Brian Rademacher: Hello BT and welcome to RockEyez!

BT Valerie: Hey, Brian. Thanks for having me.

Brian Rademacher: For such a young band and coming out of Arendal, Norway that is not known for glam/hair metal unlike Sweden why did you decide to play that genre of music?

BT Valerie: Well, yeah…The Norwegian music scene is in general extremely different from what’s going on in Sweden right now. I didn’t originally set out to form a "glam metal" group though I kinda knew that my songwriting would probably push us in that direction anyhow. We play the music we love.

Brian Rademacher: You had a chance to open for WHERE ANGELS SUFFER with former members of METAL CHURCH and WASP. How was that experience?

BT Valerie: Chris certainly is an interesting character, that’s for sure. As a big W.A.S.P fan I enjoyed it a lot. However, I think what we liked the most was finally being able to play that venue (Elm Street, Oslo). It’s a pretty famous club in Norway and it’s defiantly a "must" to play there. First time we played in the capital as well.

Brian Rademacher: Tell me what it is like being a young band to get established?

BT Valerie: Ha-ha, it’s difficult. It would probably be a lot easier if played a different genre of music. But you shouldn’t make demands and just take whatever opportunity you’re given. Money involved or not. It’s all about being heard and getting out there.

Brian Rademacher: You recorded a demo in 2011 which we reviewed that blew me away. When you saw you got 5 Stars on that review what was your reaction?

BT Valerie: I remember telling our bassist Augustus Clark and I can’t recall every seeing him smile that much, ha-ha. You defiantly caught us by surprise with that one. We didn’t really have high hopes to put it that way.

Brian Rademacher: Does a review like that help the band?

BT Valerie: Yeah, it does. When you’re not signed, any exposure is good. A review like that is like winning the lottery.

Brian Rademacher: Do your friends treat you any different because you are in a band?

BT Valerie: No, I don’t think so.

Brian Rademacher: Do you think music will be your career or do you have other plans?

BT Valerie: Well, it’s not an easy profession to make decent living off. I don’t have any other plans so we’ll see how this thing goes. But you can’t really get anywhere unless you work hard to achieve it. Nothing comes for free and you’ve got to walk the distance yourself.

Brian Rademacher: How do the girls treat you being a young singer guitarist?

BT Valerie: To put it this way; We always considered our drummer Erlend the handsome one, ha-ha.

Brian Rademacher: Have you been working on any new music since the EP?

BT Valerie: Well. I suppose you mean the demo? I can’t really go a day without working on new or old song ideas. So I basically write songs constantly to avoid writers block. We’re heading in to the studio again to record what I think will be a 5 or 6 track EP. Still trying to schedule some final dates, but it’s looking promising.

Brian Rademacher: So what do you do on a normal day?

BT Valerie: Write music and record music. Watch Seinfeld or study history. However, I consider my "normal days" the ones that include playing with VALERIE – practice or gig.

Brian Rademacher: What are some of your favorite bands and why?

BT Valerie: KISS is my all-time favorite band. I guess if you’re a KISS fan, there really isn’t any other band that can top them. When it comes to VALERIE then bands like DOKKEN and RATT are a great influence, as well as stuff like CRAZY LIXX. I also consider myself an "AOR" guy and love bands like BAD ENGLISH, DAMN YANKEES, VIRGINIA WOLF, SIGNAL, JOURNEY and so on. I think those bands really formed the "melodic" side of my songwriting, or the melodic side of VALERIE.

Brian Rademacher: What was the first concert you ever attended?

BT Valerie: Honestly, I can’t remember? There’s a Jazz/Blues festival that is held in our hometown every year. So probably something connected to that.

Brian Rademacher: If you had a dream come true what would that be?

BT Valerie: Do this for a living. Till I die.

Brian Rademacher: What are your feelings toward the other members in the band?

BT Valerie: We’re good friends and all. It doesn’t work if you don’t get along.

Brian Rademacher: So tell me step by step how a day goes when you are playing a gig? And what is it like seeing a VALERIE show?

BT Valerie: If I can get a good night’s sleep then that’s one thing. We usually hang around at the venue quite a bit before show time. It gets boring at times, but we do kill some time by going through songs, set lists, guitar tuning. Food, beers, soda – whatever we are getting for free, ha-ha. If you don’t get paid you’ve got to take full advantage of everything else. If you come to a VALERIE show, you’ll have a blast and probably end up singing along. It is energy, in your face riffs and sing-along choruses. It’s rock n roll.

Brian Rademacher: In ending what are your hopes for VALERIE?

BT Valerie: Being able to do this for a living! I know we have something really cool going on, we just need promoters and people to believe in us. I highly doubt they’ll regret it and we’ll have an EP out sometime soon.

Brian Rademacher: Would you like to say anything before we close?

BT Valerie: Follow and like us on Facebook! we’ll keep you updated on all the stuff that’s going on and what’s to come. Listen to our songs and tell your friends about us!