It’s already been a big year for Don Walker and, with the release of his latest album Lightning in a Clear Blue Sky last Friday and his upcoming Blues on Broadbeach show, 2023 is just getting bigger!
Seven spoke to Walker last week about his upcoming festival appearance.
We’re very excited about see you at Blues on Broadbeach. What have you got for us?
I’ll be bringing the band that I’ve been playing with for about 15 years and I’ll be doing my solo work, including songs from the new album. It’s the fourth solo album that I have made over the last 30 years and I’ll also be doing songs from the previous solo albums and I’ll be doing one or two songs from the Tex, Don, and Charlie albums as well.
Is is going to be bluesy?
They are bluesy players of one kind or another – Hamish Stewart is a drummer from the Sydney jazz scene; Mark Vidale is a western swing and country and rockabilly bass player; Garrett Costigan is a pedal steel player, so that’s more country than blues; and Shannon Bourne, who is our new guitar player, used to play guitar with Chris Wilson, so that’s definitely blues.
Your new album is just out. Are you still able to find fresh inspiration for your work?
Clearly I do! I don’t push it, I don’t try to write songs – the songs come of their own accord, so there must be some fresh inspiration coming out there from somewhere.
What sort of things inspire you?
The things that concern everybody: it’s a beautiful day, it would be better if it would be better if somebody that I’ve loved for a long time was with me, whether that be that the kids or others, you know, the normal things of life and interests. I’m interested in a lot of things that are not in the immediate environment.
I’d love to hear about what they are…
Well, I’m really fascinated by the Gnostic scriptures from before the Emperor Constantine, but, while I’m intensely interested in stuff like that, I would in the broad population call it very much a fringe interest.
When you’re writing do you have a pattern?
No, the only structured thing that I do is that I like to go out and have a coffee in the middle of the afternoon and occasionally I use that as an opportunity to write, but it’s also too easy to not do that and read the news on your phone instead.
Do you feel that it’s your duty to write songs or to create works that follow your belief systems?
I feel that I’m under a heavy obligation not to do that. I wish there were some way that I could impose that heavy obligation on other people in my profession…
You’ve been playing live for a long time. Are you still getting a buzz out of performing? Does it give you different things than it used to?
I get a real buzz out of performing and was with this particular group of guys and we’re augmented these days by three friends of ours who are female singers: Erica Dunn, Amanda Roff, and Felicity Cripps – they give it an extra dimension.
Don Walker performs at Blues on Broadbeach on Sunday 21 May at 3.30pm.
Blues on Broadbeach 18–21 May. A free festival with more than 65 artists across 16 stages over four days.
Headliners include Tommy Emmanuel,Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Emma Donovan & The Putbacks, Chris Cheney, The Kevin Borich Express.
