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WALTER ROSE
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Albums
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SHOWS
- See Walter Rose LiveSeptember 21st at the Tradewinds Bar in Cotati, CA at 9:30pm (solo)
September 22nd at Smiley's in Bolinas, CA at 9:30pm (solo)September 26th at Molly Malones in Los Angeles, CA at 10pm (full band)
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ABOUT
- Walter Rose Debut LP
Warmth is the feeling you’re hit with as soon as you’ve pressed play on the debut Walter Rose album.
American Songwriter Magazine wrote that Rose’s previous EP sounded “as if it could have been released in 1975.” This carries over to Cast Your Stone, not only in the closeness of Rose’s voice and confessional lyric style, but also in the overall sonic experience. The record sounds the way that records sounded when they were made to live on your shelf and age like family heirlooms. Rose’s dusty, weathered, but assured voice is perfectly suited to songs that American Songwriter went on to describe as “melodic novellas of road trips through broken-down desert towns” and “the kind of stories that bring to mind tumbleweeds blowing through old Clint Eastwood movies.”
Cast Your Stone actually amps up the production style that Rose began to define on his self-released EP. The songs from that release were produced by Rose himself, but it was upon meeting and beginning to work with Grammy-winning producer Eric Liljestrand that Rose decided to re-record that material and flesh out another five songs to arrive at the finished Cast Your Stone album. Getting to this point wasn’t even a glimmer in Rose’s eye a short time ago, though. In fact, Rose’s entry into the world of songwriting wasn’t one of those “I was born to do this” stories. It is, unfortunately, one of those “I’ll die if I don’t do this” stories.
The cathartic qualities of Rose’s songs come hard fought, colored with his reality. Rose underwent two brain surgeries in his late teens, losing part of the vision in one eye, and suffering seizures for a time as a result of the procedures. He recovered, and upon graduating college in California, returned to his home state of Hawaii to begin a settled life working as a high school teacher dealing with special needs children. Then, two years into a serious relationship, Rose was dealt another difficult life lesson when his girlfriend was involved in a serious motorcycle accident while on a yoga retreat in India. She died from her injuries.
“As you can imagine, it was a dreadful time in my life,” Rose says. “I used songwriting as an outlet. I wouldn’t say that it was the subject of my songs but it was somehow a catalyst to start writing seriously.” Dissatisfied with his career path, Rose began to play live in Honolulu’s Chinatown district while working on his songwriting and guitar playing. Coming back to California for Christmas, Rose played his songs for a friend who encouraged him to record them. Another childhood friend passed along the number of a recording engineer who happened to have spent time living in a Hawaii. The engineer recognized the Hawaiian area code in Rose’s cell phone number and took the call. Stacking the tracks to one-inch tape, Rose finished the EP and sent it off to American Songwriter. The magazine responded in kind.
“The recording was rough, we mixed it ourselves, and it was unmastered,” remembers Rose. “But the songs came through. I knew at that point, if I was really going to make a go of this, I needed to work with an accomplished producer.” It was around this time that Rose heard the Lucinda Williams album Little Honey for the first time. He fell in love with the record and its sound. Noting the album was produced by Liljestrand, Rose set about contacting him and a working relationship was forged soon after. The only problem was that Rose had yet to put together a solid backing band.
After brainstorming some names without a match, Liljestrand suggested that he might be able to get Williams’s band on the record. “I knew I’d be a fool to say no to that,” exclaims Rose. “This was my dream band.” The team was finalized with Liljestrand at the helm, both producing and playing guitar. Members of Williams’s band that appear on Cast Your Stone include Doug Pettibone (who has also toured with Ray Lamontange and Marianne Faithfull) on Guitar, David Sutton (tour stints with Tracy Chapman and Ben Harper) on Bass, and Butch Norton (original drummer of The Eels) on Drums. Rose also welcomed Eric Heywood (an original member of Son Volt and Grammy-winner with Lamontange) on Steel.
Williams herself appears on the track “Driving South” to duet with Rose. “On the last day of tracking, there was a knock at the studio door. I pulled it open to see Lucinda and I just said ‘Well, Goddamn!’ It's not every day you open a door and see someone like Lucinda on the other side.” It’s a celebratory high point in a chapter for Rose that almost never had a beginning and is actually still being written. In fact, Rose’s life as a songwriter is something that even he has yet to fully grasp. “I’m still trying to figure it out and I don’t think it’s wise to dissect it too much,” he says.
Walter Rose’s debut album Cast Your Stone will be released on January 17th, 2012.
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PRESS
- Featured Press
There aren’t many voices out there that are fair or worthy companions to the singular, sultry and smokey groan of Lucinda Williams. The California-dwelling Walter Rose released Cast Your Stone last month, and while it’s a solid album to be sure, it’s tough to deny the magic this song has. Want proof of said magic? As the hypnotic song nears its end, watch your finger veer ever closer to your repeat button, or to your mouse in order to click “play” again. It’s magic, don’t fight it. let it do what it does.
As great as the grit of Williams and the rasp of Rose’s vocals are together, the aforementioned hypnotic nature of the tune may be most attributed to the resplendent steel work of Eric Heywood, an accomplished vet in his own right.
OK, OK, enough chit-chat, I know. Let’s just get to it, right? well, get to clicking below and let the magic happen.
Kelly Dearmore
Over the last 25 years or so, the term country music became something of a joke for those who searched a little deeper for the music they listen to. Somewhere after the movie Urban Cowboy, country music became less about telling the story of the common man and more a commodity being sold to the masses at your local Wal-Mart. Recently, we have seen a shift in country music towards what made the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Loretta Lynn icons in American culture. Movies like Walk the Line and Crazy Heart along with acts like The Avett Brothers, Wilco, and Those Darlins embracing their country leanings has led to a younger audience of fans open to seeing someone live wearing a Nudie Suit, Stetson Hat, or Wranglers and playing a steel guitar or having a little twang in their voice. In comes Walter Rose.Hailing from Carmel, CA, Walter Rose is creating in his own words, “melodic novellas of road trips trough broken-down desert towns” and the kind of stories that bring to mind tumbleweeds blowing through old Client Eastwood movies.” We are fortunate to have the first taste of his debut album Cast Your Stone. The song is titled Driving South and features the excellent Lucinda Williams. It is a beautifully subdued number with tiny cracks of honesty in every lyric sung. The perfect musical companion for a road trip of self-discovery.-My Old Kentucky Blog"...Rose also has a terrifically unique voice, a cracked whisper that suggests Don Henley answering his phone at 3 a.m. On harrowing highlight “Driving South” he invites Lucinda Williams, whose band backs him throughout, to match his weary tone. They sing together about hope, the kind you have to scrub off a layer of grit to see shining."M Music & Musicians magazineWalter Rose Shines
California singer-songwriter brings back classic country sound with debut album.
Jan. 17 marked the release of Carmel, California-based country musician Walter Rose's first full-length album. Rose is not yet well-known in the music industry, but with the release of "Cast Your Stone," that is sure to change.Rose has already been praised by the likes of "My Old Kentucky Blog," which says of the debut track, "Driving South," that "It is a beautifully subdued number with tiny cracks of honesty in every lyric sung."
In "Driving South," Rose country and western living legend Lucinda Williams accompanies Rose. Williams is known throughout the country world and the Austin community for her deeply personal and emotional performances. After listening to this collaboration, it would come as no surprise that this track is no exception. "It's not every day you open the door and see someone like Lucinda Williams on the other side," says Rose of his opportunity to work with Williams, whose hit album "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" garnered a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
It's easy for radio to allow us to believe that such artists as Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson are considered "country musicians," but once upon a time we listened to Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette. Rose takes us back to that time. Even those who are not fans of country music cannot help but be affected by Rose's raw and unabashed emotion.
Listening to "Driving South", you almost get the feel of being in a dark bar with a cigarette billowing in an ash tray and a glass of bourbon sitting next to the artist. Rose's gritty and hardened voice coupled with Williams' soulful and sultry tone is what true country music is all about.
Steel guitarist, Eric Heywood, former member of Son Volt and Alejandro Escovedo's band, won a Grammy with Ray LaMontagne in 2008 is also featured. Heywood's strings tend to drip with soul and tell a story all their own.
Other tracks worth mentioning on "Cast Your Stone" are "Better Days," which is an alternate, happy ending to Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", and "Black Crow," a blues number that has you swaying your head and tapping your toes from the very first note.
Rose's album is available for immediate download from his Bandcamp website. No news of a possible tour is available as of yet, but one thing's for sure, the saddest country song could be written about missing his show when he comes.
Aaron Davis
Walter Rose - Cast Your Stone
I love this album. Its gentle sincerity. The delicacy used with each instrument like a passing conversation. The words flow through our conscious like that morning coffee, bringing you back to life. The mixture of alt-country and folk rock is a perfect blend, and the fact that Walter Rose leans more towards the alt-country without being encumbered with the style is what sets this album apart.
I didn’t care much for the album at first. Let’s be honest here. If it were not for the slight nods to The Grateful Dead, “When You Were Mine” would sound like something John Maher would try to craft.Don’t let that scare you off because everything after is a dream. “Dusty Road” is that road-wary gem that cry of Texarkana love serenade through codeine-drip descriptives that run against Rose’s salty throat. This is the beginning of an incredible piece of work for the California singer/songwriter.Rose teamed up with Lucinda Williams and her band. What results is a beautiful collaboration between the two. Williams collaborates with Rose on “Driving South,” and is one of the best things Williams has done, creating something so painfully sincere and geographical and personally relevant. Her voice matched with his fits so well together, you feel that you just stumbled on one of the greatest lost Country classics. And to top it off, the crying plea of the slide guitar sends you over the edge and into an experience like no other. You can thank Eric Haywood (original member of Son Volt) for the sentiment.“Black Crow” is electrified with surges of blues and deeply driven back bar rock and roll. It’s a song that could be nested in an Alejandro Escovedo album. And when Rose backs away and the song drifts off into the band, you will experience a jam that is so essential, you will pay attention.“Long Winter” takes from the truck driver rock from the ‘70s and adds variety to an otherwise well consistent album. The song is like a spark that fires up before the embers burn down. But with the title track, it’s a fine departure that I feel justifies the entirety of this album. Cast Your Stone is an incredible and thought-out piece of music that should be recognized for its greatness.Andrew Duncan
Walter Rose
CAST YOUR STONE - (SELF-RELEASED) - In contemporary American culture, being over 30 is rarely looked upon as a positive. The Country and Blues music genres might be two exceptions. Going into the blows and challenges through which Walter Rose has lived would cheapen this report. But it seems safe to say that all the living Rose has done in his 30-something years has apparently not been for naught. The tasteful Alt-Country sounds on this debut glow with quiet emotion and maturity; attributes that generally append to old soul/younger-body types, and to artists who’ve been on the planet for some time. Rose’s music feels like it’s been weaned on tradition, and has a intimate relationship with Folk. Case Your Stone sparkles with electric and pedal steel guitar footnotes and punctuation. I like the guitar interplay, and the conversations between guitars and vocals. I like the fact that Rose is emerging. He has enough stories for his dusky, laid back vocals (imagine a more laid back Bob Seger) to haunt the edges of our consciousness for years to come.
Mary Leary
No need to cast stones at Walter Rose's latest album
By Collin Howard | The Latern
Walter Rose's debut album, "Cast Your Stone" is sure to hit every mood from cruising with the top down to fulfilling your rainy day blues. His raspy, whiskey-bitten voice hisses through 11 songs, sending listeners on a very satisfying musical journey.
The album is a great throwback to folk rock with twang, simple solos, and fingerpicking that makes one feel like they are on a trip back to the 1960s. He adds rock instrumentation that blends nicely with the vocals and acoustics featured throughout the album.
Songs such as "Black Crow" and "Head for the Hills" are the highlights of the album. They follow suit with the rest of the album, but both featured aspects unique enough to stand out.
"Black Crow" is a slow, folky rock song that features Rose lightly singing over top of a heavy guitar riff and steady beat. With lyrics such as, "This old lonely road always felt like home," the song is eerily haunting when combined with the painful melodies backing him. The highlight of the song is when Rose steps away from the microphone to let the steel guitar scream out from over top of the gentle piano and soloing guitar.
Upbeat songs are a bit limited on this album, but "Head for the Hills" definitely delivers. The song starts with an addictive acoustic strum which is replaced by an evenly stellar electric guitar featuring licks that you would find on a Jimi Hendrix album. The distortion plays back and forth with the acoustic undertones eventually succumbing to its rhythm.
This is an impressive debut album from a rare musician. His voice never hits that climactic point in any song, but it still leaves us with a very satisfying and emotionally charged performance. This album is an outstanding kick to Rose's career and an effort that I see sticking around for quite a while.
Grade: A+
Walter Rose, Can We Wait For The `Cast Your Stone` January Release?The blueprint for a soul searching road-trip or a blissful Country-Blues ballad, California based singer-songwriter Walter Rose is on the verge of releasing a truly brilliant debut album. Tentative and plodding percussion emphasizes the classic slide guitar sound, allowing Walter`s harsh yet vulnerable vocal to portray it`s emotional content. An eleven track affair, Cast Your Stone is lyrically very personal – memories are almost documented through the creative challenge of each track. Already on heavy rotation, this album is recommended for post-stress relaxation or some good old fashioned romantic reflection!!.. Modern Country or Alt-Country if you like, has indeed become the new staple diet for all things filed under Americana – A blistering testament to the rare talent of musicians like Walter Rose who successfully experiment with traditional song building and real life scenarios.
Mojophenia.comWalter Rose’s new eponymous EP swells with enough warm, smoky ambiance to bring tears to the eyes of a hardened convict. Rose’s songs are melodic novellas of road trips through broken-down desert towns, the kind of stories that bring to mind tumbleweeds blowing through old Clint Eastwood movies. In fact, the entire recording sounds as if it could have been released in 1975, the sort of thing that might come crackling out of a road house jukebox in Barstow. Its flat, analog spectrum lends plenty of warmth to the nooks and crannies of Rose’s weathered delivery while showcasing the subtle dexterity of his backing musicians. There is no sparkle or fairy dust here; just long, open stretches of lonely highway winding into purple sunsets and swells of pedal steel, the perfect setting for Rose’s endless journeys in search of home.American Songwriter Magazine - David MeadWalter Rose is a young musical talent from California with an EP recorded a few months ago and published by 4th Street Records. This EP is a little jewel for those who love bright ballads with great guitar sound. Rose’s voice could remind you of Steve Forbert at the beginning of his career. He builds wonderful ballads with liquid guitar and pedal steel as you'll hear in songs like On My Mind and Driving South. It would be sufficient to hear a song like Black Crow, a key point of this record, to better understand what I mean. Rose comes from Carmel, California, a place described as beautiful by those who have been there. The EP was recorded with local musicians, with the exception of Kerry Johnson (pedal steel guitar), who Walter found thanks to a business card on the bulletin board of a guitar shop. Walter called Kerry asking him to play on the record and he accepted. This record is great and gives us the opportunity to see inborn qualities that we hope will be confirmed during this year. Rose has told us he’ll be releasing his first full length album which will included the songs from this EP.Marcello MatrangaBucadero Magazine 2010 (translated from Italian)
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AMIGOS
