The Walkabouts
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The Walkabouts | |
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Joe Skyward Brian Young | |
Website | www.thewalkabouts.com |
The Walkabouts were an
The band drew inspiration from folk and country music, particularly Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young and Johnny Cash, but also from other types of artists and musical styles such as Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, French chanson and Jacques Brel. Their sound was typically rich, with string arrangements and keyboards in addition to the standard rock instruments.
The Walkabouts achieved commercial success and a strong fanbase in Europe, where they had done promotion and extensive touring starting from the early 1990s. They occasionally even made it high on the record charts in countries such as Greece and Norway.[citation needed]
History
Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman met and began playing music together in 1983 while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1984, they moved to Seattle, and the band was born when they joined forces with Chris' two younger brothers, drummer Grant and bassist Curt. The Eckman brothers had been playing in various punk rock and pop groups during their college years, and Carla came from a folk and street singing background. The band took their name from Nicolas Roeg's cult film, Walkabout.[2]
They released their first EP, 22 Disasters, in early 1985.
Satisfied Mind was their first of several albums largely or wholly comprising songs originally written and recorded by an eclectic variety of other artists, including Nick Cave, Charlie Rich, Johnny Rivers, Patti Smith, Mary Margaret O'Hara, and Gene Clark.[1] Their 1996 collection of unreleased songs, Death Valley Days, also included songs by Neil Young, Nick Drake and Bob Dylan, and in 2000 they issued Train Leaves at Eight, which broadened the approach further by including songs by European artists including Mikis Theodorakis, Goran Bregović, Jacques Brel and Neu!.[3]
In 1995, the band signed with
In 2010, guitarist Paul Austin joined the band and work began on a new album entitled Travels in the Dustland, released the following year to strong reviews that also hailed the band's return to activity after a six year absence. During the subsequent European tour, the live album Berlin was recorded and released.
In 2015, Eckman confirmed in an interview with Uncut magazine, and in a subsequent Facebook post, that The Walkabouts had disbanded.[4] Eckman continues to write and record with a number of projects, as well as serve as label manager for the global sounds imprint Glitterbeat.
Side projects
Eckman and Torgerson have released albums as side projects under the name "Chris & Carla" and as solo artists.[1]
Carla Torgerson has worked with Greek musician Akis Boyatzis and his band Sigmatropic on their album 16 Haiku & Other Stories (2001). Later Torgerson released a solo album Saint Stranger (2004) with help of Akis Boyatzis.
Between 1996 and 2003, Chris Eckman worked with Norwegian band Midnight Choir and teamed with Al DeLoner of Midnight Choir in electronica-project called "Höst" for an album The Damage Suite (2001). Also Eckman has worked with Willard Grant Conspiracy on the albums Regard the End (2003) and Let It Roll, as well as with The Bambi Molesters. Eckman is also a member of the trio Dirtmusic along with Chris Brokaw and Hugo Race and he has worked with the band Tamikrest from Mali. These two acts toured Europe as a double bill in the spring of 2010. Eckman has worked with Tosca on projects including the song "John Lee Huber", and with Rupert Huber of Tosca] on the album L/O/N/G.
Terri Moeller has formed The Beltanes with Eric Alton, formerly of X-15, releasing one cassette EP, entitled Love Punks (1990), and The Transmissionary Six with Paul Austin, formerly of Willard Grant Conspiracy. She released a solo CD under the pseudonym Terri Tarantula in 2010.
Band members
Name | Playing | Member period |
---|---|---|
Chris Eckman | 1984–2015 | |
Carla Torgerson | Vocals, guitar | 1984–2015 |
Michael Wells | Bass guitar | 1985–1996; 2003–2015 |
Glenn Slater | Keyboards , piano
|
1989–2015 |
Terri Moeller | percussion
|
1991–1999; 2001–2015 |
Paul Austin | Guitar | 2011–2015 |
Grant Eckman | Drums, percussion | 1984–1991 |
Curt Eckman | Bass | 1984–1985 |
Bruce Wirth | Violin, lap steel, mandolin, vibes | 1991–1994 |
John Baker Saunders | Bass guitar | 1996–1999; his death |
Fred Chalenor | Bass guitar | 1999; died 2018 |
Joe Skyward | Bass guitar | 2000–2002; died 2016 |
Brian Young | Drums | 2000 |
Timeline
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/7yoizjf9b6rbv07kejksolx611pjn83.png)
Discography
EPs
- 22 Disasters (1985 - Necessity Records - produced by Terry Date & the Walkabouts)
- Rag & Bone (1990 - Sub Pop - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts)
- Slow Days With Nina (2003 - Shingle Street Records) - tribute to Nina Simone
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak positions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SWE [5] |
BEL (FL) [6] |
NOR [7] |
GER [8] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens |
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Cataract |
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scavenger
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New West Motel |
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Satisfied Mind |
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Setting the Woods on Fire |
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Devil's Road |
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41 | — | — | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nighttown |
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— | 46 | 37 | 75 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trail of Stars |
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— | — | 30 | 61 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Train Leaves at Eight |
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ended Up a Stranger |
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— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acetylene |
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— | — | — | 87 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Travels in the Dustland |
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— | 92 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Compilations
- Death Valley Days: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1985–1995 (1996 – Glitterhouse) – Rare or previously unreleased songs 1985–1995
- Watermarks: Selected Songs, 1991 to 2002 (2002 – Innerstate) – An anthology featuring the best of the Walkabouts from their Sub Pop, Glitterhouse, and Virgin releases 1991-2002
- Drunken Soundtracks: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1995–2001 (2002 – Glitterhouse) – Rare or previously unreleased songs 1995–2001, 2-CDs set
- Shimmers (2003 – Glitterhouse) – An anthology featuring the best of the Walkabouts from their Sub Pop, Glitterhouse and Virgin releases 1993-2001
- Got No Chains / The Songs of The Walkabouts (2009 – Glitterhouse) – Remastered versions of 15 Walkabouts songs + those same 15 songs performed by others - a tribute disc - 2-CDs set
DVDs
- Life: The Movie Collected Films & Clips (2012 - Glitterhouse) - Contains "Live in Prague" video (same concert as in Prague bootleg), "Tracking The Walkabouts", a 40-minute "on-the-road" documentary, "Walkie Talkie", 40 minutes of interview footage and all 9 official video clips
Singles
Year of Release | Title | Comment |
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1987 | "Linda Evans" / "Cyclone" | Necessity Records - produced by Bruce Calder, Tony Kroes & the Walkabouts |
1991 | "Where the Deep Water Goes" | |
1992 | "Dead Man Rise" | |
1993 | "Jack Candy" | |
1993 | "Your Hope Shines" | |
1994 | "Good Luck Morning" | |
1996 | "The Light Will Stay On" | |
1996 | "All for This" | |
1997 | 'Lift Your Burdens Up' | Not officially released |
1997 | 'Immaculate' | Not officially released |
1999 | "Drown" | |
2005 | "Devil in the Details" | Adopted by Jack Wolfskin for advertising |
Official bootlegs
List of official bootlegs (sold at concerts) and mailorder only releases (released on the German label Glitterhouse Records).
Year of Release | Title | Comment |
---|---|---|
1995 | To Hell and Back - Live in Europe | mailorder only (GRCD 356) |
1997 | Mystery Mountain Chronicles | official bootleg |
1999 | Airmail | official bootleg |
2000 | Bruxelles w/ the Nighttown Orchestra | mailorder only (GRCD 505) |
2002 | I'm Sorry | official bootleg |
2003 | Emona | From the Italian music magazine, "Mucchio Extra" |
2005 | No You Won't | official bootleg |
2007 | Prague | mailorder only (GRCD 669) |
2012 | Reuters - Live 1996 & 2006 | official bootleg |
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
- ^ "DustWeb". The Walkabouts. 2011-10-21. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ a b The Stopping-Off Place: Unofficial Site for the Walkabouts Archived 2007-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Chris Eckman's Facebook page". Facebook. 2015-01-04. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^ "walkabouts discography". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Discografie Walkabouts" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "walkabouts discography [NO]". Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Discographie von Walkabouts". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)