Guitarist Adam Holland Talks Hugo and Augeri

[The_Noble_Cause]

Ex-Valentine and current Steve Augeri guitarist, Adam Holland, has hist first instrumental solo record out called Rapture and is doing some press.

Highlights from an interview below:

https://misplacedstraws.com/2024/07/a-c ... lland.html

On putting together Valentine and their debut record –

We’re definitely proud of the record and we had a good time writing it. Craig (Pullman)’s a great writer. Hugo’s a great writer. Everyone contributed to that record. In the beginning, when we first met in the days of the Long Island club circuit, we all sort of were playing in different places and got together one at a time, adding each piece. When we finally got together as Valentine with Hugo and Craig and myself, That initial burst of songwriting. We wrote a lot of our first album, just like it was boom. “Naughty Girl” was written really early. “Someday”, I think “Once in a Lifetime”, some of the first songs we wrote were little four-track demos.

So I think the chemistry. We knew we had something, I can’t explain it. We knew, okay, wow, this is like his voice, which is like, once we found Hugo, of course, it was like, holy shit. “What, where has this guy been hiding all this?” So once we heard it, it all came together and we all recorded it, even our little crappy demos. It was like, “Wow. This is something”. As musicians, you just hope to find the people that you can connect with and, and. Even if you don’t always get along, which we did, though, don’t get me wrong. You just want the musical chemistry. Sometimes a rub could cause great music. You don’t always want peace and harmony. You want some friction."

On how he joined Steve Augeri’s band –

It’s one of those long and twisted roads. Looking back, you’re like, “Wow. We didn’t realize we were all intertwined”. It goes back to our tour with Mr. Big and Tall Stories. W shared this tour. I don’t know why, I don’t even know how, I can’t, I don’t know the exact details, but we did a couple months, they did some time, we were all back and forth on it for a couple year period. We both toured with Mr. Big. Not at the same time though. So we got to know of Tall Stories, and we loved that record, and they were also like on Epic, either way, and they were kind of, slightly popular, “Wild on the Run”. They were a great band and they were like not an 80s band. They were like, I don’t know what they were like early 90s really. So, I didn’t know who Steve Augeri was, but I knew Tall Stories. Then I’m like, “Holy shit. That’s the, that’s the guy who got in Journey”. It was fantastic.

If you’re a Steve Perry lover, people didn’t ( love it) maybe, but I thought he was a great choice for someone else had to take the place. I love those, Arrival, and all the records he did and, and Generations. And especially that cool song from “Armageddon”. So we knew of this guy and then everyone knew he got the gig in Journey. It was like, “holy shit”. Then later on down the road, after all this stuff ended, it was Hugo who always got shit for being (a Steve Perry sound-alike), he was blessed and cursed, I guess, blessed that he got this incredible voice

I want to go back to that. You asked a question about us surviving. It wasn’t just my songwriting. It was Hugo’s voice that really always got us to the next (level). People believe in that guy’s voice and that’s how, because it was that good. So I have to give credit. Yes, I did contribute, but he really, his voice, people were like, “I think we can do something with that”.

So then Hugo was one of the first guys to put together a tribute band. He’s like, “I look like Steve Perry, let’s just play”. So he started this band and then he invited me into the band. I was sort of reluctant, but I, it’s my brother, I’m like, “Let’s do it. We’ll have a good time”. Gerard managed the band and I don’t know, we were off, it was a great, successful thing. Then we, all of a sudden, then we’re playing together. We got invited to do a couple of those Fyre Fests. So all of a sudden, Valentine was back. We’re like, “Holy shit, we’re playing”, and we met Steve and Tall Stories.

He was playing it at a couple of those things. So here we are all hanging out again. It was just great to meet him because we’d known him from that tour in the 90s. He was post-Journey. We’re like, “Man, what was it like? What was it like behind that curtain?” We had a Staten Island connection too, we hit it off. And then that Journey cover band, we did a bunch of things for the Broadway show, “Rock of Ages”. Then first we did the opening night, which was fantastic. Then we did these like monthly cast parties. I don’t know how to explain it. They were these little smaller gigs, but if you had a ticket to the show, you come next to the China Club and we play a Journey set. Then we play some other eighties type of stuff with either the cast or something. A lot of the cast would come that way. I guess they were required. I don’t know.

So we always had a guest. So we had our friend, Terry Brock came, all these different, anybody we could invite, but somehow I don’t even know how Steve Augeri ended up as a guest. So he jams some Journey with us. It’s been a while. We’ve got to know each other. He finally said, “I want to put together a band”. He was little bit hesitant and what to do. Didn’t know what, he didn’t want to tribute band, obviously. So that’s what we were intrigued. I’m like, “wow, I’d love to play with Steve”. Not that I didn’t love playing with Hugo. Please don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like any negative thing there. So, when he offered that sort of had the spark. Gerard wanted to play, and so did Craig, and sort of Valentine, pieces of Valentine became the Steve Augeri Band. So that, that was sort of the flow of it. And it’s been a while, so, and it’s, it’s grown.

[efrasjourney]

Freaking cool!! Did not know there was a Valentine connection there. Love that Valentine album, I'm looking for the vinyl record but it is expensive now.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Freaking cool!! Did not know there was a Valentine connection there. Love that Valentine album, I'm looking for the vinyl record but it is expensive now.

I remember when the Valentine guys were in Hugo's Journey earlier JRNY cover band, Evolution. Hugo would go on to create Voyage later.