About Walt & Music:
I have been fascinated with music my whole life, primarily composition. I write for myself and perform occasionally. Once in a while, I am asked to write something for someone/something else. I am able, at least sometimes, to write for an occasion, or write to spec.
the Alma Mater for Dowling College
In 2007, I co-wrote the Alma Mater for Dowling College with Olivia Marie, We Stand Taller. I definitely wanted something along the lines of Pomp and Circumstance. Lyrically, I wanted something that was truthful and positive, but not over-the-top. I think the song evokes both a well-deserved sense of accomplishment without getting sappy.
"Writing a song is like catching a fish. You never know what you’re going to get."
Third place in the 2007 Dallas Songwriters Association annual competition (Pop/rock category)
A year earlier, my friend Dave challenged me to write a pop-rock song for the song market. He had me listen to a few Jewel and Avril Lavene CDs, which I liked. I don’t normally listen to that stuff, but it had some powerful hooks. I got a sense of what I would like to hear them sing and wrote Beautiful. I recorded the song with Dave and entered it in the 2007 Dallas Songwriters Association - annual Songwriters Competition. Beautiful placed third in the pop-rock category and is on my second CD, 14 Fish, 2 Bottles & a Shoe.
FROJ: It sounds better than it sounds
I think my music is pretty eclectic. I call it "FROJ" – folk, reggae, opera and jazz. It sounds better than it sounds. I love odd chords. I used to be into theory, but now I just listen and write down what comes up.
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Island Songwriters Showcase
The Island Songwriters Showcase has been really important and helpful to my writing. I joined back in 1995 when I was writing and recording my first CD, Songs of Dunder. I’ve hung in there, gotten a lot of good advice and encouragement over the years. The 2nd CD in 2006 is much more representative of what I can do with just a guitar and mic. I certainly could not have written those songs without the ISS.
From Reggae to Opera (and back to Folk)
I performed for many years with Opera Pro Voce as a baritone. I want to especially acknowledge the memory of my beloved voice teacher and friend, Gloria Hilborn.. Gloria was not only a wonderful teacher and a dear friend, but remains an inspiration and loving presence in my life. I will treasure my memories of her always.
WRPI and music school
I studied music theory at SUNY Fredonia and electronic music with Barton McLean and David Tudor at iEar studios/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I also got quite an education at WRPI, the college radio station. Specifically, I got audition about a hundred CDs per week from unknown artists around the country and around the world. Through that, I gained a bit of persepective on how the music industry views original artists very differently than the artists see themselves.
Tooly Look – Gone Tribe – Reggaematics
Artists and friends I have worked with along the way include the Gone Tribe, the Reggaematics, Tooly Look, Smokestack Lightning, Angels In Overdrive, the Scoundrels and the Blue Unknown.
I have written, or co-written, songs for a couple of Gone Tribe CDs. In 1995, producer Doug Morrow told me he was producing a blues project called the HOBO Project and had created a cast of Hobo characters with storylines, or backstories. He asked if I would like to write a song and I said sure. Since the CD was going to be blues, I decided to write an up-tempo, happy song, called This is the Good Life. It features some of the characters and romanticized the life of a hobo, which was very much in the spirit of the project.
Tooly Look – No doubt there are at least a half dozen people who remember this obscure band I co-founded way back when. We have recordings that will hopefully be transferred to digital someday.
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