A band that turns heads walking into a room is pretty much every band that’s ever been on a Vans Warped Tour. Valient Thorr make a different type of statement. Their outfits consist of nothing but a jean vest, jeans and hair long enough to make a statement. However, the band that is from a different planet is going to turn heads wherever they go.
Valient Thorr members Valient Himself and Deimos Thorr talk all things Warped Tour, new music and lemonade.
How’s it going today?
Valient Himself: Man the world is so unfair. Look at my lemonade! I wish I had a phone, I would document this.
Deimos Thorr: I want to document it and make fun of you.
How did this happen? Did you both go at the same time?
VH: I don’t know. Yeah, we did.
DT: The actual story is, yes. He has to be in this picture, will you take this picture for us? I’m just hydrated and happy, that’s all that matters.
How’s Warped Tour been going so far for you?
VH: *sighs* Strikes and gutters man. Strikes and gutters. Some days are fantastic and some days it’s like a crap shoot. It’s like a turkey shoot. It’s like a bunch of dudes trying to get like the same piece of pie. And there’s like 60 dudes and there’s like 12 pieces of pie… That’s that it’s like. Everyday.
That’s a weird metaphor…
DT: True. True.
VH: I mean, if you like redo the numbers, lay it all out flat. You’ll understand what I’m talking about.
DT: I’ve been having a great time! I’ve had a lot of fun.
Is this your guys’ first Warped Tour?
VH: No. This is our… third and a bit. In ‘04 we sniped on some shows. In ‘05 we did the whole thing. And in 2017 we’re doing the whole thing. Eleven years later. So third and them some.
How’s the tour changed since you’ve been on it?
DT: Well, I’m on it this time. It’s a huge change for me. It’s been amazing. What a difference!
VH: I mean, a lot of it is the same. The only difference is I’m eleven years older. It’s all perception really. Everything is the same, but I just feel it differently because now I’m very communally. My lenses is darker.
DT: Angry Valient.
VH: Life things happened and and it makes you view things differently. It’s like how your taste buds change. Sometimes you go back and you’ll be ‘well I’ll be damned. I really like broccoli and I really like brussel sprouts. What was I thinking.’
Who have been your favorite bands to watch this year?
VH: I watch Municipal Waste every single day. It is a bit convenient because they’re on our stage and we play back to back a lot. But I would get up early to see them. They’re a fantastic band. They’re really tight right now. And since they got a second guitar player it’s filled out the sound a lot. So they’re kinda on fire. That’s who I see every day. I also like to see Bad Cop Bad Cop. They just had a fantastic show today. I like to see War on Women.
DT: War on Women is my favorite to watch. They’re awesome.
VH: I like to watch GWAR. They’re pulling it off in a way. It doesn’t matter like what age you are. It appeals to people for different ways. It’s like adult Muppet’s. You can like it if you’re a kid, you can like it if you’re an adult too. And appreciate it in many different ways. Just for pure fun, for spectacle, socio-political reasons as well.
DT: There’s a lot of good bands. Adolescents, I would recommend checking them out. Sick Of It All.
VH: Classic band, Sick Of It All, put on an epic show every single day. Also Adolescents are about the most amazing dudes ever.
DT: On and off stage.
VH: They’re hard working too. They’re doing it like we did when we were like 25. Doing it with a van, hotelling it. It’s not easy. Getting there, doing it all yourself.
DT:They’re crushing it every single day.
VH: Their fans remember it. It gives me hope for getting even older and still playing music.
If you guys could collab with anyone on tour, who would it be?
VH: Manilla? Is that their name? Um….
DT: There’s a lot of different bands. Probably the bands we just mentioned.
VH: Any of those bands we just mentioned.
DT: I’d like to collab with GWAR because I think it’d look cool.
VH: Yeah, I think I would look cool getting my head chopped off! We were talking with Phil from the Waste about doing a collab covering… who know’s if we’re even going to end up doing it. But we talked about doing a Grand Parsons jam. I won’t tell you which one just in case we do it, keep a little bit of secrecy for something *laughs*.
DT: *laughing* We’re actually doing a Tina Turner cover!
Do you guys have any plans for new music in the near future?
VH: Always. Always. Always. Every single minute that we live we’re dedicated to overproducing. I’m just kidding.I know that Eidan Thorr is writing stuff sometimes with his current writing partner Storm, that plays bass for our band. They’ve been working on some stuff in the bus. Annoyingly having their shit spread out everywhere where you can’t get around. They’re like *plays air guitar*.
DT: We don’t need that shit *joking* We just, just need a riff? Hold on a minute. There you go. Gold record please!
So how’s your sound matured over the years?
VH: It’s gotten better. Because when we started we didn’t know shit. But we’ve been learning things along the way. Every single time along the way. It’s like an old mentor of mine used to say, even the best most astute, teacher, professor, always learns from the students if they keep their mind open. It took me along time to realize, it doesn’t matter if I think some of these bands out here such. Who cares. What really matters if they’re doing something good for people, they’re succeeding in my eyes. Because that’s where I find significance. We’re all influenced by our habits, beliefs and desires. If you know that and you have a difference with somebody, then you can get to unraveling your differences that way. That’s literally the only reason we make music. We just try to get better at getting that message to people. All the messages we’ve ever had. You know there’s a million of them. You pick one. If it’s something that supposed to help someone that oppressed, were probably for it and we probably have been. You do a little bit of something every day to help something. Sometimes you have to take a day off too. Sometimes you have to take care of yourself.
DT: Drink some lemonade.
What’s next for you guys after Warped Tour?
VH: I’m getting hitched. And then were gonna go conquer the Netherlands! No we’re not going to invade any countries. *laughing. That’s something our government does.
DT: I mean this is kinda the tail end of your tour cycle for our record. It came out a year ago.
VH: So, we have to write new music basically. We might do some cool stuff. Sick Of It All wants us to go on a boat.
DT: That would be nice.
VH: That would be cool man. It’d be cool just to hang out with Sick Of It All. In a boat. In the water. Floating.
DT: They’re quite nautical actually. That’s the one thing they’re not sick of.
VH: One of them has a Popeye tattoo on his muscle. Every time he eats spinach it stretches it all out. Starts sling around, flying through the air.
