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We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed alternative folk-pop singer/songwriter AJ Amsterdam who is perhaps best known by his far-famed moniker of Brother Valiant; greetings and salutations AJ and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how is the back-half of 2024 treating you and yours?
Exciting and a little chaotic to be honest. You know, life things. Big changes. Hopefully for the best though.
Major kudos and accolades on your freshly-minted new EP Better Luck Next Time! Starting at the top, can you talk about what inspired this gem of an EP?
Thank you. This EP was a concentrated collection of songs I mostly wrote a while back, some a few years ago. The title of the EP sort of plays off the overall theme most of the songs lean into – acknowledging and working on your own flaws and shortcomings to hopefully grow from them. However, it’s easier said than done. So at the end of the day when you feel you missed the mark, you may go to bed that night thinking, “well, better luck next time”.
Who did the producing honors on Better Luck Next Time and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like while in the studio fashioning and shaping the new EP?
Dave Rublin produced this record. We knew each other from way back in high school, before he started up with American Authors. I would either come to him with a completed or near complete song and we’d go from there. Early on working together we would spend 10+ hours just going hard in the paint nonstop. We learned over time to take more breaks, and overall it helped with our workflow. Knowing when to step away and come back is an important step in writing. You need breaks when writing and recording, or it starts to dull your senses and decision making. At least for us.
4. How is Better Luck Next Time similar to some of your past music such as Thus, He Was? How is it different?
When I hear the first album, I can’t help but cringe. I love the songs but not the execution on my part. Everyone else on that record crushed it. To be honest, I felt like I was the weakest link at that time being the only one on the record who didn’t go to music school. I hear all my insecurities. I can’t parse out how it’s similar to the new EP, maybe because I’m too close to it.
I’ve grown up a lot. Made a lot of mistakes. That record was a lesson in making many. For example, I learned you shouldn’t do vocal takes with a sinus infection and wonder after the fact why you hate your vocal performances. I also at the time was too afraid to speak my mind when I wasn’t liking the progress being made. People pleasing isn’t a great trait when it comes to creativity, especially when they are songs you wrote.
These songs on the new EP I went back and forth on. Redid things. Scratched ideas early if they weren’t headed in the right direction. I also just feel the sound is in a place I wanted it to be years ago, but didn’t have the ability to execute, whether it be due to a lack of knowledge, funds or skill on my part.
We’re big admirers of the tune C’est La Vie which is off of the Better Luck Next Time EP! What’s the story behind this gem of a ditty?
I was hanging out with Dave (producer) at his apartment in Nashville not too long after he moved down there from New York City. First time visiting. We just sat around his apartment and he picked up a uke and me my guitar and the riff sort of just came out of noodling. We sat at his kitchen table throwing out verses and it all sort of came together in a day. I was focusing on locking in lyrics about my relationship at the time, and because the girl I am with (and still am!) wanted me to write her a “nice song”. So that was the goal. Happy how it came out.
In the wake of the release of the Better Luck Next Time EP, can fans look forward to catching you on the touring/performing circuit?
That is something I am still working out. I am in the middle of some life changes, and outside of some solo acoustic sets I’ve been trying to figure out how to get some full band shows together. Really looking to tour beginning in the summer of next year, preferably not as a solo act. We will see.
Should fans keep their eyes and ears on high alert for a possible LP release from you before the end of the year?
Maybe not the end of the year, but the next thing up is an LP which I already have some songs completed and will continue to record more for. I’m hoping to have it done by early next year and released around then.
In your humble opinion, what differentiates Better Luck Next Time from the Distinguished Competition on the 2024 music scene?
I tried really hard to write heartfelt and qualitative lyrics and combine it with a more pop sensibility. I don’t feel like I see that too often, otherwise I’m looking in the wrong places. I didn’t want the lyrics to feel vapid or too simplistic. I wanted to tell stories people could relate to the only way I knew how to tell them…but interwoven into a sound that could appeal to a wide audience and not feel too niche. I also enjoy teasing out certain aspects of genres while trying to remain grounded in the folk/americana sound. Specifically things that delve into older 2000’s emo bands from back in the day like Bright Eyes and The Early November. It’s all about balance and trying to hit a mark without leaning too heavily into one specific sound. I’m tired of genres, but I see a lot of people writing about the EP and the sound as “alternative folk-pop” so I guess we can go with that.
For anyone not in the know, how did the Brother Valiant project first begin life? And have you been surprised by the longevity of it?
Brother Valiant as far as a project has been a wild ride to keep together. I started almost ten years ago just writing and playing in my room by myself for over a year before meeting other musicians and playing shows. People have come and gone from the project and after some personal struggles a few years back, I sort of let the whole thing just fall by the wayside. Released an EP in December of 2018 which I threw up on Bandcamp and never promoted. Didn’t have my heart in it anymore. Took me over two years of not playing to come back to music during COVID. Just glad I can continue on and try my best to keep pushing forward with it again, but a little older and hopefully wiser on how I go about it this time.
Any final thoughts you might like to share regarding your new EP Better Luck Next Time?
Its been a long while since I put out music and this EP was the catalyst for more to come in the near future. I hope whoever out there is reading this goes and checks the EP out, and I really hope you enjoy what you hear.
https://www.brothervaliantmusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/brothervaliant
