Holly Stephey talks to Val Kinzler aka “Valkyrie” Music and more!

New York City is still home to Val Kinzler aka “Valkyrie” as she’s affectionately known to her friends and fans.Val started playing piano at age five and as her passion for songwriting grew, she picked up the guitar which led her to playing solo gigs around the NYC area and later in Europe.Through out her life, Val has taught music and created special events involving women in music. Her latest CD titled, “Nothing Sacred About Hatred”, is the culmination of years of songwriting. Val shares a lifetime of joy, pain, love, and loss in her lyrics. Inspired by the blues, Val’s theatrical edge has led her to create her own genre of soulful “sophistipunk” .Val remains an integral part of the downtown New York City singer/songwriter music scene as an event promoter and performer. Her spirited presence, unorthadox vocal style, and award winning songs led her to collaborate with other noteworthy talent She’s opened for and/or shared the stage with Dr. John, Marty Balin, Three Dog Night, Johnny Johnson,Jon Paris and others. Val later joined forces with local musicians to create her band “Validation” playing hard edged punk rock originals at local clubs. Songs such as: “Dirty Blonde”, “Keep Your Baby On A Leash”, and “Metal Swing” which quickly became crowd favorites and Val still re-visits these catchy tunes at her solo dates!Val remains involved playing gigs with VKB(Val Kinzler Band) Comprised of veteran musicians, Joseph Vasta (Mink De Ville, Billy Idol, Joan Jett, John Waite), David White (The Hollies, Stumblebunny) and Ihle Factor (Ian Lloyd, John Ford).She continues to work with students in the New York City public school system as a facilitator of her“Music Cool” songwriting program.After losing her youngest brother to a drug overdose, Val traveled to Pittsburgh, PA on a Martin Guitars Scholarship through “Women In Music”.