Howdy folks. Welcome to the Van Walker web page, brought to you by my good mate Adam Gibson.
I can’t thank you beautiful people enough for your ongoing faith, passion, and support. It means the world to me, and every time you buy one of my albums, especially for a friend, you enlarge that circle of support no end. So, GRASSY ARSE. And remember, you can also sponsor me via Patreon and get monthly private content (songs, poems, pictures) for as little as the cost of a coffee a month, so step behind the creative curtain, through this link:
Van Walker | creating music and artwork | Patreon
2023′s been class. Tassie in January was a hoot ~ Thanks everyone!
JAN Sun 29 – Mona
As was WA in March – Cheers!
MAR Wed 1 – Clancy’s, Freo
MAR Thur 2 – 459 Rosemount Hotel, Perth
MAR Fri, Sat, Sun 3, 4, 5 Nannup Music Festival
Deadly run of shows through Ireland and Scotland last year w/t The Ferriters trio. Another big thanks to everyone who came out and shared the experience. Looks like we’ll be back very soon….(details to come)
Sat 20/8 - McChuill’s, Glasgow
The new album Greetings from Newtown Geelong was officially launched the weekend before we departed and is now available on bandcamp, at all good record stores and of course all live performances.
Best way is to contact me here and I’ll post it (and sign it, if you want)
CD’s/VINYL/T-SHIRTS/STICKERS
Below is the bandcamp link:
Greetings from Newtown Geelong | Van Walker & The Ferriters | Van Walker (bandcamp.com)
Here’s some initial press from the good people at Unpaved & Post to Wire:
Artist Q & A: Van Walker’s ships are coming in – www.unpaved.com.au
LISTEN TO THE ROLLING, TUMBLING NEW SINGLE FROM VAN WALKER & THE FERRITERS | POST TO WIRE
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Goes without saying these last few years have been a shitfight for most people (does seem somewhat petulant to complain about two years of relatively inconvenient restricted freedoms when just down the road some people have been locked in a hotel room for nine years…) But forget about one day getting ‘back to normal’. Maybe we should consider this pandemic as a 100 year given and/or a consequence of the way we been living, and see this as a chance to really reconsider how best we could be living in the future, if we really wanna live our ‘best lives’ (to use the parlance of the times).
After releasing a veritable glut of solo albums between 2008 and 2010 (trying to catch up to myself) I was so sick of myself I spent the next few years releasing albums with my bands: The Swedish Magazines (Wino Havoc, 2011) Livingstone Daisies (Don’t Know What Happiness Is, 2013, & Waiting on the Last Minute, 2014) and Heartbrokers (Vol 10, 2015). And others recorded but not released.
My last solo album Ghosting started tentatively back in 2015, but it wasn’t until 2017 that I finally got it finished and over the line with considerable help and effort, and the national tour booked for the lead single was set for release March 18 2020…
Aaaand computer said no.
The tour, the flights, acomm, promo, publicity, all gone.
Since then it’s been cancellation after cancellation, ducking, diving, constant and continual adaptation, and living in an even more precarious world than an Australian artist is even used to at the best of times. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s gone from the sublime to the fucking ridiculous, trying to book shows, then having to cancel them, then rebook them. It’s been beyond trying, it’s been almost impossible.
The thing is, one cannot simply rebook or reschedule a gig. That date is gone forever, as is the potential income. The reality is the artist has had to book the show and rehearse it and advertise it and do all the rest of the work that goes on behind the scenes (which is at least 50% of the work, the other 50% of which is the gig you see live) twice. So for the last couple of years we have been doing twice the work, without anywhere near the payment of half of it.
I have no beef with the state government. We knew we were locking down for the greater good, the elderly and our most vulnerable. But the arts copped it. And it’s been tougher than anything we’ve ever experienced. And there wont be any fundraisers for us. I have nothing but contempt for the federal Government. Always have, but after all this, if their incompetence, self-interest and corruption isn’t as blindingly obvious to everyone else as it has been to us all along, then you are willfully closing your eyes.
Fortunately, and thankfully, I got out of dodge just in the nick of time, for reasons other than any of this, and ended up on the coast, where things were a little quieter, and a change of backdrop was just what the doctor ordered. I hung with some new people and enjoyed blending into a new crowd and taking it a little less seriously for awhile, reconnecting with the initial reasons I became a musician, and re-energising with my new crew of loving and enthusiastic troubadours.
The results is a new album, Greetings from Newtown Geelong, which will be out this year, and I hope you get along to a gig by my new (for me, at least!) group, The Ferriters (named after the Irish folk hero Pearce Ferriter… more of that later).
Ghosting never even got a launch or a tour, but I sincerely thank you for supporting the album in what ever capacity you could. And of course, that goes for my work past and present. I appreciate it greatly.
The album was well received, even considering the lack of live promotion, which I was beyond buoyed by, considering the difficult nature of its conception. But more than sales and press, it’s success was proven by all the personal messages I received claiming it had actually helped a few people through their own personal experiences, be it the pandemic or just in general, and it was the personal feedback that convinced me this very difficult album was well worth it after all.
So thank you!
To purchase any of my albums, message me here and I’ll drop one in the post.
“Hauntingly beautiful.” ~ What’s My Scene Magazine
“A stunning musical narrative.” ~ Rhythms Magazine
“One if not the best Australian releases this year.” ~ Amigo Williams, Made in the Shade, Sunbury Radio, 99.3 FM
“Masterful… riveting… a truly immersive and moving musical experience.” ~ 5 Stars, City Hub Sydney
RHYTHMS Readers Poll Album of the Year 2020 2nd Place
Music Victoria Award Country Album of the Year 2020 Shortlist
“Ghosting has been a part of my life for the last few months. It’s been a shitty kind of year one way and another, and music really helps me through, as it always has. And Ghosting has moved me as much as anything I’ve heard this year and I just wanted to tell you as much, and say bloody good on you – it’s a brave and tough piece of work and I’ve gotta say I admire your courage.” ~ Alec Morton
And thanks again for the ongoing support.
Stay heavy,
