Valley of Ashes
2/5 BZ

Valley of Ashes

Valley of Ashes
Kris Abplanalp: guitar
Wes Abplanalp: guitar also (and brothers indeed)
Pete Nolan: guitar, vocals, percussion
Natalie Thompson: violin, vocals, percussion
Spooky: percussion
Alan: percussion
Rob Maggard: accordion, keyboard, vocals, guitar

joining for this show:
Mel & Tony: bass clarinet, flutes
Josh: sax
Aaron Rosenblum: violin, thumb piano

Why the name Valley of Ashes, isn't it a reference to a particular area in the Great Gatsby?
Natalie: Valley of Ashes was thefted by myself after reading the Great Gatsby a few weeks before we were forced to "name" whatever it is that we do. I liked the solemness of the name, so desolate... but I don't know, it reeks of beauty in my mind. Let it take whatever meaning that is given. Everyone agreed without much thought at all.

I heard you were playing as Sapat tonight, what’s that about?
Sapat is another band some of us play in. We formed Valley of Ashes to get away and play different types of music and not be pigeon holed in to doing one thing. People expect Sapat to play jazz but with Valley of Ashes we can actually play songs and with a few different people. The Sapat has been playing together for about 2 or 3 yrs. I’d say there's also a general aesthetic difference.

Where ya’ll from?
Louisville, Kentucky.

Is that where you play out most of the time? Is the entire band from there?
Mostly, but sometimes people from other parts join us, like we have one guy from Massachusetts who joined us today.

Do you ever play outdoors?
We play a lot in a park in Louisville, but it’s not like a show, we just get together and play. We try to do as much variety as we can, playing different venues when we can.

Where else can people catch either Valley of Ashes or Sapat play in Louisville?
To accompany the bills of our touring friends we usually hop on and play at a wonderful bar called "The Rudyard Kipling". The owner is very open to musical experimentation, which is a good thing for us. We dig parties with campfires and treehouses w/ hi-fi s especially. The two groups have also played frequently in the past at "Artswatch" a free space for artists and musicians to showcase their whims. However, thanks to the "War on Terror" endowments and the such are in hiding, as is the aforementioned venue. This Valley of Ashes/ Sapat thing is fueled by hobbyists and taking such a large group of folks on tours is taxing, so we just do it for fun whenever we can....