you think has fed into your progression as a songwriter and also as a band?
Sayings was written and recorded entirely by myself and Aaron Boyer, our original drummer, and Old Gods was Aaron's final album with us, and included the addition of Chris Sweeney on bass, vocals, guitar and organ. Chris is an incredible musician and really opened some new doors for us sonically. Also, for Sayings and Electric Talons of the Thunderhawk we were a power trio (with various bassists coming in and out over the years), whereas Old Gods was specifically written for a four-piece format, as was Volume Rock. Our new LP is probably the biggest sonic leap we've taken. It retains a lot of the riff-heavy elements our fans have grown accustomed to, but also now features Josh Pilot on lead guitar and Lex Vegas on drums. They're both total maniacs on their instruments, and have brought more of a raw rock and roll feel back to the band with tinges of southern rock and punk. Really, everything was on the table for the new album, and a good deal of it was written in-studio where we lived together for two weeks, writing and recording ten hours a day. I was also getting up early and staying up late every night in order to write all the lyrics. We're very happy with how it turned out.
Old Gods was the closest thing to a concept album we've ever pulled off. Thematically almost entirely focused on spirituality and eastern mysticism, from the art, to the lyrics, to the song titles and their order. We thought long and hard about song order. We wanted the album to flow in a very specific way, taking the listener on a journey in their own mind and keeping that going for the entire length of the record. Specifically Gaia Creates, Shiva Destroys, and Buddha Transcends were ordered very intentionally to represent the creation and ultimate destruction of the universe, or of a life, or of the ego, they can all apply, with Buddha Transcends representing the quiet, calm essence of being, humming away in the background for eternity.
You’ve been with Fuzzorama for several years and you recently signed on with Ripple. Can you talk a little about what makes Ripple a special label and one you wanted to work with?
We are actually now with both labels. We had one remaining album on our Fuzzorama contract, and have been pretty successful in Europe thanks to them, but we felt we needed to get involved with a North American label in order to develop a stronger presence in that market. We're actually touring the USA as I write this. I think we're in Texas right now? Ha ha. Tour is always such a blur. Anyway, I've known Todd Severin since almost the inception of Ripple, and have watched his label grow and grow, signing a lot of great bands and doing everything possible to support them. We knew that a partnership with Ripple would be the best possible way to break deeper into the North American market. So we renegotiated our contract with Fuzzorama in order to allow us to release through Ripple exclusively in North America, but to keep European distribution in the hands of Fuzzo. I'm hopeful that this partnership can also benefit both record labels as far as their respective visibility in each others' markets.
As someone who has now been on two excellent labels in the heavy underground, what advice would you give younger artists about how to get on a label that will support them like you’ve been supported?
Make good records. Create good social media content. TOUR. Be creative about ways to keep your band relevant. Labels notice when you put in the work, but can only help you as much as you're willing to help yourself. Forming partnerships with larger bands who are signed, as we did with Truckfighters, is also imperative to boost your fan base and name recognition.
How has the pandemic affected Valley of the Sun? Obviously it had a massive impact because of the inability to tour, for example. Did you see positive impacts from it, however? Did it lead you to write new music?
We had to cancel a two month festival run in Europe in Summer, 2020. That was a major bummer. We pretty much only hung out with each other that year, writing a good bit of our new record in that time and recording it in January of 2021. Then with the persistent inability to tour and this vinyl shortage that's going on, we decided to sit on the album until we could do a coinciding tour with its release.
What’s next for Valley of the Sun? Can we anticipate a follow-up to Old Gods soon?
Yes! Our new album comes out this summer, during which time we will spend two months in Europe doing a mix of festivals and club dates throughout Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, and Spain. After that we will be doing mostly midwest and east coast shows for the duration of the year. We're also looking into Australia this winter and additional USA, Canadian, and European tours next spring.
-Osiris
