Van Walker (solo) Van&Cal (duo) Van Walker & 3 Man Weave (featuring Cal Walker, Zane Lynd & Chris Altmann) Van Walker & The Celestial Railroad (featuring Zane, Chris & Cal, Greg Field, Jeb Cardwell, Johnno Wilson & Matt Green)
影響
Wine + Women = Song
風格近似
"Finger-picker, story-teller, Van Walker launches his bittersweet debut The Celestial Railroad.,, with songs varying from tales of paranoid spies and love-sick rabbits, to urban bandits and tram-hopping adventurers, Van is a young singer-songwriter of the old school, whose songs draw you into the heart of the matter, evoking a middle-ground between a gritty moral modernity and the mythical netherworld of the spirit." (WaterfrontRecords) ...............................................................................................................
"This really is one hell of a prolific record, with songwriting and delivery constructed to break the hearts of many in the Aussie Roots scene who have tried for years to express themselves in this manner." Nick Argyriou, RHYTHMS
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**** Four Stars, Jeff Glorfeld, The Age, Oct 24th, 2008
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"An effin' ripper talent." Jordie Lane
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"A truly great songwriter." Charles Jenkins
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"Noice eyes, noice face..." Liz Stringer
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HERE'S SOME PHOTOS FROM THE LAUNCH Fri 22 Aug RETREAT HOTEL. WE PLAYED A TWO & A QUARTER HOUR SET TO A FULL HOUSE LINED UP DOWN THE STREET!
"Like the best country records, at the heart of The Celestial Railroad lay a group of stories, some presumably autobiographical, others possibly metaphorical, but with a resonance that makes them relevant to all of us, regardless of the stage of life's journey we're currently on.... and a lyrical metaphor that would be right at home in the pages of a compendium of Australian poetry..."
Patrick Emery, Beat Magazine ...................................................................................................................
"Van Walker's songs are completely original and completely self-assured - there are 15 songs and about 100,000 words on this record, and not one of 'em out of place! Great picking, great singing, great songs, great record. One of the best things I've heard since Butch Hancock became a river guide!"
Alex @ The Last Record Store
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'Songwriting isn't so much something Van Walker does - it's more something that defines what he is. From the way he works at his guitar playing, the way he structures his performance, his records and his life in general - it all seems to be a means geared toward the end that is some sort of ideal of an illusive classic song. Already he has scraped far closer to this end than many could ever, or will ever hope to get. The only album you'll find with a better bunch of songs on it than this is his next one.' Mick Thomas
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PATRICK EMERY interviews VAN WALKER
P.E: When and where did you record the new album?
V.W: Jan 09 at Little Gold Studios in Brunswick.
P.E: How would you contrast this record with Celestial Railroad?
V.W: This record is sonically less ornate, and artistically less planned. Though it was intensely planned, just the Celestial Railroad was really intensely planned! Basically it’s just new songs, new stories, some different musicians, and a sparser, starker approach.
P.E: You play regularly with your elder brother Cal. Does Cal ever do the ‘big brother thing’ and tell you that you’re heading in the wrong direction?
V.W: I love Cal. But I'm bigger than him. He seems to be happy to follow along.
P.E: You’ve said that Melbourne musicians are very uncompetitive, generous and supportive. When you first immersed yourself in the Melbourne music scene, were you surprised at how supportive other musos were?
V.W: It took me a couple of years to find some musicians worth working with; people who wanted to work & not just talk about it. Then a couple more years to make a bigger network. Thing is, just because you know a great musician, doesn't mean they are right for the music you want to make. So it takes a lot time and sustained effort. But it’s truly a gift & a wonderful time to be a musician in this country & state. I’ve got a few friends whom I buy their albums. To buy your best mates album and truly love the music is a wonderful thing! Any night of the week you can go out in Melbourne and hear world class musicians. Being from Tassie I’m not blasé about that. There are many world class musicians in Tassie too but nowhere near the platform to perform. If you’re inspired rather than intimidated you can learn a lot in any aspect of life.
P.E: You say in the liner notes to the album that you weren’t expecting to necessarily release a solo album. What were your initial ambitions when you started writing the songs that ended up on Celestial Railroad and the new record?
V.W: I’ve got lyric books of thousands of songs & because I’m neurotic & scared I’ll forget them I write lists of potential albums all the time. New songs & old songs, so they come from all over the place. The only important thing is that the album has its right shape. Ipods are evil in this regard.
P.E: Your record is named after the shop on Smith Street. Do you think the humble record store has a future in the digital age?
V.W: I think they will go & it will be a mistake. Progress over sense. Boredom over patience.
P.E: Do you find a record store a place of solace?
V.W: I find good records a place of solace! But I don’t visit a lot of record stores because I never have any money & it’s like being hungry & watching someone cook a steak! But if you keep your ears open there’s music all around you.
P.E: To what extent are your songs personal? Do you use the vehicle of song to purge thoughts from your mind?
V.W: To write a song you must take something outside yourself & make it your own. You must also take something inside yourself & make it someone else's.
P.E: Do you expect that people will listen to your songs expecting to learn more about you the person?
V.W: That would be a mistake, I would think, but we all do it, to some degree. But we’re really only trying to learn something about ourselves. Yet we look outward because really we’re scared to learn anything about ourselves. You can only really learn about the artist while experiencing any form of art, but it's the artist within you that is responding to it. Anyone wanting to learn anything about me should introduce themselves, probably, and buy me a bloody drink! And the first thing they’ll learn is that I’m very grateful!
(laughter)
P.E: Long Time Hard Time Blues is written about a particularly slow computer you were using. Any chance you’ll license the song as part of a future Dell, Microsoft or Intel marketing campaign?
V.W: Unlikely.. Tho stranger things have happened. Apparently Jason Donovan still has a career, doing computer games, so who knows. If I see pink farmyard pigs flying helicopters I’ll be less surprised.
P.E: The Last Record Store sounds like it could have been written in the United States. Do you think you’ll make it to the US to play and tour?
V.W: It was written on a porch in Coburg while a dear friend asked me for a cigarette lighter for the zillionth time. If you mean my twang it’s just the music I listen to. The heart has no accent. I’d have to affect an Oka accent, which would feel fake. Strange thing, sincerity. Takes all forms. Everyone made fun of how I spoke when I was young so I don’t affiliate myself with any so-called natural sound. People who criticise that are totally missing the point & usually betraying a deeper bias on their own part . Just like with C.W Stoneking; sad sooks trying to blacken the whites of his eyes. Travel-wise, I don’t plan to visit the land of the free but I might; given half the chance. People have suggested I should. Everything to learn is right in front of us at any time, so I don’t feel like running off while there’s work to be done here. But I also feel I’m starting to get a bit of a travel bug like I’ve never had before. I’m heading to Europe for a while end of this year. But I’m just interested in building an audience. I’ll go where ever they are!
P.E: Do you consider yourself a professional musician? If so, what - if any - expectations does that bring with it?
V.W: Well, I am a professional musician & this is what I do, and will do whether I’m rich or poor, loved or hated or just plain ignored. I’ve learned to live off less, so a little is a lot to me. I don’t mind my economic state as long as my creative & spiritual state is ‘rich’. That’s the price I pay for it – quite a lot! But I don’t mind being (relatively) poor financially. They say money affords freedom, but I believe it can be a trap. It’s a distraction. And I don’t mind being relatively unknown. Do famous people know themselves any better? Or is that not the point? Everyone gets ‘discovered’ sooner or later, all I’m interested in is that what will be discovered is good.
P.E: What was your career aspiration before you started pursuing a life in music?
V.W: I’ve never had any career aspirations. Story-telling is extremely important and always has been throughout humanity, but it’s more of a condition than a career choice. Unless you’re mad.
P.E: So why should people attend the launch of your new album?
V.W: There’s a part in everyone that needs to sing. It’s crying out to sing with others, even when you can’t hear it over the noise of everyday blah.
P.E: What’s happening with the Swedish Magazines?
V.W: Been flat out busy recording other albums myself, and the band respectively all do other projects, but we’re mixing a new Swedes record as we speak. Should be ready by end of the year. And I’ll give you the hot tip, it’s roaring rocknroll. It’s gonna shock the shit out of those who think The Swedish Magazines came & went with the poxy so-called rocknroll revival.
P.E: If you could choose an era and/or artistic scene to be part of, what would it be?
V.W: This one right now in Melbourne.
P.E: Which person – friend, family, artistic icon, bloke sitting on a park bench muttering inanely – do you take most inspiration from?
V.W: Bob Dylan is the beginning & end of music as far as I’m concerned. But of course the history of recorded music is an enormous family of musicians to love & learn from. Artists like Fredrich Nietzsche & William Blake are constant inspirations. The song Born Posthumously is inspired by them. But really I learned a lot from my family, as we all do, a lot of what not to do, perhaps, but also how to revolt against external & inherent handy-caps.
P.E: What do you have planned for the future? Do you plan your future?
V.W: I guess simply to record more albums & build a bigger audience. I want to earn my audience, not have crowds hear today, deaf tomorrow cause something’s fashionable. I have done this by recording & performing & I’ll keep doing it. Looking a little way ahead is good for accomplishing goals, I suppose, but worrying about the future is like worrying about a breath you’re gonna breathe in a weeks time. Just like hanging on to the past is like worrying about past breaths. The only breath you gotta count on is the one you’re breathing right now. Sort that out & you're laughing.
(july16 2009)
Born & raised on the windswept prairies of north-west coast Tasmania, between lashings of hallucinogenic cheese & Magic Johnson, weened on William Blake & Ribald magazine, Van first heard the music of Bob Dylan around adolescence & began picking guitar & writing songs. Some hundreds of songs later and a hell-bent pick, he moved to Melbourne to form the rocknroll outfit The Swedish Magazines, and pick his unique hillbilly stuff on the side. Finally getting himself acquainted with the patience of a sozzled saint, an album of fifteen original songs was recorded (The Celestial Railroad, 2008) and now, quicker than a rat up a drainpipe, another.... The Last Record Store (2009) is ready to be released. Van has described The Last Record Store as his 'Walden', a mellow slice of Australian Grass Roots with the usual lyrical picture painting thru story-telling, plus all the close harmonies that adorn his tunes of misunderstood werewolves, bus driving pariahs, gentle bushrangers, homicidal drifters, lost dogs & odes to old slow computers. Audiences of his first album will be joined by many more with the launch of TheLastRecordStore & will see their opinions of this emerging talent justified.
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Hey Van, hope your well. Come along to this if you can. Tracey McNeil and Luke Sinclair are
gunna play a duo and the Bakersfield Glee Club will throw down a set
too. Should be a good day.
Hey Van, If you find yourself lost on High street - it's Tuesday evening - it's November....
ALEX HALLAHAN & BAND at the WESLEY ANNE Tuesdays in November with a revolving door of special guests each week:
Tuesday 3rd November + Anita George Tuesday 10th November + Lady Grey Tuesday 17th November + The Stillsons Tuesday 24th November + Fee Brown + Gen Finnane
Not me, not me-e, it ain't me anymore. I find myself singing along again on the balcony, having a last drag on a filthy Wee Willem and a gurgle of Listerine before unlocking the doors for another day at the pickle factory.
Wow, what a beautiful sight. When we arrived at the farm, the horses that were on the next lot were running down to the road to see us. It was pitch black and all we could see was these two silver stallions running together in unison. They both turned at exactly the same time. So calming. What an extremely wholesome experience it was! We may have also run over a frog...
It was quite a nice drive back. Almost fell asleep though. I am going to have to pull out of the GB on Saturday night as i have to pick my Ma up from the airport at 9.30.
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Smashing! Will be great to catch up if you make it down for a drink... Ah, I see you're visiting my home town Canberra - keep alert, they'll try fool you with large hand gestures. Enjoy the scenery. Al
