CARLTON WALKER
...taking the middle path...
Copyright 2012 Carlton Walker
Carlton Walker Bio
The latest release from Carlton Walker, "Going Off the Map," traverses some of the
same musical landscapes as his 2007 release, AVERY A ROCK OPERA. Showcasing
Peter Gabriel-influenced vocals and percussion, "The Tribe" is the first of five tracks on
Carlton Walker's new EP. As he did with the rock opera Avery, Carlton Walker takes the
listener on a sonic excursion with music that is intelligent, yet accessible. This time
around, it's a journey into tribal areas, off the map, and along the Silk Road.
Accompanied by Stan Lassiter on guitars and electric violin, Dale Armstrong on drums
and percussion, and Terry Mohn on saxophone, Carlton Walker has made a record that
is both tasteful and radio-friendly. In addition to vocals, Walker played bass, keyboards,
and flute. He also wrote and produced all the tracks. The five-song "Going Off the Map"
EP is available on CD and digital download.
Looking back a few years, Carlton Walker's debut release, "AVERY A ROCK OPERA
about a guy who writes a rock opera" is an ambitious effort that came out in the fall of
2007. Avery is the story of Avery Mann, a musician and composer who writes a rock
opera based on the medieval morality play Everyman. When a major record label drops
him and the rock opera is shelved, Avery heads off for a rainforest trek in Belize, a tiny
Caribbean nation in Central America. Just as he receives word that an independent
record label is willing to release his rock opera, things take an existential turn when
Guatemala invades Belize and Avery is caught behind the lines. It's eco-tourism with a
twist!
Although described as a rock opera for simplicity's sake, Avery actually surveys a
broader musical landscape. It shifts from rock to prog rock at random, with acoustic
songs providing a buffer zone. And, like a play within a play, there's even a rock opera
within a rock opera. Ultimately, Avery is a triumph of the human spirit with underlying
parables on globalization, free speech, and the environment-all that in about an hour
and fifteen minutes. "AVERY A ROCK OPERA" is available on CD and digital download.