Blackstone Valley Crew, are, for the lack of a better description a guitar driven rap group, but not a Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit knock off but more in the style of the Bloodhound Gang or Wolfpac. With mile long flows and crunchy big guitars you won’t be disappointed by any of their releases. After you read the interview hit them up at www.blackstonevalleycrew.com
 |
First off can you give a little insight
for those who don’t know, what does the name Blackstone Valley
Crew mean? XUP: The Blackstone Valley is an area of New England that stretches from Worcester, MA to Woonsocket, RI. Originally the name was made up by a skinhead from Boston named Art. He came up with the name and wanted me and someone else to use it as the name of a wrestling tag team. Since we were never wrestlers we decided to use the name for the band. Being from the end of the valley in Woonsocket it seemed to fit. |
As far as your sound, I hear some lyrics like “spray
rhymes like Faygo” you have obvious got some Juggalo in ya and an
Iron Maiden riff thrown in for good measure. Who else would you list as
influences on you writing and playing?
XUP: Our influences range so wide that its hard to say.
I think between the 6 of us we have pretty much every genre covered and
lots of different things sneak their way in to our song writing process.
Musically bands like Biohazard, The Bosstones, Motley Crue and lyrically
everything from Slayer to Jurassic 5.
BVC has had several line up changes over the past years. Can
you shed some light on the progression of the bands lineup?
Gwrox: This band is seriously like a family. The
core of the band have been together playing music since we were kids,
so there is a lot of history there and it’s tough for someone to
come into our circle and fit in, that is why some of the changes have
come about. Still, the core of the band, myself - Al - X - and Legion, has
remained intact for over six years now, which is a pretty impressive run
for any band. Threigh was an original member who came back into
the band after a few years off and KRS has just fit in with us like she
was down since the beginning. I think that all the changes have
helped the band evolve and grow and those who are no longer part of the
crew have helped make us what we are today.
| BVC has garnered some awards including “Best
Rap/Hip-Hop” and “Best Song in the 2002 Phoenix Music
Poll awards. How does it make you feel to be honored in you home towns
for your musical achievements. Gwrox: Very cool. Sometimes when shit is going bad you tend to wonder why you put up with all the shit in the first place, but seeing the fans come out to vote for us in an award like that makes you realize why you do it all, why you deal with that shit in the first place. We have always tried our hardest to be as cool to our fans as possible and if you ask those who are down with BVC, I’m sure they’ll tell you that part of the reason they are down with us is because of how we treat them. The awards we have gotten are a direct result |
 |
of those fans feelings towards us and we love them for it. Every time we win one of those awards, I seriously feel like the whole BVC family, including all our fans, are the ones who have won.
What kind of local music scene exist in the Providence and
surrounding areas?
XUP: The Providence scene is alive and
well. There are tons of bands all trying to work together as a community.
We also have organizations that don’t perform, but set up shows
and promote bands. We have a lot of close friends and great musical
counterparts and when ever we play a show we try to set things up with
those bands. There has even been a few bands that recently broke out of
New England and on to bigger things. I’m sure that national audiences
will soon be hearing from Donnybrook and Ruin the Ending who both started
out in Providence. For anyone outside of the New England scene do yourself
a favor and check out Kobalt, State of Corruption, Precinct 13, Ill Natured,
Shed and anyone else you can find from our scene!
 |
How does your writing process work? Is it
a group effort or does somebody bring in something and it just grows
from that? Alfontaine: Well usually somebody will come up with a general idea for a song, usually GWROX. Then he’ll come in, make some funny noises, which someone will turn into a guitar riff, and wave his arms around trying to resemble a drum beat. Then he’ll say “no, it needs more toms.” Then we’ll play |
it a couple of times through. Then, the next time we practice,
we go through it all over again trying to remember how it went ‘cuz
no one ever does. That’s how it goes most of
the time. Unless it’s a more “hip hop” song;
which I do the beats for. Eventually lyrics get added
as they’re written. Everyone throws their two cents in
and then it’s done. Another hit.
How does Ohana compare to your previous release Woonsocket,
both sonically and lyrically?
Gwrox: Woonsocket was our first effort and was really
written in a vacuum. That album was just the four of us (me, X,
Legion, and Al) writing some fun songs in our dining room. We never
thought it would take off like it did. After Woonsocket came out,
we got a lot of exposure and the chance to do a lot of cool shows, etc.
and we really had a chance to see what the whole music thing is about,
both the good side and the bad. Ohana reflects a lot of the bad
side of what we dealt with and a lot of the music and lyrics on it are
our way of dealing with and addressing that shit. “Ego Check”
is our response to other local acts who think they’re the shit and
are unwilling to lend a hand to others, “Blood, Sweat and Soda”
is us basically venting about the shit that makes being in this band tough
at times. So Ohana was really an outlet for some of our anger while
Woonsocket was really just us being silly and having some fun. That
doesn’t mean that Ohana doesn’t have our fun side on it as
well, though. “Maiden Woonsocket: is our tribute to our hometown,
“The Way We Bling” is our answer to all those Bling Bling
hip-hop songs, and “For All The Ladies” is our tribute our
all the females who support BVC. So I think that Ohana is a more
well rounded album with more to say, plus the addition of KRS on guitar
and Threigh on drums helped us achieve that heavier sound that Woonsocket
was maybe lacking at times.
What could we expect from a live Blackstone Valley Crew show?
Gwrox: We always try our best to make the live show a fun experience
for all involved. We don’t do much in the way of theatrics
or props on stage, that has just never been our thing. What we do
try to do is give a show full of energy that the fans can feed off of.
When you go see a live show and the band has no emotion on stage it makes
it tough as a fan to get into what is happening. BVC fans never
have that problem. You can bet that when you see us live, we will
be giving it our best and will walk off that stage sweaty and exhausted.
You know, those fans pay money to see the show, they come out, buy our
merch and all that, so the least I can do is give them 110% for those
45 minutes or so that I’m up there. Another thing that we
always try to do is make ourselves available after the show for any fans
who may want to chill or whatever. I always loved to see bands hanging
out after the show instead of hiding backstage and BVC have always been
a band that feels more comfortable out with the fans than hiding like
rock stars in some little room. That goes along with how we feel
and treat our fans and how they treat us. The show is now only about
us, it’s about them and we have always kept that in mind.
You have some cool ass illustrations of the band, who does
all those?
XUP: All the illustrations you see on the ‘Ohana’
CD cover and on our website were done by an amazing artist from up state
New York. His name is Jeffrey Chandler and he has done art work for lots
of major corporations including Kool-aid and Kraft. He is currently working
on a illustrations for a series of religious books and will hopefully
be on board for the next BVC project.
What is you association whit Suburban Assault?
XUP: Suburban Assault is a New England based company
that handles merchandise and cd releases for any groups that are looking
for help. We were on board right from the beginning and have a great working
relation with them. They have handled most of our merch and were a huge
factor in the release of ‘Ohana’. They also have their
own clothing designs and work with some other groups all of which you
can see at www.SuburbanAssault.com
Is there any new material in the works?
KRS10:Yes, there is plenty of new material on hand. We
have been putting some finishing touches on a few songs, developing/feeling
out a few more and have a handful of ideas we have yet to take on. Big
plans in the midst.
Any thing you want to add?
BVC: Just want to give a big thanks to everyone that has
helped us out in PA. Thanks to Empire Magazine, The Kadns Family, Frank
Phobia and Sound Waves, and the BVC extended family! If you like what
you have read here please check us out at www.BVC401.com
and www.BlackstoneValleyCrew.com