Hiya Trey from Happy Valley, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
What was life like for you before you got into music?
I was always somehow knew I would be doing music. I’ve always been musician and never known a life without it, to be honest. I went through my whole life knowing I didn’t have a backup option and this is what I was meant to do. I feel like I have always had calling to do songwriting and music.
When Happy Valley formed, we all felt like we had that same calling which bought us together. We are all strongly tied and connected to the creative world in our own way outside of the band and that’s what brought us together with such driving force.
What’s the live music scene like in Brisbane right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
We feel so lucky to be adopted by the Brisbane music scene and it’s vibrant musical culture. We love seeing people in these venues as a place they call home. We feel like we are all misfits and Brisbane helps us fit in because of the amazing people, bands and venues.
We are loving Friends of Friends and Selfish Sons! We’ve seen them do amazing things and can’t wait to see them do more. They’re both incredible bands filled with such talent and we truly love what they’re both doing and achieving.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this?
There does seem to be an added weight of responsibility with social media content. We all work together to get things done when it comes to socials. We usual our social media platforms as a way to get our points across and to really show who we are. At the end of the day, we only do socials when we see it as articulating our music more than just shameless plugs and marketing.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
It’s feeling less personal in some ways from so many social media platforms being in the mix. It feels like people aren’t showing as much engagement in real life than on socials. It’s harder to get people into a room now, but when we do, we know those people are giving 100% and are all in which we love to see!
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
We have hit our first milestones within our music and now ready to evolve and take the next steps to grow with our audience. We still have a lot of growth and evolving to do and always will. Step one is to know who are we, and we do. Now we are ready to take that to the next level within the industry.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
We have learnt that we will always be progressing and moving forward. We are aware there will never be a final stage of satisfaction with us. We always want to be growing and moving forward in every way.
Everything we have learnt so far has enforced us to not necessarily have huge expectations. We have for the first time not expecting anything from our releases. This is the first time we have put music out that just shows who are genuinely without the expectations attached that I think alot of musicians may have when releasing music.
What was your best experience on stage?
Probably when we played our first gig with IEM’s (in ear monitors). We played our most popular song and as I took my IEMS out of my ears, I suddenly heard the audience singing our songs which was such a great moment for us and felt so special.
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
Trey loves basketball as much as he loves music. It’s a way he can express a physical form of creativity.
Beau is a MEGA Starwars fan.
Mitch is a big fan of American culture. We think he will definitely live there some day.
Joel built his own studio in his house.
Mikaela is an aspiring board game host!
You have a new EP out. Can you tell us about this?
It’s an EP that came from trying to find our identity. It came from a time of finding out who are. We don’t know who we are or where we are going but we are content with that and will follow that journey.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
For myself, it was letting go of creative control so we could all come together to find our group chemistry. Trusting each other to work out our parts, have creative input and work to our strengths.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Honestly, no. We are so proud of what we have created and think it is such an important part of developing who we are as a band.
FOLLOW THE BAND HERE
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