From: Frankfort, IL
Plays: Modulus Bass Guitars
Football: Bears
Baseball: White Sox
Hockey: Blackhawks
Favorite Song To Play At The Moment: Moves Like Jagger, Maroon 5
Favorite Local Band: As far as local bands go, I’d have to definitely give Bottle Of Justus their props. A great band with great songwriting. I’d also have to mention a local band called Gain Of Ten. They’re friends of mine and I was blown away when I heard their CD. Check them out some time on YouTube.
Music: Growing up the son of a guitar player in LA, I was always around music. I still have vague memories of standing in front of the TV at about four years old and seeing David Lee Roth do the Jump splits on MTV. Besides a short Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer phase in middle school I’ve pretty much always been most into rock music. I started out with the classics like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix and eventually got into more modern (at the time) acts like Metallica and Guns and Roses. When I was in my teen years, Grunge was king. I never was that big of a Nirvana or Pearl Jam fan though. I always leaned more toward the Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins side of the scene. As the 90′s ended, so did the rock scene unfortunately and boy bands and Britney were the new thing. Ever since then, I’ve had a compulsion to go out of my way to seek out new and interesting music. These days I listen to a pretty wide variety of genres covering everything from indie bands like Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, At the Drive In, and Radiohead to heavier bands like Deftones, Parkway Drive and Poison the Well. I’m a huge 311 and Chili Peppers fan and actually owe them credit for a lot of my bass chops. I go through phases where I’ll be into one kind of music for a while. I am currently listening to Band Of Horses and the newest Kings Of Leon album.
Other interests: In my unfortunately limited down time I like to record music for fun with my Ipad. Me and Aaron even recorded a sweet jam on our way down to Carbondale last time we were there. I, as mentioned earlier, like to find new music using tools like Pandora and YouTube. I am addicted to HBO and Showtime TV shows. My favorite series used to be Dexter, but Boardwalk Empire has recently become my new Sopranos. I have a love for Zombie movies. I don’t know why, I just do. I also am loving loving all the Judd Apatow comedies. More please. A lot of people don’t know that I’m a guitar player. I spend a decent amount of time playing guitar and trying to learn really fast metal riffs in my room. I love craft beers! I have also been known to play a video game here and there. I’ve got a PS3 and am liking Modern Warfare 3 right now.
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Name: Joe Valentino
Lives: Indianapolis, IN
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Plays: Fender Strats and Takamine acoustic guitars
Football: Steelers
Baseball: Pirates, White Sox
Hockey: Penguins
Favorite Song To Play At The Moment: Yellow, Coldplay
Favorite local band: Mr Blotto. They’re just so darn good.
Music: I listen to mostly folk (Nickel Creek, The Civil Wars, Patty Griffin), folk rock (The Rescues, Mumford), and chill singer songwriter stuff (David Ford, Jon Mclaughlin, Brandi Carlile, Damien Rice, Ingrid Michaelson). I like lots of mellow music. I love vocal harmony, so anything with cool vocals is interesting to me. I like middle of the road rock…stuff like Angels and Airwaves, Death Cab, Vertical Horizon, SafetySuit, Lifehouse, Coldplay, The 88 kind o tunes. I do listen to a little country/crossover country…Zac Brown, Little Big Town, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw. In the special and other category, some days are Lyle Lovett days, and some days are Umphreys McGee days. Thats just how it is. If you make me a CD of new music to listen to, I will make one back and send it to you. Like, for real!
Other interests: I like tacos. I like adventure travel and have been to many places around the world. I love ethnicity and experiencing ethnic food/traditions/neighborhoods. I love putting potato chips on my sandwiches. Love going to local art/ethnic/street fests and fairs of all types and hanging out all day. I like fruit. Love concerts in tiny venues, and go to quite a few. Love Ravinia. I like to go to Starbucks. I love football. I like to pace around the house when I talk on the phone. Love hanging out with my mom. She is the coolest. Love trying new restaurants. I like grammar. I like when fans bring me presents. I can be suckered into just about anything if tempted with coffee. I like dry red wine. I like investing in real estate. I like voice activated texting. Love putting the top down on my convertible and driving out into the middle of nowhere, getting lost, and then trying to find my way home again. I like negotiating anything. I like cheese.