Robert Walter (musician)
Robert Walter | |
---|---|
Hammond B3 organ, Fender Rhodes, piano, synths | |
Years active | 1990s–present |
Labels | Fog City, Royal Potato Family |
Website | robertwalter |
Robert Walter is an American keyboard player specializing in
Biography
After starting on piano, Robert developed a deep connection with the Hammond organ and its place in American musical tradition. Gospel, Jazz, soul music and psychedelic rock have all been impacted and defined by the classic grind and warble of the B3 and
.Walter became a part of the early San Diego music scene while still in high school in 1984, first playing drums in the funk-rock band Daddy Long Leggs, a foursome that included magnet-high-school students Walter, Mike Watson, Damien Dunmore, and Brian Jordan.[2] After the break-up of Daddy Long Leggs, Walter moved over to keyboards (under the pseudonym "Stretch") forming the rock band Creedle, which emerged in the early '90s. The band released three full-length albums along with numerous 7" singles.[3]
Walter co-founded The Greyboy Allstars, which initially formed in 1993 as the backing band for rare groove luminary DJ Greyboy and started playing weekly at San Diego's now defunct Green Circle, weekends at San Francisco's Elbo Room and various clubs throughout Europe.[4]
In 1999, six years into
Walter moved from his native San Diego to New Orleans in 2003, and subsequently reunited with producer Dan Prothero to record Super Heavy Organ with local legends Johnny Vidacovich, James Singleton, Tim Green, and Stanton Moore.
In 2008, Walter recorded and released Cure All with James Singleton and Johnny Vidacovich. AllMusic calls it soul-jazz with "a healthy balance of intellect and funkiness".[7]
In Spring of 2013, The Greyboy Allstars released Inland Emperor, their first album since 2007's What Happened to Television? A move from New Orleans to Los Angeles jump-started Robert Walter's 20th Congress once again. He released Get Thy Bearings, which pushed Walter's organ, piano, Rhodes and synthesizer to the front of a group rounded out by guitarist/bassist Elgin Park, drummer Aaron Redfield, sax players Karl Denson and Cochemea Gastelum, and percussionist Chuck Prada.[8] It was recorded in just a few takes at Elgonix Labs, the same studio where Walter has lent his skills to Get Thy Bearings producer Michael Andrews' film scores and productions. Since returning to LA, recording film scores has widened the conceptual palate of Walters' work.
In April 2015, Robert began playing keys with Mike Gordon, while continuing his other projects and The Greyboy Allstars.[9]
In September 2018, Walter released Spacesuit, a new studio album by 20th Congress.[10] His latest release, Better Feathers, was a series of tracks written and recorded entirely at home in quarantine during 2020–2021, and originally released two tracks at a time as a series of digital 45s. Walter immersed himself in the writing and recording process as a way to remain creative and fend off boredom while faced with a year of no live shows. According to Walter, the title Better Feathers comes from the idea of birds molting — shedding their old, worn-out feathers for new, better ones.[11]
In June 2022, Walter appeared on
Soundtrack production
Walter has a film soundtrack session career in Los Angeles (with his bandmate and renowned composer Michael Andrews) which began in 1998 when Andrews and The Greyboy Allstars were asked to score Jake Kasdan's first feature, Zero Effect.
Walter has performed on the movie scores for
Discography
As leader
- Spirit of '70 with Gary Bartz (Greyboy, 1996)
- Health and Fitness (Fog City, 1999)
- Money Shot (Fog City, 2000)
- There Goes the Neighborhood (Premonition, 2001)
- Giving Up the Ghost (Magnatude, 2003)
- Super Heavy Organ (Magnatude, 2005)
- In a Holiday Groove with Robert Walter and His Bumpin' Beats (Fog City, 2006)
- Cure All (Palmetto, 2008)
- Get Thy Bearings (Royal Potato Family, 2013)
- Aquarium Drunkard's Lagniappe Sessions Vol. 1 (Royal Potato Family, 2006)
- Spacesuit (Royal Potato Family, 2018)
- Aquarium Drunkard's Lagniappe Sessions Vol. 2 (Royal Potato Family, 2018)
- Better Feathers (Royal Potato Family, 2022)
- Aquarium Drunkard's Lagniappe Sessions Vol. 3 (Royal Potato Family, 2023)
With The Greyboy Allstars
- West Coast Boogaloo with Fred Wesley (Greyboy, 1994; Light In The Attic, 2020)
- A Town Called Earth (Greyboy, 1997)
- GBA Live (Relaxed/ADA, 1999)
- What Happened to Television? (SCI Fidelity, 2007)
- Inland Emperor (Knowledge Room Recordings, 2013)
- Como De Allstars (Knowledge Room Recordings, 2020)
- Get a Job: Music From The Original Broadcast Series Soul Dream (Knowledge Room Recordings, 2022)
With WRD Trio
- The Hit with Eddie Roberts + Adam Deitch (Color Red, 2021)[15]
With The Rare Sounds
- Yeah, You! with Eddie Roberts, Chris Stillwell, Zak Najor (Color Red, 2022)
As sideman
With Creedle
- Half Man Half Pie (Cargo/Headhunter, 1992)
- Bad Radio [EP] (Cargo/Headhunter, 1993)
- Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars (Headhunter, 1994)
- When the Wind Blows (Headhunter, 1996)
With Karl Denson
- The D Stands for Diesel (Greyboy, 1995)
- The Bridge (Relaxed/ADA, 2002)
- New Ammo (Stoopid, 2014)
With Mike Gordon
- Overstep (ATO, 2014)
- OGOGO(ATO/Megaplum, 2017)
- Flying Games (ATO/Megaplum, 2023)
With Greyboy
- Land of the Lost (Ubiquity, 1995)
- To Know You Is to Love You (Ubiquity, 2001)
- Soul Mosaic (Ubiquity, 2004)
With Gary Jules
- Greetings from the Side (A&M, 1998)
- Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets (Sanctuary, 2003)
With Stanton Moore
- III with Will Bernard (Telarc, 2006)
- Emphasis! (On Parenthesis) with Will Bernard (Telarc, 2008)
- Groove Alchemy with Will Bernard (Telarc, 2010)
With Roger Waters
- Comfortably Numb (2022) (Sony Music, 2022)[16]
- The Dark Side of the Moon Redux (2023)
With
- Brooks Nielsen, One Match Left (2022)
- Brooks Nielsen, The Circle EP (2023)
With others
- JJ Grey & Mofro, Blackwater (Alligator, 2001)
- Elgin Park, Elgin Park (Everloving, 2001)
- Anders Osborne, American Patchwork (Alligator, 2010)
- Alec Ounsworth, Mo Beauty (Anti/Epitaph, 2009)
- Susan Tedeschi, Back to the River (Verve Forecast, 2008)
- Various artists, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Columbia, 2007)
- George Porter Jr. "The Flóki Sessions" (Color Red, 2023)
References
- ^ Jeremy D. Bonfiglio. "Five questions with ... Robert Walter". The Herald Palladium. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Daddy Long Leggs | San Diego Reader". Sandiegoreader.com.
- ^ "Creedle | San Diego Reader". Sandiegoreader.com.
- ^ "The Greyboy All Stars". Greyboyallstars.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ "Aug 26 & 27 Cervantes Denver". Greyboyallstars.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-13.
- ^ liner notes
- ^ "Cure All - Robert Walter | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
- ^ "Robert Walter Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ "June 2015 Tourdates Announced | Mike Gordon". Mike-gordon.com.
- ^ "Robert Walter - Bio". Robertwalter.com.
- ^ "Robert Walter Drops First Two Tracks in 'Better Feathers' Digital 45 Series". Nysmusic.com. 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Roger Waters "The Happiest Days of Our Lives / Another Brick in the Wall PTS. 2 & 3"" – via YouTube.
- ^ "Roger Waters Tickets - the London Palladium, London – Official Box Office".
- ^ "Robert Walter". IMDb.com. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "General 2". Robertwalter.com.
- ^ Iahn, Buddy (18 November 2022). "Roger Waters releases 'Comfortably Numb 2022'". Themusicuniverse.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
External links
- Official Site
- Allmusic biography
- Robert Walter's 20th Congress collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- Interview with Robert Walter on Aural States (Oct 2008)