Nathan Walker is one of the hundreds upon thousands of people working tirelessly behind the scenes of the indie music world. Working alongside the fabulous Joan Hiller, Walker helps run Riot Act Media, an independent arts and music publicity firm that helps bands from all over the world reach the ears of journalists and fans. You may have heard some of their clients such as Wow & Flutter, Darren Hanlon, Hot Panda, and Good Night Billygoat. If you’re lucky enough to be at SXSW this year, be sure to stop by the Riot Act Media Day Party at the Ghost Room where they will be showing off the current roster of amazing artists. RSVP here.
Nathan Walker
My first record is a hard one to define. Growing up, my father had a massive record collection and my earliest memories of twelve inches of vinyl are from before I was in school. He’d be at work and my mom would be off doing things around the house and I’d sneak into the dining room to pull records off the shelf and stare at their covers. The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Emerson, Lake and Palmer‘s Brain Salad Surgery are two that are forever frozen in my brain.
I’d listen to the Beatles and wonder what was going on in that photo…there were people I recognized from movies and the Beatles themselves looked like a character off of one of the PBS shows I watched religiously (Electric Company anyone?). Then to stare at it while listening to songs like “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Good Morning, Good Morning” is certainly my beginning of a lifelong obsession with music.
Brain Salad Surgery was different though, that album cover had a skull! Not just any skull, a future-industrial skull with a split, cut-out cover that folded out to reveal an alien looking woman. This was dangerous music! This was something that I shouldn’t be looking at and I knew it. I never had the guts to pull that slab of vinyl out and set it under the needle. Would I be possessed by demons? Later, upon listening to the record, I was embarrassed by how intimidated I’d been for so long. Also, upon revisiting it in my teens, I realized the art was created by H.R. Giger and he quickly became an artist I sought out.
It was quickly becoming evident that I was trashing my father’s beloved record collection. A red handled, red & white striped portable record player was purchased and I was allotted $2 a month to purchase my own records. I wasn’t to touch the collection by myself anymore. Garage sales and the keen eye of my father brought in 45s of the Beatles (I loved that the apple was whole on one side and cut in half on the other), David Bowie, Simon & Garfunkel (no I’m not humming the theme from The Smurfs, I’m humming “The Boxer”) and Rick Dees‘ “Disco Duck”!
As we moved into the ’80s and the cassette revolution caught on, my allowance was upgraded to $5 a month. My babysitter improved their boombox from a single deck to a dual deck and gave me their hand-me-down. The following week, we drove to the big city (an hour away) and I bought Eddy Grant‘s Killer On The Rampage on cassette based on my love for the hit single “Electric Avenue”. I can’t say I remember a single song off of that album besides the hit. Sorry, Eddie.
The following month, I bought Quiet Riot‘s Metal Health at Kmart in the big city. This cassette and my boom box quickly brought me a certain level of popularity on the bus ride to and from school. At nearly an hour, the ride was filled with me and “the older kids” sitting in the back listening to Kevin DuBrow asking us to feel the noize. My popularity was quickly replaced by an older kid with a bigger boom box and Ozzy’s newest album (an album I’d deemed too heavy).
Constantly playing Metal Health around the house, my mom agreed that I was allowed to say the word “bitch” but only when singing along to the power ballad “Love’s A Bitch” and I certainly did, often.
The following month, we returned to Kmart where I was hoping to purchase an Aerosmith cassette but my dad convinced me that buying Metal Health on picture disc was a wise investment. I couldn’t fathom why on earth I’d need a copy on cassette and vinyl. Checking eBay today, the record is going for $100! Thanks, Dad.
So, that was the last record I bought for years; never played them, never pulled them off of the shelves. I didn’t care about them in any way, cassettes ruled my land. It wasn’t until 8th grade and the movie Pump Up The Volume that I reconsidered my decision. Hearing Leonard Cohen for the first time, I was stunned at how his dry baritone conveyed so much more emotion than any of the metal and rap I’d been listening to. This wasn’t music to be listened to on hissy cassette, this was something be taken in under the crackling weight of a needle.
We took another trip to the big city. Kmart did not stock Leonard Cohen but a helpful employee tipped us off to the record store down by the university. Walking in there for the first time was amazing to say the least. It stunk of incense, had posters on the walls of bands I’d never heard of and, yes, they certainly did have Leonard Cohen’s I’m Your Man on vinyl. Though, technically not my first record purchase, easily my most important…that is until my Dad stole it and added it to his collection.
