Hunk Beach: An Interview with The Walters

[Photo by Kristina Pederson]

The Walters, a five-piece band from Chicago, craft light, beachy rock that can bring a sense of summertime to even the rainiest Seattle days. By creating music that encompasses both upbeat, catchy melodies reminiscent of The Lemon Twigs, and an effortless quality that rivals Mac Demarco, The Walters produce a sound that is all their own.

Fresh off tour with fellow Chicago rockers, The Orwells, The Walters are embarking on a west coast tour with Summer Salt later this month. I had the opportunity to chat with The Walters regarding the Chicago music scene, their recent tour, and the meaning of “cardigan rock.” 


ZK: What is the first thing listeners should know about The Walters?

TW: They are in dire need of your money *fireworks emoji*. We need all of it.

ZK: How have you enjoyed touring with The Orwells? Any highlights?

TW: We love The Orwells. They are nice boys. Our biggest highlight so far was Walter stage diving and no one catching him.

ZK:  I had the opportunity to see you perform at The Rave in Milwaukee, WI a few weeks ago, which you described as a “hometown show.” Do you feel that you perform or feel differently during shows close to home versus when you are on tour?

TW: You always wanna play your best show when your parents and friends are in attendance, so it adds a little pressure but it’s worth it to have loved ones be able to watch you.

ZK: 
You describe the genre of your music as “cardigan rock.” Would you elaborate on that? Are there any artists who have a particular influence on your music?

TW: Cardigan rock is more a state of mind than anything else. Our greatest influences are Will Smith and Kody from the reality show “Sister Wives”, and Corey Feldman.

ZK: There is a wealth of great Chicago bands making their way out to Seattle this spring (Twin Peaks, Whitney, etc.). If you encountered someone completely unfamiliar with the Chicago music scene, what artists would you recommend they listen to?

TW: Twin Peaks and Whitney are great – lesser known acts to check out are The Symposium, Joe Bordenaro, Luke Henry and Post Animal.

ZK: Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to during your West Coast tour with Summer Salt this April?

TW: We are just looking forward to hanging out with those guys. They’re good friends of ours and they have some really great music that they’re about to release. I guess we’re excited to hear them perform that new stuff, too. We have a couple sold out shows in California so it’s gonna be a great time.

ZK: If you had to give your band members senior superlatives, what would they be?

TW: Well we would have to start with our bass player, Danny Wells. He goes by many names – Long Legged Dan, Safety Dan, The Drink, The Sandwich, Daddy.

Our guitar player Walter goes by a few names as well: Young King Walter, Young Chobani, Walt Waddler, Strangemin. Professor Idiot.

Luke is simply known as Luke “Turd” Olson aka Mr. Smooth.

Charlie is known as The Wizard, The Sneeze.

MJs name is already a nickname and he’s also very Italian.


Catch The Walters with Close Encounter at The Sunset on April 20th, 2017 at 8:30 p.m. You can find more information here. This event is 21+.

Keep up with the Walters on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.


ZOEY KNOX | KXSU DJ + Guest Writer

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*

Tags: , , ,