News 7/3/05 KEN VALDEZ NAMED BEST ROCK GROUP FOR THE 2005 TAOS SOLAR FESTIVAL Review of the Taos Solar Music Festival as found in "Tempo" the Arts & Entertainment magazine of The Taos News. Best Man Rock - KEN VALDEZ wins hands down. This Santa Fe guitar wiz and his band might possibly be the Latino reincarnation of Van Halen. The testosterone was running high, but the heart-stomping bass line and soaring guitar solos were enough to keep those of us with two X chromosomes rocking. TAOS SOLAR FEST WRITE UP 6/27/05 Since growing up in Santa Fe, Ken Valdez has established himself as one of the most powerful musicians in New Mexico. He has composed and arranged two albums, has received several awards and played with some of the most talented musicians in the country. Despite the glowing praise for his studio work, Ken maintains that it’s on stage where he shows his true colors. He is a passionate singer-songwriter. His band of Ben Lucero, Freddy Lopez, Chris Trujillo and Mark Clark are dedicated and professional. For a great rock set from a New Mexico favorite, don’t miss Ken Valdez. EVERY LITTLE LIE - BEST OF 2004 1/12/05 Appearing in the December 31, 2004 edition of the Star Tribune(Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN), was a section dedicated to music and critics who voted on their picks for 2004’s best albums. Thank you to Kurt Koehler and the Twin City Blues News for voting Ken Valdez’ "Every Little Lie" as one of the best of the year. There was so much that went into the recording of that album. It’s great to know it’s being recognized by the people! Here’s the site to view the list. http://www.startribune.com/stories/919/5153308-2.html NITE TIMES COVER STORY - THE NEW KID IN TOWN by Jeff Lawrence 4/14/03 Ken Valdez has brought his Southwest brand of rock to the Twin Cities and now points beyond. Born and raised in Santa Fe, NM, his songwriting skills are predominant in his music, and his debut CD two years ago was nominated 8 times in 6 categories in the New Mexico Music Industry awards, of which he won two. After relocating to Minnesota last year Ken hooked up with manager Jon Langseth and Muscle Shoals guitar great Wayne Perkins to produce his second CD, EVERY LITTLE LIE, which has both industry heads and music lovers taking notice. It was recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN, where bands like Nirvana, Live and Soul Asylum put down their tracks. After assembling some top notch talent, the final brotherhood of bandmates are ready to hit the road and tear it up. I caught up with Ken on a warm and rare spring day in Minnesota, the day after Ken and Company rocked the house at the 1st annual Youth In Music benefit at Bunkers in Minneapolis, blowing away the crowd with another jaw dropping performance. I asked Ken what brought him this far north? KV. We did a show with Jeff Healey and played at a venue here in St. Paul. People were asking me what management I was hooked up with and kept mentioning the name Jon Langseth. After getting off the road with Jeff we went back to the Southwest and played with Double Trouble and Jons name was brought up again. After finding out he was Jonny Langs dad, I got the courage to ask him to fly out and see the band, I guess he liked what he saw and I moved up here about 2 or 3 months later. It will be one year on April 3. NT. How do you like it so far? KV. Everyone has been really nice, and there are lots of great places to play around here. Jon and Adam Somers at Langseth Entertainment have been really supportive of what we are doing. NT. What was it like working with Wayne Perkins? KV. He was a genius in the studio. He is the White Wailer according to Bob Marley and he was a part of the Rolling Stones! Wayne is my mentor and was a big contribution to my sound. NT. How did you assemble such a great band? KV. A year ago back in Santa Fe, Mark O’Connell told me about a bass player from Atlanta who would work out great. Jeff Walker flew out to Santa Fe and we just clicked on the very first show. When I was putting together a band up here I brought these two up, and along with our powerhouse drummer Isaac Johnson, this is THE best band I have ever played with in my life. They kick my ass nightly and I have to step up to the plate. Its a chemistry that I have never felt before, these guys are like brothers and everything has fallen into place after a lot of hard work and rough times. NT. Who are the Boat People? KV. They are a special group of fans who follow us around and have been very supportive. A lot of them showed up last night at Bunkers. NT. What is down the road for the band? KV. Some dates with Jonny Lang this year after his new CD comes out, maybe some touring. It would be nice to go out west to hook up with some old friends. We just wanna play. Until then we are going to hang out here and blow away a few people with this great band! website by antidote X, inc.