Other The East Village Vampire
The Valley Of Death

OK, this really is the most out of character song I have ever posted. No doubt about it.

Here is the background...

In 2000, I was in LA. Having never been there before I was shocked at the distances people have to travel to get anywhere - keep in mind that I am Australian and know all about distance.

So I should have known better when a stranger I met in a bar suggested that I take a bus to Las Vegas rather than fly or drive. I was told it would take 2 hours and I’d save some money. Big mistake. It ended up taking something like 6 or 8 hours - stopping every 30 mins to pick up / drop off passengers. It was unexpected hell.

I remember staring out the window in a trance with my headphones blaring. In particular I remember driving through Death Valley (which was admittedly very cool) whilst listening to the Joy Division song ‘Atrocity Exhibition’. The song's bleak lyric - ‘this is the way’ - was so hypnotic and it perfectly summed up my experience.

A month later back home in Melbourne I had nothing to record so I just started riffing on 'Atrocity Exhibition' as inspiration. After stealing the lyrics I had a track.

It is probably more soundscape than song and it is a bit of a chaotic mess. But as summation of a particular moment in time and being something completely different it is worth a listen.

The music is as close to a somewhat modern sound as I will ever get. It is not very often that I use an overtly distorted guitar. I think you can hear elements of Faith No More, Rage Against The Machine and a few other bands that I haven’t listened to in a very long time. The Intro is a bit early 70’s Pink Floyd (maybe ‘Obscured By Clouds’).

One thing I like is the march-like beat that drives the song. It sounds like it is programmed by I played it live on my keyboard. I was trying to conjure up an image of marching through this fictional Valley of Death – who really knows what I was on about?

I never mixed it because it was just a throw away. What you are hearing is where I left off.

Hope you enjoy.

LYRICS

Left – Left – Left Right Left
Left – Left – Left Right Left
Left – Left – Left Right Left
Left – Left – Left Right Left

And this is the way / And this is the way
And this is the way / And this is the way
The Valley...
Through The Valley...
Through The Valley Of...
Through The Valley Of Death

And this is the way...