Sacramento-based indie rock band Keys And Vices released their new EP “Chronic Nostalgia,” last month, available on all digital platforms NOW. An album created on raw emotion, lead vocalist Jennifer Valdez began writing the tracks after experiencing a painful life event. Fueled by this emotion, Keys And Vices created a straight-forward, in-your-face, powerful rock sound, with the end result being “Chronic Nostalgia.” Tackling lyrical topics such as personal vices, death of love, and illness, Keys And Vices successfully captures their essence in all eight tracks.
Keys And Vices, is an indie rock band that is built on powerful vocals, intimate songwriting, and dynamic melodies. Drawing from sporadic influences such as Foo Fighters to Alabama Shakes, and Jeff Buckley to Elton John, the songs tour through diverse musical genres. The backbone of Keys And Vices, Jennifer Valdez, is a brilliant and ambitious musician, singer/songwriter. Jennifer’s ability to evoke genuine emotion through her music and lyrics, take the listener on a storybook bender, sans the reading glasses. With the eclectic sounds and raw energy of Kevin McCarty on bass, and the effortless offbeat meets hard rock drum styling of Kristopher Ayala, these exceptionally talented musicians have merged 3 different musical backgrounds to create one captivating band. Check out the EP below!
We managed to catch up with Jennifer Valdez as she talked about the latest EP and more!
So how has the album Chronic Nostalgia gone down with fans so far?
Jennifer: We’ve received so much love for the album! We recently had our album release show in our hometown and it was a packed house, and we had a lot of supporters who listened to the album the same day it went live online.
Can you tell us something about the album no one else knows?
Jennifer: Something that no one else knows at this point, is that I wrote the song “Ghost Love” in about 20 minutes (possibly less)!
What was your favourite moment recording the album?
Jennifer: I recorded most of the songs on my own before Kevin and Kris joined, but my favorite moment was with them. All 3 of us were in a previous band together years ago, and then we lost touch for a few years before reconnecting for this project. It had been what felt like a lifetime since we recorded together in the past. When we were at the studio ready to start tracking the songs together, that moment was really special to me. We were in our own rooms separately but we could all see each other through the windows, and right before that record button was clicked, we all gave each other that smile like, “here we go again – let’s fucking do this”.
Kevin: I came in towards the final stages of the album so I only was part of 2 songs but “How do I” I’d say holds my favorite moment being that what I had for the song originally I scratched in the studio and recorded something brand new and on the fly after hearing Jenn’s guitar lick during the recording!
What is your favourite track from the album?
Jennifer: It’s hard to pick what would be my favorite track from the album, but if I had to choose, I would say, “Running Away”. It’s actually the song that brought Keys And Vices to life! I posted a video clip of playing/singing the song on my acoustic guitar immediately after I wrote it, then Kris reached out to me and offered to play drums on any new music I had. It all came together after that!
Kevin: “Out of my head” is my favorite! It’s the first song we wrote together when I entered the band.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Jennifer: We all have a mixed bag of music we’re attracted to, but we could all agree that working with Foo Fighters on a new song would be very epic! I’m a huge fan of them, and while the guys aren’t quite on my level of fandom, they do love the music. Specifically I’d love to sit down and write a song with Dave because his creativity is out of this world. I know we would write an amazing song together!
Will you be touring at all this year?
Jennifer: Not quite ready for a tour, we’re working on getting more content together and strengthening our fanbase. We’ll be planning a tour sometime in the future though, so stay tuned!
If you could play at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
Jennifer: That’s an easy one, we would want to play at Radio City Music Hall in New York City! It’s not just legendary but it’s gorgeous and I can imagine the sound would be magnificent.