Chiming guitars and haunting string arrangements combined with unforgettable lyrics and melodies. Melodic, 60s-inspired folk rock for the new millennium.

6 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, ROCK: Folk Rock



Details:
Before releasing his first solo cd, Bill McGarvey (www.billmcgarvey.com) was the lead singer and co-songwriter for Valentine Smith, a quintet from NYC that he formed with his songwriting partner, Stephen Dima in the mid-1990s. An explosive live act, Valentine Smith was a rock band that relied on acoustic guitars, violins and drums. Their sound was a combination of 60s folk rock and classic pop song craft updated for the new millennium.

The band released three albums between 1994-1999, including Back on Earth (1994), Putting in the Peacetime Hours (1996) and Valentine Smith (1999). During those five years they received support and tremendous airplay on over 300 radio stations across the United States (charting on CMJ in 1994). They toured extensively and garnered an incredible amount of critical praise from the New York Times, Washington Post, CMJ, the New Yorker and Billboard Magazine (among others). Their music also appeared on network television shows and independent films.

In the mid-90s Billboard Magazine honored Valentine Smith's single "Katie's a No-Show" as the only independent song on their "Best of" list. After the band's break-up in 2000, McGarvey began working on his first solo album, Tell Your Mother, which was released in 2003.