Telling the story of Valentine's
Currently up on Kickstarter: No Pepper, a proposed documentary to tell the story of Valentine's, the music club in Albany.
TG Branfalt Jr, the one-man crew behind the project, posts that the doc was prompted by the expanding footprint of Albany Med and other new development in the Park South neighborhood -- which, as a few people have speculated, could eventually include where Valentine's sits. He continues:
Personally, Valentine's was where I went to punk rock shows over a decade ago. It was the very first place my first band played out. I played there almost monthly for a couple years with my second band. They always treated us well and I have yet to hear about Howard or Mike treating the bands poorly.
They've been a home for those miscreants, myself included, who don't dig the downtown or Lark Street scene in Albany.
My goal is to tell the story and explain the history of the venue through the lens of those who love the club. The club will always hold a special place in a lot of hearts.
He's looking to raise $6,500 for the project. Funding ends June 19.
(Thanks, Jess)
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Comments
I have only been coming to Valentines for the past 3 or 4 years, but it is such a historically and musically amazing par of albany that they cannot just get rid of. What about the residents the Deadbeats? they have been playing strong every week for almos 20 years. all their fans would not be too pleased
... said Brittany Gilbert on May 21, 2013 at 2:49 PM | link
I think a more historic documentary would be about J.B Scott's, 288 Lark or the old QE2. But most of you are probably to young to care.
U2 played one of their first US shows at J.B. Scotts.
Bono even wore a JB Scott's T-shirt in the Gloria video.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers played the Q.
I think Iggy Pop crawled behind the bar at 288 once and took a nap.
... said Joe on May 21, 2013 at 4:31 PM | link
Sure, Valentine's is a dirty, gross rock club - but it's MY dirty gross rock club. Props to Mike and Howard for sure...
... said grandmastergus on May 21, 2013 at 5:15 PM | link
Link to campaign? Nothing comes up when searching on KS.
Editors: Fixed. The link was there, but the tag was messed up. Thanks.
... said Pike on May 21, 2013 at 5:28 PM | link
This project has a noble goal, and I don't doubt TG's sincerity and passion to tell the story. However, there's nothing in the video or project description that gives me any confidence that he's going to be able to successfully execute writing, shooting, producing, then distributing the documentary.
Having helped fund many successful - and a few duds - I really don't recommend supporting this until the project is much better developed.
... said Andrew Gregory on May 23, 2013 at 10:08 AM | link
Valintines upstairs is a funny club. Looks messed up, loud as heck music, stale beer and a vibe that was always nerve racking and fun at the same time! For every rock band in the area trying to be the next big thing, when you played the stage upstairs, you have the moment that you and your buddies relized that you were a band!
... said JohnnyB on May 23, 2013 at 11:16 AM | link
agreed Andrew. to start off the kickstarter with "I don't know how many years Valentine's has been around" is kind of an indication. not hard to do that kind of research pre-kickstarter post.
... said NK on May 23, 2013 at 3:02 PM | link
I love Valentine's but this is without a doubt destined to fail. The opening line on the kickstarter paints a pretty clear picture of that. It could be a great film if done right and by someone with an idea of how to do it correctly. If the laziness of using kickstarter isn't the clear indicator then I don't know what is
... said Darcy on May 29, 2013 at 12:34 PM | link
"Sure, Valentine's is a dirty, gross rock club - but it's MY dirty gross rock club!"-
I could not have said this better. Junkhead played our first of many shows there. Above all, we met some F'n cool people along the way who share the very same quote above between us.
... said Vinnie C. on Jul 18, 2013 at 8:54 PM | link