Current Members:
Jeremy Ackerman, Alex Ackerman, Emily Cahill, Tony Mogelson, Peter Robelia
with Kevin Riach and Dave Salmela.
Past Members:
Sara Vargas, Katie Kanwischer
with Brian Tester
Influences
Modern Lovers, Talking Heads, Big Star, the Go-Betweens, VU, John Cale, David Bowie, Eno, Television, Orange Juice, the Cars, Afro Pop, Neu!, Belle and Sebastian, Bob Dylan, The Raincoats, Elvis Costello, Yo La Tengo, The Bats, The Clash, Neutral Milk Hotel and Robyn Hitchcock.
Walker Kong was formed in the the spring of 1998 when Jeremy Ackerman called upon four musically untrained female friends to help perform a collection of simple pop songs he had written over the course of a long, hot New Mexico summer. Sounding like a cross between the Modern Lovers, Elvis Costello and the Shaggs, the band began a strange assent through the ranks of a Minneapolis music scene. During these early years there was a vital music community in the Twin Cities that shared a sense of purpose and encouraged many styles of music to coexist on the same stage. Minneapolis based groups of the time such as Smattering, Lifter Puller, Triangle, the Selby Tigers and Florida were all friends and inspirations to WK as they progressed into a more refined ensemble. The group quickly advanced through a series of electric live shows while putting out two well received ep's on their collective label "Smoke+Mirrors." These ep's signaled a turning point in the groups sound as they began to add an increasing number of members that helped the Walker Kong style to evolve. Bands like the Talking Heads, the Go-Betweens and Magnetic Fields became a source of inspiration during these growing years.
In 2000 Walker Kong hooked up with Portland based pop label "Magic Marker Records" and have since released two critically admired full length albums. Much to everybodies amazement, WK has just finished work on their latest full length which finds the group making ammends between their raw, high energy live show and their pursuit for produced/orchestrated studio recordings. The current album should be available by fall '06.
I still request putting Skyscraper and the Moon, as one of your playable songs lol. I believe it's still my most favorite song. RAWR btw, Ackerman! I decided to go into an art career =D
Valentine's Eve Show: Alameda plays Club Underground this Wed 2/13. We open at 8:30pm followed by Ruben, Mem Ghost, & Skinny Longfeet. We don't playout all that often so we're leaving messages on our favorite Peep's pages.
Just to let you know that you..ve made it into my favourite albums of the year (check my blog)- greetings from Germany, wishing you a happy Xmas and all the best for 2008 J
I am just writing to all of our myspace friends to say thanks for adding us! We offer discounts/bonuses to all of our myspace friends when they place an order, and also have a summer sale (up to 20% off) going on now through the end of August.
Online Now!
