Today we’d like to introduce you to Nigel Walsh.
Nigel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began my journey in the world of music by taking piano lessons at age 9. My mom wanted to find something extracurricular to help occupy my time. Unlike other after-school activities (karate, etc.), I took right to it and began writing songs almost immediately. Nothing special at first – just little experiments. After a few years, I learned the theory and building blocks of what it takes to make a song, and how to make it interesting and engaging; how to establish and call back to a theme for emotional impact, how and why to write a “Bridge” section of a song that never repeats, writing “too much” or “too little,” and experimenting in different genres, rhythms, and styles.
All of my piano teacher’s students had recitals once or twice a year, and I started playing my own songs at those. Between not having much choice in enjoying it, and enough people responding to the songs, it convinced me to keep doing it.
I worked my ass off, playing more shows, writing more songs, and collaborating with more people than I’ll ever remember from 2001 through to now. I played keyboards in Reggae bands, wrote Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, Orchestral, and other genres of music, made joke records in my bedroom with my friends, started “singing” and songwriting as a frontman in a band that asked me to join when I had no idea what to do, tried to learn about any keyboard I could get my hands on, and dabbled in playing other instruments to understand their role in an ensemble. That was all until 2008 or so. I graduated from LA Recording School in 2008 and returned home to San Luis Obispo County shortly after, thinking I’d mostly be a recording engineer on other people’s projects.
After playing in all of these past bands and writing, recording, and performing in several genres, I discovered Bob Dylan, and it changed my life forever. I’d never heard anyone write songs that penetrated that deep in the psyche and made absolute sense to me before. It may be a cliché at this point, but he expanded the idea of what a song could contain so vastly that nothing else ever made nearly the impact on me. The diversity of subject matter; the freedom of thought…he just blew my mind wide open. He was weird, funny, dry, stern, resistant, and pliable all at the same time. I loved that he’d established that space for absolute freedom. I put down piano, picked up guitar and that more traditional, American style of songwriting, and haven’t deviated since. Other than Reggae band, “Rian Basilio & The Roosters,” a short-lived Latin/Funk/Soul band “KNMW,” and Roots Reggae cover band “Horsemouth” with friends, I never performed in a band as a side-man again. Now I only play in my own band, and have written around 160 songs for this project. God, I’ve played in a lot of bands.
I could go on and on and just bore you to tears and fill this page up with a wall of text. Put simply, I directed an immense amount of energy in a shotgun approach of learning and doing as much as possible in the confines of the art form, whether it was playing, putting on shows, helping people make their records, listening to enough music to establish an internal database of modern Western music history, writing hundreds of songs,
I made a lot of friends with anyone who had even a remotely similar interest, or was just good company. I pride myself on my assessment of people’s character, and am very proud of the character of the people in my current band. You’ve got to work with people that you enjoy being around, and who share your values and beliefs.
I believe in staring straight at humanity’s self-deception, and being willing to not flinch, or to flinch and be crushed – destroyed – by its vastness. I believe in honestly assessing your capabilities and weaknesses, and – when songwriting – your true emotions (not only the superficial ones that we can casually skim the surface of), and owning up to your own beautiful frailty in a staggering, powerful world that is mostly beyond your control.
Human beings are strange, multifaceted creatures full of power, cunning, perversion, tenderness, compassion, cruelty and beautiful ideals. Lots of other things, too. I believe in exploring it all. That’s what got me here.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, God no. I’ve been in the dark night of the soul, struggling with finding meaning and a future in music for years at a time. I’ve been homeless and living in my car, still learning an instrument, writing, and recording.
You get cheated, taken off bills at shows because someone else played too long that night, you bomb a performance that’s important to you, forget lyrics, get too stoned to put out the records that you make, form bands with unreliable people and drug addicts that never go anywhere, get constantly rejected by venues, labels, and management professionals, have your gear stolen, end up living in places that ought to be condemned because it’s all you can afford and you have no ambition or marketable skills to get a decent job with…blah, blah, blah. Not all of these things have happened to me, but enough have. I’d rather not talk about too much of it because there’s so much that is fucked up about it.
At the end of the day, though, it’s the only thing I have great ability at that doesn’t drive me completely insane doing it all the time, so it’s working out alright. I’m a stubborn bastard, and that stubbornness has out-performed the pitfalls so far.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I write, record, and perform American Roots music with my band. Anything from Southern & Heartland Rock to Folk, Blues, Country, Punk, and anything else we desire from the American musical tradition.
I’m most proud of the band that brings my song catalog to life. They are 3 of the most dedicated, hardworking, and kindest people I’ve ever met.
I’m proud that we recorded 28 songs in 17 days with nearly no budget, and with the band not having heard half of the songs before, writing their parts on the spot. I’m proud that we’re about to perform our 100th show soon.
What sets us apart: I have an unconventional view of the world that’s influenced by learning tons of history, and reading old poetry, philosophy, and psychology that is expressed in my songwriting, coupled with a dark sense of humor.
That, along with our freewheeling attitude onstage that only happens when members have played together through decades and shared life for more years than they haven’t, coupled with intense musicianship, and a variety of genres that don’t fit together on paper, but always make sense by the end of your drunken night. We also often improvise sections, extended arrangements, and entire songs live onstage.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Stubbornness, easily. You could call it persistence, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://nigelwalsh.com/
- Phone: 805-540-4295
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nigelwalshmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nigelwalshmusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NigelWalshMusic
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/nigelwalshmusic
Image Credit:
Sara Hamilton
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