INTERVIEW WITH KICKIN VALENTINA
INTERVIEW WITH KICKIN VALENTINA intervista di DANIELE PIETRINI
MELODY LANE had an interview with Heber and Chris members of the band KICKIN VALENTINA. The band founded in 2013 by guitarist Heber Pampillon and drummer Jimmy Berdine. After meeting vocalist Joe Edwards they began writing and rehearsing, then recruited bassist Chris Taylor to round out the lineup.
MELODY LANE: Hello guys, can you tell us where the name KICKIN VALENTINA comes from? Who's the founder of the band?
HEBER: Lol, there used to be a fetish porn star from Europe named Valentina that kicked guys in the balls. That’s where the idea for the name came from. It started as a joke at first, but the more we heard the name out loud the more we liked it.
CHRIS: Heber and Jimmy originally put the band together. They actually met Joe through an ad on Craigslist. I had known Jimmy from around Atlanta going to to concerts, and we would always run in to each other. I wasn’t playing with anyone at the time, so he asked if I’d be interested in playing with them… and here we are 4 years later.
MELODY LANE: Which (bands) are/have been your main musical inspirations?
HEBER: We have a lot of different influences, they are all across the board. For me personally I would have to say Kiss, they are the reason I wanted to do this.
CHRIS: As a band they are kinda all over the place. My personal influences range from 70’s punk, sleaze/glam rock to early thrash metal. I love anything loud, over the top with attitude that goes against the grain.
MELODY LANE: The line up of the band is the same from the beginning of the band or have you had changes. The members in tour will be the same that played in the studio?
HEBER: Yes, we are all the original members, and yes all of us are the ones on the albums and the ones touring.
MELODY LANE: What has been your biggest achievement to date and what do you want to achieve in the near future?
HEBER: As far as musical achievements go, to me it’s when you go on tour to new areas and you don’t really know what to expect. Then the place gets packed, and they start singing our songs back to us. It’s really a cool feeling, and it makes you feel like our music it’s actually reaching people.
CHRIS: There have been a lot of achievements over the years as far as certain little goals, and things I’ve wanted to do. Above all of that, it’s the fact that I have always played the music I wanted to regardless of what the current trend was, and people have enjoyed it. When I became a musician, all I ever wanted to do was move people in some way, regardless of what level it was on, and I’ve been able to do that.
MELODY LANE: List 3 songs, from the KICKIN VALENTINA discography, that can define the sound of the band … 3 songs that can help our readers to know KICKIN VALENTINA at the best…
HEBER: I’m sure we all have a different answer for this question, but for me I would have to say it’s GET READY and ALONE from our first album “Super Atomic” and TURNS ME ON from our soon to be released album “Imaginary Creatures”
CHRIS: I would probably say Wrong Way, Get Ready and Turns Me On.
MELODY LANE: Tell us something about the creative process of KICKIN VALENTINA music. Is there a main composer or we can talk about a team work? The songs come from ideas of a single member and then the band works on these ideas in the studio jamming together, or your songs are written in the studio and all the members compose together?
HEBER: The process varies in what form of the song comes first, but it’s always a team effort. We like it that way, everyone gets to put their influences into it. I think that’s what makes our sound.
MELODY LANE: What's the difference between your album "Super Atomic" and the new album that you'll release in the near future? After time, are you totally satisfied with your choices about sound and the writing of your debut album?
HEBER: I love our first album for various reasons, but I think the new album shows that we’re growing as a band together. To me that’s a very important thing, I think you should always grow. So I’m kind of excited about what’s going to come out of us after this next release.
CHRIS: There are a lot similarities with our new album to our 1st one, but there are also some differences. The new album will have some heavier songs, and will also include a ballad. I love our 1st album, but we were still very new as a band when it was released. I think we’ve grown as far as writing and playing together, and it’s made us a tighter band.
MELODY LANE: You'll tour here in Europe in the fall but when can we expect to see KICKIN VALENTINA on tour here in Italy?
HEBER: Yes we’re very excited to come back to Europe, We would love to hit Italy this time, we didn’t get to do it on the last tour. We are currently looking into Italy for this tour, we’re keeping our fingers crossed. Maybe you can spread the word there and tell everyone you want us in Italy. Lol
MELODY LANE: Could you tell us two bands you’d like KICKIN VALENTINA to tour with in the next future…? And why these bands?
HEBER: Wow, we have so many bands we would love to tour with. It’s very hard to narrow it down. I would have to say for me it would have to be Kiss, for obvious reasons and L.A Guns and Faster Pussycat because that would make a killer tour package, Hey if any of you can make that happen let us know. Lol
CHRIS: I’d love to tour with bands like Hardcore Superstar or Backyard Babies. I think they are 2 of the bands out there right now that we are the most similar to and would share a fan base with.
MELODY LANE: You toured a lot in the last years with such great bands as SKID ROW, L.A.GUNS, BEASTO BLANCO and many others...Can you tell us any funny stories or great moments from being on tour with such musicians? Did They support your music?
CHRIS: One of the funniest/craziest shows we did was opening for Faster Pussycat here in Atlanta at 120 Tavern. That was the night of the infamous Danny Nordahl fall on stage. He was already drunk at soundcheck, and it was downhill from there. After we got off the stage, people kept coming up to me asking if I could fill in because Danny may not be able to play. I only know how to play 1 Pussycat song, so I couldn't help. They were able to prop him up for maybe 45 min, and then he finally fell over. The bass player from the band on tour with them stepped in and finished the set and all was good.
MELODY LANE: In the end…A message from you to all MELODY LANE readers.
HEBER: We just want to thank all of you for supporting us. It means the world to us, You guys are the best fans in the world. Keep spreading the KV word, tell everyone that will listen about us. See you on the road soon. Peace, Love and Rock n’ Roll!!
CHRIS: Thank you to everyone for supporting what we do. Keep spreading the word, and hope to see you on tour soon!