Ms. Vee
Anyone who follows the New England blues scene has by now heard of Ms. Vee And A Badass Band. Ms. Vee is actually Valyria Arnold, a resident of Berlin, New Hampshire. In her dual identity as Ms. Vee, Arnold has left audiences, venue owners, and booking agents very happy.
Arnold plays gigs all over greater-Boston/New England. She got her name recognition and her busy schedule the old fashioned way. She earned it. She came to initially reside in Bedford, New Hampshire after living in Memphis Tennessee and Forrest City, Arkansas.
“I landed in New Hampshire in 2015 and knew nothing about New Hampshire or New England. So I went to a karaoke spot, the Ye Dynasty in Manchester NH. I figured if I sang at karaoke, someone would point me to the live music scene and that’s exactly what happened,” she said. “A gentleman there suggested I go to the blues jam at Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester. There I met Mickey Maguire and Howard Randall, who embraced me and let me have my way on their stage.”
Eventually, the singer had the brand name recognition to put together a band to play out under her own name. Arnold knew she was going to need a backing band with strong players who could play anything in her repertoire. He current Badass Band members are New Hampshire & Massachusetts based musicians, JL Claybourne (Drums), Pat “The Boss with the Sauce” Herlehy (Lead Guitar/Saxophone), Chris “The Professor” Noyes (Rhythm Guitar), Jay Frigoletto (Keyboard/Organ), and Owen Ross (Bass).
“Chris, the Professor (Chris Noyes) is a retired Berkeley professor who I met at the Sunday Blues Jams at the Village Trestle in Goffstown, New Hampshire,” Arnold said.. “For years, I wanted him to play with my band, but I thought he’d never even considered playing with a little ole country girl from Arkansas. One day I asked and he said yes. I love Chris’ style. He reminds me of the Mississippi Delta Blues I grew up on. I played for some southern Baptist Churches and Chris’ music oozes Black Gospel Quartet, another genre that soul blues encompasses.”
“JL Claybourne (drums), Jay Frigoletto (organ/keys) and Owen Ross (Bass),” Arnold continued, “all perform together on several other music projects/bands. Because they have that history, they know each other, they lock. It’s hard to develop that, and I was lucky enough to get that from the first time they played in my Badass Band.”
“Jay is a phenomenal, award winning multi-instrumental musician, mastering/audio engineer, videographer who has multiple Grammy nods and one Grammy in mastering.,” Arnold went on. “Pat Herlehy (Guitar/Saxophone) is an internationally touring guitarist who has recorded and played with major recording artists like the MIGHTY Sam McClain. My former MD/bassist, Alec Derian played a big part in developing the sound of Ms Vee and a Badass Band. Alec is another musician who if I closed my eyes, would never know that he wasn’t a black COGIC musician. “ COGIC means Church Of God In Christ, a black Pentecostal style church.
Ms. Vee And A Badass Band
Having studied piano at Lorenzo’s School of Contemporary Music in Forrest City, Arkansas, Arnold was drawn to old school R&B, blues, and jazz.
“After my traditional Music lesson, my music teacher would let us have jam sessions. He then taught us chords, the blues scale, and then taught us jazz standards and blues numbers,” Arnold said. “He ended up placing me in his blues/jazz band by age 12. I ended up playing standards like ‘Summertime’ and ‘Georgia’. He made things fun. I remember him having us do ‘Mother-In-Law’, and I actually dressed up like an old woman. So yeah, it was inevitable that I’d fall in love with the music we were playing.”
“Singing those songs” Arnold added, “makes me feel close to ‘home’, family, culture, and most of all, church.”
Arnold recently recorded an EP and a music video to be released this spring. The New England blues music scene, Arnold feels, has been very receptive and very supportive of her and her Bad Asses. “I‘ve been embraced by New England musicians in every space I’ve entered,” she said.
Living way up in Berlin, New Hampshire forces her to be a bit more selective of the gigs she takes as well as the rate of compensation she’s willing to accept.
“Anywhere I play outside of Berlin usually requires I get a hotel. If I’m paid less than $200, I can’t accept the gig,” she said. “Otherwise, I’m ultimately paying to play the gig when you tally the cost of gas, lodging and food. As a union girl by trade, I believe in earning and paying my band a decent wage. Sometimes that means playing fewer gigs but the venues that pay us what we ask are more desirable venues that are never disappointed with the show we deliver to their audience.”
Ms. Vee
After winning a local Blues Challenge in New Hampshire, Arnold and her BadAss Band have had to face a delay in competing in the International Blues Competition in Memphis. The IBC, like many events in the United States and around the world, has been postponed until May 4 to May 10, 2022.
“We are not going to have fun, we are going with the intention of bringing home that title to New England,” Arnold said.
Arnold, aka Ms. Vee, would love to bringing music to larger audiences and meet people in other countries by doing a mini European tour.
“That’s been one of my dreams. I may have something in the works, stay tuned” she said.
https://www.facebook.com/MsVeeSings
