Warren: Mikey came up with it, "The Valley Arena" was a battle at the onset of Vietnam in which the French Army attempted to ambush the Vietnamese by sneaking a huge number of troops into this Valley, apparantly the Vietnamese were aware of their plan the whole time and launched a suprise attack on the French, massacreing their entire troop. We chose the name because it's a reminder to never submit yourself to those that assume superiorty or control in this world. The power of the little guy I guess. I suppose it reflects both our personal values and our goals as musicians.

Chris: Yes. Wherever and whenever. Love it. Especially love it when our drummer breaks snare heads.

Warren: Yes, many a snare head has felt the wrath of Carlos De La Garza.

Chris: It makes it easy for kids to hear what's out there...

Warren: For indenpendent bands it's nothing but good. We just want kids to hear us, we aren't trying to get their money...

Chris: If we had creative freedom and didn't get completely screwed financially... sure, but it is not a priority.

Warren: I'm turned off by them for the most part, I've seen too many great band make the jump only to get completely neglected when they don't sell a million albums in the first three months. We'd rather work with our friends... luckily we have some friends that want to put out our records.

Chris: I've been playing with mike since age 13 in different bands. i have a very strong musical conection with him that i think rarely happens. We met warren and the rest is history.

Warren: Carlos is an amazing drummer and human being, he was just helping us out by playing on some of our demos and eventually we tricked him into doing a little more than that. As for myself... uh I come from the mountains and grew up with a lot of livestock as pets...

Chris: No Knife, Q and not U, Cursive, Fugazi, New Kids on the Block... and Kurt Cobain changed my life at age 10.

Warren: I think we've all been listening to a little too much Blonde Redhead lately. Mr. Frank Black is a personal hero of mine. I hope to have that much passion left in my body when I am a short, bald, chubby old man.

Chris: California has the best weather but sometimes i miss the fall/winter in New Jersey.

Warren: I grew up in Yosemite, California. I miss breathable air and visible stars.

Chris: I have a JCM 2000TSL head and a reissue 60's Marshall cab. I use a Rickenbacker 330 most of the time but i also use a Jaguar, a SGx, and i just bought a 73' telecaster deluxe.

Warren: I play an SG, "rumored to be" from 1969 through a slightly crappier version of the amp Chris has. If anyone ever actually reads this and remotely cares about our gear, please email us and I will eat my own shoe while wearing a look of shock and amazement on my face.

Chris: Come see us live.

Warren: Please. There's also a few other really great bands from our area that people should check out: The Kite Eating Tree, Bullet Train to Vegas, Afterthought, The Art of Safecracking, The Energy, Snake vs Wizard, Grand, Twin Engine, Piano Drag, The Westmark, The Actual, The Press Fire... I know I'm forgetting some and they're probably going to be pissed...