Before I answer your questions, I have a message to pass along for Aimee, the one who wrote the post about me and the red shirt.

valemmichfans asked: Looking for Aimee, the one who didn’t give up on “the guy with the red shirt”. I didn’t know how else to contact you so I have to use Val. Aimee, if you’re reading this, I have something to give to you. Please contact me at info@valemmichfans.com.

And now…your questions.

imstillfact-shesfiction asked: Hi, this is a story of perseverance but first, I wanted to express my joy over your upcoming release. Woo! Also, that you are one of the very few artists that produces music that actually affects me in way that inspires me. To sum it up: you’re an excellent musician. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m also going to admit that I’m purchasing your album Looking For A Feeling song by song, because that’s the only way I currently can and I don’t regret it. It gives me a chance to focus on each song; I’m halfway through the album right now and with time I plan on completing it. However, this will make you a little happier — I definitely plan on supporting your new album on KickStarter, in fact, I’m saving up as I type this because then I’ll be able to look forward to the new album as I start my freshman year in college. That being said, that’s why I’m so slow at catching up with the latest album, because a credit card is not a good idea for a 17 year old (that’s what my mom says at least). So Val, keep on keeping on and know that you have my support and even if we’re two complete strangers, at least we share a love of music and living on the East Coast (which in my opinion, trumps the West Coast any day). ——Another happy fan, Emily.

VE: Reaching out is a hard thing, especially to strangers and especially when your comments are then posted publicly.  I totally respect you for that (and that goes for everyone else who posts here too).  I’m really flattered and man, it’s so sad, but I need it.  At times I think I live in a impenetrable bubble, oblivious to so much, in denial of so much.  Forgive the vagueness, it’s the bubble talking.  But thank you for your piece-meal consumption of my last album and for your aim to support my new one.  This new one is a doozy.  I promise.  And since we’ve now raised $10k I’ll be releasing it on CD.  A pledge of any amount ($1-and-up) gets your lovely name—Emily—in the liner notes.  Here’s the link to my Kickstarter page: http://kck.st/lBGMZv

dinasoar asked: Hey Val! Firstly I’d just like to say that I can’t wait for more music from you. After having listened to Looking for a Feeling… in its entirety several times now, I am appreciating the order that the tracks are placed in. Strategically pleasing to my ears, thank you. I haven’t asked anything in a while, being busy with school and exams but that led me to my question(s) for you. Would high school-Val be proud of who you are now? And did you have a favourite subject not related to the Arts that you would have pursued as a career?

VE: High school Val would probably think I was a sellout for acting on TV and commercials but High School Val overused the term “sellout” because he oversimplified life, for he hadn’t been exposed to much of it.  Plus he was a product of the Nineties, a time when apathy reigned and anti-corporatism was mandatory.  He stayed up late and watched a lot of “120 Minutes” on MTV and read Rolling Stone and Spin magazines and didn’t realize that the music business wouldn’t always be so thriving.  He didn’t know about a little white machine called an iPod.  Mainly he was just angry at everything and his temper would result in holes in walls and mishaps with friends.  I think he would have given me a black eye and then felt incredibly bad about it because he was never too comfortable harboring all that angst.  Maybe he felt like he needed to have it.  Favorite subject: all of them.  I’m a dork.  I like learning.  I like Liberal Arts stuff like Philosophy and History and Anthropology and Journalism and Political Science.  In other areas, I love Biology and Astronomy and Physics and Food Science and Environmental Science and Engineering.

Anonymous asked: Hey Val, I know you’ve always described yourself as a restless soul & i get how that restlessness fuels your creativity, but can that feeling sometimes rob you from simply being in the moment & enjoying that moment ? Music wise, it seems like a plus, but personally can it bring more sadness than joy ? Tommy

VE: Hey Tommy.  This is sort of the struggle of my life thus far.  The short answer is that yes, you’re right: it’s a double-edged sword.  Good and bad.  But it’s who I am.  I’m getting better at catching myself and forcing myself to appreciate things as they’re happening.  I’ve come a long way in that regard.  But I get such a thrill at looking to the future.  My new album (phew…out in August thanks to everyone who helped on Kickstarter!) really grapples with this question.  I attempted to go back into my past and by doing so I actually reassessed my present, because as it turns out I was doing the same thing back then.  As a boy I was looking forward to tomorrow, and now that tomorrow is today.  Does that sound disorienting?  It is and it was.  It’s also sort of sad, but ultimately very illuminating and it gave me a new perspective on moving forward. 

Anonymous asked: Hey Val! I know that all great musicians have their favorite notebooks to write down lyrics, but do you keep a separate noteboook to write down feelings, good/bad occurences, and the like, or do you just pick up where you left off in the same book. Within that, do you ever fear that someone close to you will end up reading your lyrics/ feelings (probably the same thing as music and lyrics are just the writer’s feelings in organized clumps) and end up biting you in the arse?- CJ

VE: Thanks for the question, CJ.  I don’t have a favorite notebook really.  If you look on my shelf you’ll see a dozen different types of books: lined, unlined, spiral, bound, graph paper, binders, pocket-sized, etc.  Some were gifts.  Some were carefully chosen, only to be found cumbersome and uninviting.  Some have writing in only a few pages with the rest left blank, the whole thing eventually abandoned.  Inside my various notebooks, there is never a distinction between lyrics and general feelings.  It’s all there.  Whenever I’m finishing up a record I usually read through older notebooks to see if there is any sentiment that matches my current project.  This could be a random thought, a silly drawing, a quote or a list.  I try to just get it out when it wants to come out and figure out how to organize it at a later date.  I don’t keep any type of daily journal anymore.  I used to.  But now I just reach for whatever is around, including napkins and parking tags (see the foldout poster that came with the LFAFYNKYN CD).  All my journals are dated on the first page so I know when they were started but that date is sometimes confusing because if an older notebook is handy I’ll write on a blank page and then the time period is all screwed up.  It’s a chaotic system.  I’ve tried to improve it but it’s no use.  My thoughts come when they want to come and I’m not always ready. 
    As for a worry that someone will read them…I guess that’s a possibility but I don’t think about it.  If someone did, it would be pretty confusing, I’m sure.  Things start and then stop abruptly.  Names are usually concealed or changed, but there are a few in there that could be damning.  But the person who leafed through them without asking would have more to explain than me.  I suppose when I’m gone my children might get their hands on them.  That’s scary but also exciting.  Ultimately I think that journals are gifts.  I would pay good money to have similar documentation from members of my lineage.  I find it quite sad that I don’t.