“That was actually probably a highlight for the whole band – getting asked by Adalita to do the Magic Dirt support on their tour,” enthuse Vanessa. “It was a moment where it’s like, ‘fuck man, we idolised Magic Dirt’! Adalita was one of the reasons why I started playing guitar in the first place, so to get asked to do something like that is like a dream come true!” she laughs.
“Then the Jebediah support that we got on top of that… That was a few weeks ago and it was so inspiring for us. It was just inspiring to see them come back after so long and to see them still loving what they’re doing; nothing’s really changed for them. Most people took them extremely well at the gig.
“I remember I was quite young when they first came out, but I do remember that whenever I had a fight with mum or something stupid like that, I’d whack on Leaving Home! Their new stuff is fucking amazing, though,” she adds, “and just watching them still having fun was the best thing ever. The last time I saw a band that inspired me in that way was The Breeders.”
Seeing Jebediah back in full force once again was so inspiring for Valentiine that it made the band all the more excited about their own upcoming album launch. With “amazing” supports of their own from Little Foot, The Instincts and We Are Gamma, the girls reckon we should get ready for a night of bruised knees and hickies at The Tote.
“The whole night is a bit fucking special!” enthuses Vanessa. “I’m really excited about the other bands on the bill as well, especially We Are Gamma, who are on just before us. They’re kind of like this incredible mix of Queens Of The Stone Age and The Beach Boys, so we’re really excited about that.
“Obviously we’re doing all the songs from the new album,” Vanessa explains for the band’s plans on the night. “I love the new tracks. It’s actually really weird because the later tracks are still in the same vein as the earlier ones, but I’d say definitely the newer stuff is quite more upbeat; it’s way more high-energy.
“Overall when you listen to the album it’s got a bit of a stoner-ish feel to it, with some dreamy poppy stuff too.”
Due to financial issues, Vanessa claims the album took a little longer than expected to get done and dusted… However, as the singer insists, it was actually a blessing in disguise, allowing the band extra time to come up with new songs that may never have ended up on the record.
“It took us a bit longer than most bands because it just came down to money, it’s as simple as that,” Vanessa laments. “We’d have a really fucking awesome, wicked recording session and we’d be planning on coming back the next weekend to keep going, but then we’d realise that we just couldn’t because we had no money left!
“So it took quite a while, but it actually worked out far better in the long run. In the meantime when we couldn’t get back to the studio, we’d written some new stuff and we ended up with so much that we’re got almost enough to lead us into the second album already.”
It’s something Vanessa claims gives the band all the more to look forward to in the next 12 months, but it’s really the fact that Valentiine was formed in the first place that still has the singer buzzing. As Vanessa points out, sometimes when you stop looking, the very thing that you’re after finds you.
“Because I’d always dreamed of having a band like this!” she says of the all-girl lineup. “It just never ever happened for me! I really tried my arse off for a long time, believe me, and it just never worked out.
“Then I found myself living with Erica [bassist] and Shelly [drummer] who had their own project without me. They were doing their own thing and I watched them going to their band practices and doing all the stuff I’d wanted to do for a long time. I don’t know why I’d never thought to put it out there sooner, but eventually we got together for a rehearsal.
“I’d been doing some writing on my acoustic, that’s about it really, but once we sat down at rehearsal we all just realised, ‘okay, this could be a really cool hobby’. And honestly, that’s all we thought it was going to be. We never even expected to play a show or do a record, it was meant to be just for fun.”
