After 8 years, the guys have decided to take a break. Below is the statement from the guys.

Valencia originally came together back in 2003.  Most of us were still just in high school, but we all had gotten to know each other through the tightly knit music community we grew up in around Philadelphia.  We started this band because of a mutual need to create something heartfelt and to give everyone a message we needed to share.  We all felt like music would be the most significant part of our lives, but never in our wildest dreams could we have predicted the things we’d get to do, or more importantly, the people we would meet because of this band and the songs we wrote and shared with the world.

We started touring full time in late 2004, thanks to everyone at I Surrender Records putting faith in our band and releasing our first record.  Ever since then, we’ve given everything we had to our music.  We’ve been touring nonstop since then, playing shows in 46 states and five different countries over seven years, all of them places we were brought to thanks to people that believed in what we had to say.

This band started when we were teenagers, and now, as we enter our mid-to-late twenties, we’ve decided that it’s time for us to scale back our time on the road and explore the other elements of life that are not as easily accessible while touring full time.  We aren’t considering this our band breaking up, because if that was the case, this situation would feel very final, and it doesn’t feel that way to us.  It remains natural for us to write music together and there is always a possibility that we will release new music as Valencia sometime in the future.  In the meantime, new music will be written and released by each of us and when that happens, we will let you know.

In honor of starting this next chapter, please join us on December 28th, 2011 for one last show in our hometown of Philadelphia, at the Electric Factory.  We hope you’ll be there with us to share one of the most personal, memorable, and important nights of our lives.  Thank you all for everything - the letters, the tattoos, the years of listening, for so many countless, priceless sentiments - there’s no way we could ever fully express our gratitude for everything you’ve done for us.  We’ve been given the chance to go down a path not many are able to take, and because you’ve had our backs through the story that is our band, we’re able to continue that journey through whatever comes next for us.

Like The Academy Is… lead singer, William Beckett, the lead singer of Valencia, Shane Henderson also took to his tumblr to wrote his own statement on the hiatus and what’s to come. You can read that by clicking here.

supjustin:

Shane Henderson from Valencia has started a weekly acoustic cover series. His first cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “Hear You Me,” which pays tribute to the passing of Valencia’s ex-drummer Max Soria, can be seen below.

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The article on his passing can be seen below.

A motorcycle accident in Warwick on Friday night claimed the life of Maxim Soria, a 2001 Central Bucks West graduate and former member of Philadelphia alternative rock band Valencia, said family members.

Soria, 28, was killed at about 6:15 p.m. when he lost control of his motorcycle on York Road, between Valley and Sugarbottom roads, police said. Officials believe Soria was traveling north on York Road when his motorcycle left the highway and struck a guide rail. He was dead when officers arrived on the scene.

Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell said Soria, of Point Pleasant Pike in Plumstead, was wearing a helmet. He died of multiple traumatic injuries.

Although toxicology reports are pending, Campbell said “everything points to this being an accidental death.”

Campbell said Soria’s driver’s license indicated he had only recently gotten his motorcycle license. Soria’s brother, Mel Soria, 30, also said Maxim had not been riding a motorcycle very long.

R.I.P.

supjustin:

Ex-Valencia drummer Maxim Soria lost control of his motorcycle and struck into a guide rail last night in Pennsylvania and died. Soria was Valencia’s drummer from 2003-2009 and played on the band’s first two full length albums. Soria was 28 years old. Rest In Peace.

Spinning Out(acoustic) | Valencia(@valenciamusic)

NEW: The Way | Valencia (@valenciamusic)

i would totally relive this day if i could.

i remember everything about it.

it rained SO much that day that Nicole didn’t even end up going to school. and she was sick. and she was my ride to the show, but by the time school was over, she felt better and Duke agreed to take me to her house. needless to say, i was happy. very happy. we had to get there early because our friends band was playing and they had our tickets. we waited outside for well over an hour on the partially wet floor. got to see a rainbow too! i hadn’t been into Valencia until we decided to go to the show. this was and is my favorite song. i recorded nearly their entire set and barely took any pictures - which is shocking for me. ended up getting their album that night. it was one of the first nights of the tour and they were releasing their album a few weeks early at shows. so, so good.

Also featuring: Valencia and Conditions

07.15.11 - The Boardwalk - Orangevale, CA
07.16.11 - Chain Reaction - Anahiem, CA
07.18.11 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT *
07.19.11 - Marquis Theatre - Denver, CO *
07.20.11 - Emo’s - Austin, TX *
07.22.11 - The Prophet Bar - Dallas, TX
07.23.11 - The Conservatory - Oklahoma City, OK
07.25.11 - The Firebird - St. Louis, MO
07.26.11 - Triple Rock - Minneapolis, MN #
07.27.11 - Subterranean - Chicago, IL #
07.28.11 - The Mad Hatter - Covington, KY
07.29.11 - Pike Room - Pontiac, MI
07.30.11 - The Annex - Toronto, ON
07.31.11 - Altar Bar - Pittsburgh, PA
08.01.11 - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
08.03.11 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY #
08.04.11 - The Chance - Poughkeepsie, NY
08.05.11 - Webster Underground - Hartford, CT
08.06.11 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA #
08.07.11 - North Star Bar - Philadelphia, PA #
08.08.11 - The Ottobar - Baltimore, MD #
08.09.11 - Greene Street Club - Greensboro, NC #
08.11.11 - Rocketown - Nashville, TN
08.12.11 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
08.13.11 - Crowbar - Tampa, FL
08.14.11 - The Backbooth - Orlando, FL

# without Valencia
* without Anarbor

NEW: Losing Sleep - Valencia(@valenciamusic)

Also featuring: I See Stars and Forever The Sickest Kids on select dates

6/22 - Baltimore, MD - White Marsh Mall - w/ I See Stars and DGK Skate Team
6/24 - North Wales, PA (right outside Philadelphia) - Montgomery Mall - w/ I See Stars and Supra Skate Team
6/26 - Northern New Jersey - TBA - w/ I See Stars and Alien Workshop and Habitat Skate Teams
6/29 - Aurora, IL (right outside Chicago) - Westfield Mall - w/ Forever the Sickest Kids and Lakai Skate Team
7/1 - Minneapolis, MN - Mall of America - w/ Forever the Sickest Kids and Plan B Skate Team

All shows are free and include fun things like skateboarding and more.

NEW: DANTERVIEWS featuring Say Anything, Motion City Soundtrack, and Saves The Day

from some awesome bands including The Academy Is…, Black Cards, Cobra Starship, D.R.U.G.S., Hellogoodbye and Valencia.

also featuring playlists by Set It Off, Barely Blind, and my friends in The Honesty.

click here to see the lists from all the bands mentioned above.