Review Fix Exclusive: Inside Hunter Valentine’s ‘The Pledge’ and More

6/8/14 Hunter Valentine

Review Fix chats with Kiyomi Valentine and Laura Petracca of Hunter Valentine, who discuss the band’s new EP, “The Pledge.” Chatting about their origin and goals for the future, Valentine and Petracca give us an inside look at what makes the band special and how 2016 could be their breakout year.

For more information on the band, click here.

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Kiyomi Valentine: Laura always has the more accurate answer when it comes to timelines, but I think we are 11 years and running.

Laura Petracca: There’s a long and a short version. The short version is that  Kiyomi and I met in a dark bar back in 2003 and after a year of playing music with the boys, we became an all-girl rock outfit in the spring of 2004 and haven’t looked back.

Review Fix: What’s the band’s creative process like?

Valentine: It’s pretty different for every song. I like to write a lot on my own and then bring songs to the table for the band to arrange. Laura is a great writer as well and even better arranger. There was a big writing collaboration this record between Lisa Bianco and I this time around. I enjoy using working with other people because it keeps you on your toes to try fresh ideas and different perspective.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this EP?

Valentine: To Bring out the biggest crowds yet for our last tours. We would also love to get it in the hands of whoever dug Hunter Valentine over the years and for new fans to buy this record and have them end up buying every record we ever made.

Petracca: My goals are to get this album in the hands of everyone that’s been an HV fan, in the hands of people that have never heard of HV and to play to the biggest crowds yet. I really want to go out with a bang.
Review Fix: What’s the standout song on the EP? How was it written?

Valentine: My favorite song is the title track, “The Pledge”. This process was really unique to us. Bianco and I wrote the song on acoustic guitars and then brought it to our producer Tom Thacker. Tom had the idea of breaking the entire song down with just piano. It changed the whole direction of the song and really showcased the melodies that were written.

Petracca: My favorite is also The Pledge. Once Lisa, Kiyomi and Tom worked their magic, I stepped in and helped arrange drum parts, added harmonies and a few strings… what a heart wrencher, the song made my roommate cry the first time she heard it.
Review Fix: How do you want this EP to be remembered?

Valentine: We want it to be remembered as our final masterpiece! Kidding. We want people to listen to this e.p and think, “wow, this band really loved what they did for the last 11 years and are going out on a high.” Some bands wait until things get stale and they can’t stand what they are doing anymore. We love the music, we love other and we love Hunter Valentine. We just know that there are other things for us to explore right now. This band will always be a part of us.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Valentine: I am going to be focusing on my solo project and just write my ass off in the next year. My favorite thing to do is songwriting, so I’m going to continue to write for me and other artists. Laura is going to go back to her roots and focus on her career as a chef. Leanne is playing with a bunch of different bands already and lives for touring as a bass player. Lisa is still stuck with me writing songs and is always out and about playing the guitar, keys, flute or accordion!

Petracca: Everyone else is staying in the music business and are going to make another mark, and I’m almost 100% positive, I’ll be playing their music loud in my car! I, on the other hand, am going back, with a vengeance, to the food industry. I hope to be the next best, wherever I end up.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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