I have had the pleasure of recently being introduced to a band out of orange county, california, this band calls themselves" VALE".. Launched in 2003 by lead singer David Johnson and, lead guitarist Dillon Fuller... Vale delivers and hijacks your emotions with lyrics such as December, Groundflowers, and a recent new addition to their myspace player called Vertigo..... If you asked Vale "what kind of genre comes to mind, when experiencing their music it is most likely they will respond calling it "POP"... being compared to likes such as The Cure, The Smiths, a time when music was filled with substance, and irrigated the mind and soul as one.....With their first full length albulm "Dislocate the Heart".. This is undoubtably one of my favorites for 2008. If you are lucky enough to be in the area where Vale is playing, Dont romance the idea, get in your car and go..... Vale will surely deliver a show that leaves you thirsty for more. A sound that is craved now a days, but very rarely heard...

MUEN: First let me start off by saying just how much I love your sound, and the dark honesty of true heartfelt lyrics, is enough to keep me coming back for more. With that said; thanks for being able to take time to do this interview. Vale has been in MUEN's top for quite sometime.... Vale has a beautiful meaning, as a word.. Can you tell us what is behind the curtain of Vale? Where did you come up with a name as such?

Dillon: Our former bassist, Jeramy Graham, wanted a name we weren't happy with, Co-plainer and actually booked our band as such for our first gig. Desparate for a name, I ended up perusing a travel guide of London where I found a place called Maida Vale. Both Dave and Jeramy liked the name Vale, minus the Maida, so that's what we came up with. Why we were attracted to the term Vale was because it provided a meaningful explaination for the music that we were providing; the flow of music that we were aspiring for, we felt, that Vale encompassed that perfectly.

MUEN: Vale was launched in 2003 by David Johnson and Dillon Fuller. What was your connection with each other leading upon the discovery of Vale?

Dillon: Jeramy was hired at Borders where I was working. He and I were friends from school. While hanging out with some co-workers at Borders, Jeramy realized that his friend Dave, whose band just broke up at the same time my own band did. By having this realization, the first incarnation of Vale was formed by a drunken call at three in the morning due to mutual interests.

You must realize though that the current lineup is actually the third formation. After Jeramy left the band, Brian joined as a keybordist who would eventually become our bassist. Johnny, actually recorded our second ep and became our drummer later in the Summer of 2005.

MUEN: This is Vale's first full length album titled (Dislocate the Heart). Can you tell us what prompted this particular title for the album?

Dillon: It's the first line of the first song on the cd.

Dave: And a mutual friend suggested it.

MUEN: Who writes the lyrics? Are these words the repercussion of personal experiences within Vale?

Dillon: Not within Vale per se, but Dave who is the primary lyricist, tends to write autobigraphically type songs, like December, Lifeless and Vertigo are taken from real life experiences.

Dave: I tend to write autobiographically... the songs themselves are never formulated to be just about myself, but about things that are also happening around me. For me, it's the chance to say something to somebody exactly the way I wanted to say it but never got the chance to. To be honest, time stands still for me when I write.

MUEN: The music itself injects you with a sound that is vintage, so damn addicting... How do you guys feel about being compared to some of the most talented musicians of our time?

Dillon: Recently, the bands we've been associated with are Placebo, The Cure and Chameleons which are all bands that we enjoy; therefore, I guess the initial reaction is that it's nice that people notice our influences. Basically, it feels that we're doing something right because we're associated with bands that we both find insightful but also because they're legendary.

Brian: I would say 'Epic'.

Dave: For me, it's an honor to be associated with these bands, but also scary to be compared to such legendary bands as well.

MUEN: What opted you to drown yourself in the world of music in the first place?

Dillon: That's an interesting question because normally, children are influenced by their parents, but that wasn't the case for me. So in a way, I felt I was more drawn to music and so a "decision" to be a musician doesn't make sense to me because it's always felt like something I'm supposed to do.

Brian: I was actually steered away from music until my brother, Rob started making friends with some goth kids who introduced me to NIN, Ministry and Skinny Puppy. I toyed with different instruments, but I didn't get serious until Vale, which is my first band.

Dave: '87 was a big year for me because of the great albums that came out at that time. I picked up a bass first and then began to borrow a guitar from a friend, Andy Boswell, and started immediately to write my own songs instead of covering songs from other bands.

MUEN: If Vale could describe in words the veneer or core of their music, what would come to mind?

Dillon: The veneer of our music is 80's pop which tends to have a message of loneliness, but the core is much more of acceptance. So for a song like December it's based on actual events: Dave actually had a girlfriend who was in a coma and when she got out of that coma, she broke up with him. Therefore, the veneer is that life is a tragic story, and by sharing our stories and by performing these stories it allows for a collective acceptance.

MUEN: MySpace has become such a vital tool for promoting and communication for musicians and artists. It seems to merge the bands with the fans? No middle man :) How has MySpace been for VALE?

Brian: Well, before I started promoting for the tour we only had 2,000 friends. After I began to actively promote Vale via Myspace we ended up with 23,000+ friends within weeks.

Dillon: Myspace does offer the easiest and most accessible way for a band to promote themselves. However, I will say that it's not proven to be a successful way for independent bands to promote themselves. Promotion has been the hardest hurdle to overcome, but the only thing you can do is utilize the tools available.

MUEN: What are your views re: the ups and downs of the music industry at this moment in time.

Dillon: No one can deny that the former music business model is dying. Knowing that, it allows independent bands more control over their music. On the downside, it becomes much harder as an independent band to bloom because not only do we have to take care of all the financial aspects, we also are aware that the industry itself is dying and therefore, to grow and reach a larger audience completely lies in the unknown since not even the companies that make this their business know what to do. So this is completely undiscovered territory.

MUEN: Dislocate the heart was released in September 2007, it was produced by Vale and recorded by John Haddad (the drummer).. and currently is available in two editions. One is available of course through iTunes but, the other one is a limited edition and will only be sold at Vale shows. This copy has custom artwork and packaging done by: Steven R. Gilmore.. What made you decide to put out two editions? and how was it working with Steven Gilmore?

Dillon: Dislocate the heart is not available on itunes. Currently, we don't have an album available through Negative 3. If and when we do, we plan on having the songs available through itunes and then have two versions. As of this moment however, there is only one version available which is the version produced by Vale and recorded by John Haddad. Steven Gilmore did do the artwork, however, we have yet to see it.

MUEN: Vale is on the Negative 3 label Yes? It's interesting that if you look up the word Vale in the dictionary you will find it to say :::: a valley; often caused by a" STREAM"... Now Negative 3 ultimate drive and love is "in their words" to create a consistent and constant "STREAM" of music... that is magically eerie. How was it working on the Negitive 3 label?

Negative 3 is actually a label created by a friend of ours that's in hiatus. The only reason why we attempted to connect with Negative 3 is to be on itunes because you have to have a label in order to be on itunes.

MUEN: I see you just got off a tour with New Model Army. Was this just a West Coast tour? How did you like touring with NMA? Do you have any plans on touring out of the states, have you ever went on a tour this extensive in the past?

Dillon: It was just a west coast tour because we're an independent band and we have to front everything for the tour. Technically, we were offered to tour for the east coast as well, but we didn't have the funds for it. This is actually our second time touring with New Model Army. The first tour was in 2006 and that was also just a west coast tour.

Dave: The tour itself was long and definitely interesting to see the differences from town to town.

Brian: We need to get out of the US. Most of our online friends reside in Europe.

Dillon: Our biggest response comes from overseas. So Europe is definitely a destination that we would like to harvest.

Dave: Yeah, definitely Europe. It would be a brutal disappointment to never play Europe; I'd rather play and even take the disappointment of possible rejection than not play it at all.

Dillon: We have toured with NMA in 2006 for the west coast tour. It is because we were attached to NMA that allowed us to book so many shows. Overall, of course it was a learning experience but more over, I couldn't have chosen a better band to do that with because of NMA's history and their core of being a true live act. Many acts like U2 and the Rolling Stones are known for being performing artists but NMA are true to that example. So, to be a part of such a weathered act provides more than any contemporary band could. Portland was the most accepting of an opening act. Portland overall is just a fun, easy going town. It's nice to know that there are still places where music can still thrive organically. Portland right now, is a setting for the creation of all things creative and that can be felt.

Brian: There were more loyal fans developed simply by playing in Portland than any other city.

MUEN: What was the biggest hurdle for Vale during the recording of Dislocate the Heart?

Dillon: The fact that it had to be finished in two weeks because we originally recorded a full length album and John's computer crashed and the only thing that was saved was Groundflowers and December and we just gotten word that we would tour with NMA in four weeks and needed a cd ready. So we took those two songs, three other songs from a previous recording and two new songs within two weeks.

MUEN: What has been the most unexpected thing to arise for Vale?

Brian: Good music.

Dillon: We provided "Dislocate the Heart" on a torrent site and got 10,000+ downloads of the album.

Dave: The most unexpected thing for me is that people are actually interested in our band: to show up to our show, buy our cds and being able to tour at this time.

MUEN: Where would you like to see Vale in the next 3-5 years?

Dave: Playing Europe, being able to support ourselves and to be on a successful major label.

MUEN: Vale has some 23,000 friends and fans on its My Space page, as well as other sites to help with promotion and connection to the listener today. Is there anything you guys would like to say to the supporters of Vale? and to those who are yet to radiate into the phenomenal sounds and lyrics of Vale?

Brian: Hang in there: we will actually provide a satisfying full length album.

Dillon: Yes. There is no limit upon us to provide music to everyone who's looking and we have not faltered from our path in attempting to provide that.

Dave: The music that we produce is true to the heart and we're glad that it resonates through to our fans and supporters.

MUEN: I can't say enough about Dislocate the Heart. It has held me hostage. Thanks ever so much once again....

Dave, Dillon, Brian and John: Thank you.

Interview by Kelli Shannon