Rogue Valley Moves on to the Next Season

Music | February 22nd, 2016

It’s been almost five years since Minneapolis band Rogue Valley released their last album “False Floors,” which marked the end of a yearlong effort to release four concept albums based on the seasons of the year.

The success of the albums and their live performances can be measured by the number of songs they’ve had featured in television shows and movies, with their song “The Wolves and the Raven” being featured in the Ben Stiller-starring drama “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”

Their success has also allowed them to step outside of the region and tour nationally, sharing stages with Spoon, Lucinda Williams, Mason Jennings, and The Jayhawks.

The band’s known for their combination of Americana and indie pop, with lyrics referencing nature and known landscapes. Even the name of the band comes from a region in southern Oregon. While based in Minnesota, the band’s singer/guitarist and chief songwriter Chris Koza is actually an Oregon native.

One song off their first album “Crater Lake” is about a landscape that hits home for many in the Red River Valley. “Red River of the North” portrays a river on the rise as people off the banks struggle to keep it together.

“It’s about people coming together in sort of solitude amidst tragedy,” Koza says. Although Koza wasn’t present for any of the major floods in the last 19 years, he realized the importance and felt the material was worthy of a song.

“There’s only so many breakup songs or whatever that any one person should ever write,” he says.

Now, the band has finished a new record, one that does away with the season-themed concept album and makes room for exploring new territory. “This is like the next season. It focuses more on the metaphysical,” he says.

Different from past albums, this one features elements of surf guitar and sampling.

“I was listening to a lot of Dick Dale for a while when I was writing these songs and just thinking about being out in the Southwest, which isn’t an uncommon thought for the mind to go to during Midwestern winters.”

In addition to the tremolo guitar that appears a few times throughout the album, Koza also included harmonies and horn arrangements, which they have yet to work out in their performances.

The 12-track album doesn’t have a set release date, but Koza feels it will most likely come out early summer. “We’re getting a vinyl press and that takes three or four months to happen, so we’re more or less at the mercy of when we can get our vinyl back, but I would say at this point in June.”

In the meantime, the band is continuing a series of educational workshops funded through a Minnesota State Arts Board touring grant. Previous residencies included spots in Northfield, International Falls and Grand Rapids, where they created an integrated performance experience with high school-aged musicians.

Their next stop is Detroit Lakes.

“We’re gonna be working with a high school up in the region and working with some choir singers and some jazz band students,” Koza says. In addition to the high school they’ll work with, they plan to work with a couple local bands, including the young act ScaleShed.

“We’re really gonna do a bit of a swap experience and help to flesh out their music while they do the same with our songs.” Following the weeklong workshops, a public performance is scheduled at the Historic Holmes Theatre on Feb. 26.

IF YOU GO

Rogue Valley

Friday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m.

Historic Holmes Theatre, 806 Summit Ave., Detroit Lakes, Minn.

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