Download "Gunslinger" by Valley of the Sun HERE!
What inspired the song "Gunslinger"?
Gunslinger was actually the working title for the song but we thought it was a cool name so we kept it. I don't know that there was too much behind it as far as inspiration, it was the last song written for our upcoming record and it came together really easily, as all the really good songs seem to.
“reaching for the high to last for all my days
gleaming golden skies to light me on my way
to the garden i'll go and there become the king
oh, and the burdens of old... moments in a forgotten dream
clean and true the death and life of everything
bleeding through the dirt to rise and live again
to the garden i'll go and there become the king
oh, and the burdens of old... moments in a forgotten dream”
The "high" here isn't actually a drug reference, but rather refers to the "high" experienced in deep meditation. At the time of writing this, midsummer, I had been frequenting a secluded park on the edge of the Little Miami river on my way to work every morning. I'd stop there and take a short hike through the woods down to the river for about 20-30 minutes each day with the goal of calming my mind and soaking in as much nature as possible before beginning another challenging day at work. One specific part of the trail always caught my attention and made me stop and breathe. I would frequently find myself falling into a deep state of peace and union with nature there. That area is the garden of which I speak. I "become the king" there as that place pushes all worldly clinging and distraction from my mind and allows me to exist solely in the moment. The reference to death and life is merely an observation of the cycle of life that takes place in the forest and to the fact that the forest is a microcosm of the entire universe, with creation and destruction being the constant underlying truth of both.
Give us some background on Valley of the Sun…
Valley of the sun started in 2010 with Ryan Ferrier, Aaron Boyer, Casey Beagle and Chris Owens. We've had some lineup changes along the way; Ryan Ferrier and Aaron Boyer are still members and Ryan Mcallister has been on bass since 2011. We've put out two EP's on our own and our debut full length will be coming out in March/April of 2014.
Tell us about your songwriting process…
Haha, our songwriting process usually involves us sitting in our practice space and staring at each other for hours on end. Usually one of the Ryan's will bring in a riff or idea and we try to build off that. It's really a group effort that we're all actively involved in.
What is next for Valley of the Sun?
On December 7th we played our new record Electric Talons of the Thunderhawk live at The Southgate House Revival and were joined by Mangrenade and The Killtones. Since the record doesn't come out for a couple more months this was a good chance for fans to get a taste of what they can expect. This was our last show in town for a few months; touring Europe is on the horizon for us, so any fans or anybody who's been curious about what it is that Valley of the Sun is about hopefully made it out!
