EMQ’s With WASTELAND VALLEY

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EMQ’s With WASTELAND VALLEY

Hi everyone. Welcome to another EMQs, this time with Norwegian Rock band, Wasteland Valley. Huge thanks to their drummer, Espen Gotvasli, for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name is Espen Gotvasli, and I play the drums in Wasteland Valley. The band was formed in 2015, and it all just started with four of us jamming just to have some fun. But we soon realised that there was a real good chemistry there and decided to find a vocalist and make a real band out of it. And so we did and we recorded and released our first album “Break the Ice” in 2016. Then in 2017, our vocalist at that time Espen Elden Olsen decided to quit the band. But luckily, we quickly found a new one in Tor Erik Simensen and made a new album. That second album was called “Pantheon” and was released in 2018. After a period of trying to do as many gigs as possible, the world went crazy because of the pandemic and we got a lot of time and inspiration to write new music again like every other band in the world, I guess. And of course, we just couldn’t resist making a concept album about the whole craziness going on with this virus. So our new album that will be released February 25th, will simply be called “The Pandemic”.

How did you come up with your band name?

Coming up with a band name these days is always a challenge because almost every cool name is taken from before. But we talked about finding a name that kind of described our little hometown, Steinkjer in the middle of Norway. Then the word wasteland came up during a game of the board game “Risk”, and I liked it a lot. And our hometown is kind of a valley, so that’s why we chose to combine those two words.

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

We’re from the middle of Norway, and the Metal / Rock scene here is actually pretty good. There are a lot of great local bands and a good community for music generally. We’re also lucky enough to have a very good local pub with a nice stage and lots of cool concerts here in Steinkjer. And most importantly, we have a big festival during the summer called “Steinkjerfestivalen” that is kind of a big deal here.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Our latest release at this point is the single “Lockdown” that was released January 7th. It’s from our upcoming album “The Pandemic” that will be released February 25th and also we will release another single from the new album with the song “Flatten the Curve” on February 11th.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Personally, my three big ones have always been Dream Theater, Guns’n’Roses and Metallica. But there’s a lot of other great bands breaking their necks and I constantly discover new ones. And within the band our taste is both similar and different and everybody listens to a wide variety of bands. And this you can absolutely hear in our music – there’s a lot of different inspirations put in there. Everything from good old giants like Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest, to newer bands like Eclipse, Bokassa and Seventh Wonder.

What first got you into music?

I remember a childhood friend of mine giving me a mixtape containing Guns’n’Roses, Alice Cooper and Metallica songs. And I was sold when listening to songs like ‘Paradise City’ and ‘House of Fire’ for the very first time. I knew right away that I had to start playing an instrument myself and after a short period as a 11-year-old bad vocalist I started learning to play the guitar. Then a couple of years later, I discovered I was far more talented on the drums and chose to make that my main instrument.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Erik Mårtensson from Eclipse and W.E.T is probably at the very top of that list. Love all of his work, and he’s an extremely talented songwriter. Also, a virtuoso guitarist like John Petrucci would be epic.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Sweden Rock Festival for sure. I have attended that festival 10 times and I think it’s the greatest festival in the world. Always a great line-up, always a nice audience and a very good vibe overall.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

We haven’t received that many fan gifts yet, but we got these very cool “scull chocolates” when playing Totsås Rock Festival in 2017. It’s the only gift that comes to mind.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

It would be to spread the word about our band!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Difficult one these days, when they’re sadly dropping like flies. But I guess it would have to be Ronnie James Dio. Miss hearing his voice live.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I enjoy playing live in front of a great and loud audience the most. I hate the part of rigging and setting the stage the most. We’re not big enough for having techs and roadies doing the dirty work, so we’re stuck doing that ourselves.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I would change the main priority of sales from digital to physical formats somehow and focus more on albums than singles.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Guns’n’Roses – “Appetite for Destruction”

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?

Vinyl for sure, visually nothing can compare to it.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

Steinkjerfestivalen 2019, in front of an amazing hometown audience.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I love making videos, as I have made most of our band’s music videos. So probably something within movie / video making.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Mike Portnoy, Lars Ulrich, Slash, Nikki Sixx and Steve Harris. That would be an interesting one.

What’s next for the band?

Next for the band are the release of the new album and hopefully a proper release party if national restrictions allow it. Then we hopefully will play some cool gigs the rest of the year, before we start working on the next album.

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wastelandvalley 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/wastelandvalley/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/wastelandvalley/
Webpage: www.wastelandvalley.com

Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Biscuit!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for taking interest. I would just like to add a word for the physical album format, if you discover a band or song you like then buy and listen to the whole album!

Wasteland Valley Promo Pic

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