Singled Out: Love Stallion's Valentine

04-25-2019

Denver glam rockers Love Stallion recently released their new album "Unforgettable Ride" and to celebrate we asked frontman Aaron Hart to tell us about the song "Valentine". Here is the story:

Our newest single "Valentine" is the archetypal ballad on our recently released record "Unforgettable Ride", which came out June 2018. I was fooling around on the piano in my family room when I came up with the main riff. My piano is a very old New York Mason that needs tons of work. When I had someone out to tune it for the first time, I was told I shouldn't have paid the $500 for it, and if I put $3000 into it, it would be worth $2000. Anyway, this great investment has the most beautiful textured sound, and with the lid open, creates lots of reverb and overtones. So, playing the "Valentine" parts started to create a very spacey & nostalgic feel to the tune from the beginning.

The song was inspired by a Valentine's Day date, and tries to capture that bittersweet feeling of both wanting it again, but knowing the moment is all that it was. After writing the verses, I realized I had a partially written song from years back called "Summertime Baby" that had a similar groove & feel. So, I took the pre-chorus from that number, and that became the bridge of "Valentine". It was a perfect fit.

I was still struggling with the arrangement & instrumentation, and so, decided to bring it to the band. From the first note in, it was magic. Rob's (aka Crayton Huntly) colorful rich tones brought the song to life. This was also during a transition period, so I was actually on drums & vocals that night, which is one of my favorite spots in the band (2nd to frontman!). We put it together in less than an hour, including the solo and ending, which avoids the typical refrain 1-2x.

This song has become a fan favorite, and we were stoked to release a video in late January, first shown at The Block Distilling Co in Rino Denver, my favorite bar in town. John Hunt of Arcadian Pictures, along with Sean Biffar, captured the feel flawlessly, and Alycia Ann Scantland did an amazing job as my valentine for the night.

Following the completion of "Unforgettable Ride", I really wanted to put out the original piano version, but still felt it incomplete. Our producer Steve Avedis recommended I work with Tom Capek, another pro at Colorado Sound, to help rearrange the piano part. Tom & I got together one afternoon, and he had some amazing ideas! Very quickly we had the new arrangement, and were in the studio with Steve, recording that and 2 other piano tunes I had written alongside the Love Stallion album, which I then released on Valentine's Day 2019. Be sure to check it out under "Aaron Hart - Valentine" <3

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!