In the Whale & Behold the Brave

In the Whale???s music resonates with anyone thirsting for the time when bands simply rocked. That nostalgia, and the Denver, CO based duo???s need for a vehicle to figure out a way to navigate a world that???s quick to judge and write??off a book by its cover is the foundation for their alternative??punk??blues sound that is showcased on the band???s new EP, Quicksand.
Celebrating their five year anniversary in 2016, the band has grown significantly from thanks to a relentless tour schedule and a live show that???s likened to a sonic boom. Artists and festival promoters have caught notice with the band playing Riot Fest, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and over 400 shows with the likes of Jane???s Addiction, the Toadies, Electric 6 and many more.
Instead of boasting, Nate Valdez (guitar/vocals) and Eric Riley (drums/vocals) said, ???the Chicago Tribune described us best, ???Stripped down to a simple essence, the band's hard??edged fare scampers, thrusts and giddily thrashes...Dirty, fun and caked in garage grime, the songs are unconcerned with trends.??? Ok, we have a show to play.???


Behold the Brave is a band whose sound is hard to ignore. Beyond the heavy, fuzzed-out guitars, there???s the beauty in the beast: Southern rock, blues, and psychedelic melodies at its finest. As vocalist and guitarist Clayton Davis explains, ???We want every song to create a different vibe and feeling that adds the right ambiance for every occasion.???

And with that goal in mind, the Nashville band, consisting of Davis along with Zack Randolph (guitar), Jeremiah Thompson (drums) and Joel Parks (bass), incorporates a slew of genres and influences: Soulful Southern vocals, horns, and keys ala Stax, West Coast psych haziness, James Brown bravado, Mudhoney bass fuzz, and the best of 60s and 70s pop and RnB, from the Beatles to Motown.

That???s a lot for a young band to be referencing but when one digs deeper, it only makes sense. ???Many forms of art can be influential; films, commercials, paintings, theories, science, nature, religion,??? Davis points out. ???Life experiences influence us to feel differently about songs or certain types of music. One day you wake up loving Mariah Carey, the next day you???re listening to The Chariot.??? In other words, Top 40 to hardcore.

Behold the Brave started in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city that embodies ???picturesque,??? as it???s surrounded by mountains and ridges, complete with the Tennessee River running through it. ???It affected our writing,??? Davis recalls. ???We wanted to write heavy, fun shit that you would jam out to if you saw a band play your favorite bar.???

In early 2015 came a move to Nashville, the ???Music City,??? a city that has had its own unique influence as well. Surrounded by a more robust music industry and having put in more studio time, they are maturing as a band. Having developed a relationship with local studio, Gold Cassette, the band is developing and refining its take on Southern rock. ???Our thoughts go beyond just the songwriting itself and a lot more into production,??? Davis says, recalling one of their influences, The Beatles, who used the studio as another instrument rather than just a tool. ??

You???ll hear more of their musical growth on their debut release slated for release early spring via WITHYN Records.