Drew Walker is a Sacramento musician and live-sound engineer who has been a recurring presence in the city's experimental and DIY music scene, best known as a member of the experimental rock band Gentleman Surfer, as the house sound engineer at the Midtown venue Witch Room, and as the organizer of the venue's farewell event, Sac Go Home Fest.[1][2][3]
At a glance
- Member of Sacramento experimental rock quartet Gentleman Surfer; plays bass and shares vocal duties.[3][4]
- Was the sound engineer ("sound guy") at Midtown venue Witch Room.[2]
- Organized and recorded a live compilation from Sac Go Home Fest, the venue's closing event in December 2014.[2][1]
- Played in Chelsea Wolfe's early Sacramento backing band and the project The Death.[5]
- Runs his own project, DoofyDoo (also styled Doofy Doo).[2][1]
Role in the scene
Walker is described in Submerge coverage as a "talented local musician" and Witch Room's "beloved sound guy," combining performing and behind-the-board work in the Sacramento DIY scene.[2] In a tribute to longtime Harlow's soundman John Carlson, Walker (credited as a member of Gentleman Surfer) said Carlson had mentored his band, listened to their music and gave advice, and "helped engender a deep respect for artists of audio craft"—reflecting Walker's own identity as a sound engineer.[6]
Walker has described his artistic philosophy as deliberately anti-commercial. According to a 2015 Sacramento News & Review profile, Walker said: "It's not a moneymaking endeavor. … It has nothing to do with conforming to expectations," adding that his work is "weird and off-putting, but the people that I respect seem to get it."[7]
Bands and projects
- The Death / Chelsea Wolfe's band: On Chelsea Wolfe's 2010 album The Grime and the Glow, Walker played parts alongside Kevin Dockter and Addison Quarles—a trio collectively known as The Death—and the group came together to form Wolfe's band. Wolfe, Dockter, Walker, Quarles and Ben C. planned to record a five-song EP in a studio in June 2010.[5]
- Gentleman Surfer: Walker is a member of the Sacramento experimental band Gentleman Surfer, where he plays bass and shares vocal duties.[4] The band's 2016 instrumental album Reanimate Ore featured Jon Bafus, Drew Walker, Barry McDaniel and Zack Bissell; they held an album-release show at The Red Museum in Sacramento on Nov. 12, 2016.[3] The band, which had been active for years prior, released the album Blalks in 2013, on which Walker is credited with writing the lyrics for the track "Cry Catastrophe."[4] According to a Sacramento News & Review review, the band's sound has been described as "a cross between Deerhoof, Mr. Bungle and John Zorn," incorporating progressive rock and jazz elements with odd time signatures and complex song structures.[8]
- DoofyDoo: Walker's own project, which performed at Sac Go Home Fest in December 2014 and appears on the festival's live compilation.[2][1] In late 2015, Walker undertook an 18-city West Coast tour under the DoofyDoo name—performing in galleries, basements, and atypical venues—creating location-specific music that incorporated audio samples addressing each city's local issues. He called the project "The Tourist."[7]
Witch Room and Sac Go Home Fest
Walker was the sound engineer at Witch Room, the short-lived Midtown venue (formerly Bows and Arrows) that announced its closure at the end of December 2014.[2][1] He organized the venue's two-day farewell event, "Sac Go Home Fest," held Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 27–28, 2014, billing it as a free, all-local celebration "purely for the community."[2] He confirmed more than 20 local acts, including Pregnant, Lite Brite, PETS, Removed, Cove, Honyock, Musical Charis, Fine Steps, Appetite, Dad?, Dog Party, The Kelps, Squidz, an open jam with Instagon, and his own project Doofy Doo.[2]
Walker recorded the festival live and released a 20-track live compilation album for free online (Sacgohomefest.bandcamp.com), preserving recordings of the closing weekend; he called it "one of my favorite projects ever."[1]
The Tourist (2015)
Following Sac Go Home Fest, Walker developed an ambitious touring art project under his DoofyDoo name. In late 2015 he conducted an 18-city West Coast tour, visiting galleries, basements, and other non-traditional performance spaces, and composed location-specific music that drew on audio samples tied to each city's particular issues and character. He titled the project "The Tourist."[7] Upon returning to Sacramento, Walker presented the tour's findings in an interactive exhibit at Blackbird Kitchen + Beer Gallery (1015 9th Street), which opened December 6, 2015 and ran through December 29, 2015, featuring photos, notebooks, and recordings from the journey.[7]
Local status
Drew Walker is treated throughout Submerge coverage as a Sacramento local: he is called a "talented local musician," is a member of the Sacramento band Gentleman Surfer, and was staff sound engineer at a Sacramento venue.[2][3] Evidence quote: organizer "Drew Walker (also Witch Room's beloved sound guy and talented local musician)."[2] No source indicates an origin outside the Greater Sacramento region.