Dale Paul Walker is one of the guitarists from Gold Coast band Mourning Tide. When he is not spending time schralpin’ for Mourning Tide and teaching guitar lessons, he is working on his new solo project Lost Hwy… AND also answering questions for the mass of fans he has so they can learn more about the life of Dale Paul Walker.
How long has Lost Hwy been in the works?
Lost Hwy has probably been waiting around ready to be started since 2003. I had to record a song when I was applying for a uni sound engineering course and I ended up liking the direction the song was in, sort of more in that epic Pink Floyd, mellower Opeth style. I recorded another track in about 2007 but it wasn’t until I got Pro Tools last year that I took it more seriously.
Are there any plans for a release in the near future?
I do plan on doing a release, hopefully by mid 2010. It will only be an extremely small pressing though as I’m trying to be realistic about who will get into it. I don’t like to generalise but I’m guessing the average Mourning Tide fan probably won’t be that thrilled by it but I’d like to be proven wrong, ha ha! I’ll probably end up giving away half of it to my friends and family anyway, I’m doing this to entertain myself first and foremost and then my friends that dig this kind of music.
How long have you been shredding?
Ha ha, I like to think of it more as schralpin’ because I don’t think my playing is precise enough to be put in the shred category along with Steve Vai, Dragonforce etc. You know, I look at it more like it’s a bit out of control sometimes, I’m trying not to sound too perfect and practiced, I tend to like musicians that sound a bit raw around the edges. Anyway, sorry to ramble, ha ha, but I’ve been playing for close to 20 years, I first picked up the guitar when I was 9 years old, and it’s been my number one thing since then.
How often do you practice?
You know, it really varies these days, sometimes I can sit there for hours on end just playing away, other times, I pick it up and it’s just not happening! I never was one to practice scales and exercises, I much prefer to jam and work on songs, be it if it’s my own or someone else’s. To be honest, I spend more time listening to, thinking about and creating music rather then just playing guitar. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a time when I was playing hour’s everyday, completely obsessed! I still love music just as much, I guess it’s just more broad these days.
Which Australian artist would you love to write a song with?
Good question! I’m pretty happy with the people I work with, me and Vinny(Mourning Tide) have gotten to a real natural point within our writing relationship, we can really read each others minds when we’re getting songs ideas down. That being said, I would like to work with someone a bit outside of the metal/ hardcore scene, you know, I think someone like Daniel Johns would be interesting, he has a real unique approach to creating and orchestrating music.
Which Australian guitarists do you like?
I’m a bit of a sucker for some of the older players like Ian Moss from Cold Chisel, he has an amazing feel to his playing and solos. A lot of players from the 80′s pub scene were great, I think the music scene in general had some great bands back then such as Chisel, Australian Crawl, Rose Tattoo, ACDC, INXS etc. When I first picked up the guitar Tommy Emmanuel was a bit of a hero for me, talk about setting your sights a bit too high, ha!
Other than playing in Mourning Tide and now creating Lost Hwy, you teach guitar lessons. Is that your only day job?
At the moment, yes, it is. I love teaching, it’s such a great way to connect with another person, it keeps my chops together and my mind stays wide open in regards to different music that students bring in. It’s my responsibility as a teacher, and a musician might I add, to be as open minded and to like as many different forms of music as possible. Apart from that, me and the rest of Tide besides Tyrone play in an 80′s tribute band, Glamrockasaurus for fun and a little money on the side.
Out of every song you’ve written, which is the hardest to play and which is your favourite to play?
The hardest song at the moment as a band would have to be “June 1866″, we still haven’t played it live yet and it’s really kicking our arses, lol. Just getting it as tight as we want it to be is tricky because of the faster tempo and some of the riffs involved but we’re getting close! As for the funnest, I would have to say Transyl-Vainia is at the moment, it has lots of groove riffs and lots of different sounds I get to pull out of the guitar plus that riff at the end is probably my favourite riff of all time that we have wrote and is kick arse to play live.
You obviously love guitar solos (as if anyone wouldn’t though), so what guitarist creates the solos you listen to over and over again?
That would be a tie between Omar Rodriguez Lopez from The Mars Volta and Jimi Hendrix. They have that real sense of danger when they are playing that sounds like it’s on the verge of completely falling apart at any moment but still sounding amazing at the same time. To me that is the epitome of schralpin’, it’s fast as hell but out of control and yet in control too. They are my go to guys for soloing inspiration.
What is the best concert you’ve been to?
I’ve been to a lot of shows and have been fortunate enough to see most of my favourite bands but the hands down winner would be The Mars Volta. I’ve seen them 6 times now, and they never fail to blow my mind with their energy and sound.
Who have you learnt the most in music from?
That’s a tough one, I’ve learnt a lot from all the different bands and musicians I have played with. When it comes to writing and structuring music, in the early stages I was influenced by Vinny(Mourning Tide) a great deal as well as my mate Pete from the band Concrete Street. They were already writing really solid songs by the time I started writing so that was a big influence. I really didn’t start writing properly until 10 years after I started playing the guitar. Beyond that, everything I have ever listened to or experienced has taught me something, even if it’s something I don’t particularly like.
Is Lost Hwy always going to be just instrumental?
One thing I never do is say never, lol. At this point, yes, it is instrumental, but I would like to expand into vocals some day. Ultimately it would be me doing the vocals, I just don’t know if I have the voice to do it because I’m a bit scared to try, ha ha.
For the many out there that look up to your playing, what tips would you like to give them?
I think the most important thing is to stay true to yourself, as cliqued as that sounds.
Don’t let trends and what other people think sway your own judgement of who you are or what you like because at the end of the day, you’re the one that has to live with yourself. You can’t help but be influenced by the people you love and the things you like but only to a certain point. Back when I first joined Tide I wasn’t sure who to be, how to play, how to dress. For a good few years I did anything to hide the bluesier side of my playing because I thought it wasn’t right. It was only when I played 100% how I wanted to play and didn’t deny my natural tendencies as a player that I started to really enjoy it and consequently, I wrote how I wanted to write, dressed how I wanted to dress and could basically just be myself. Thankfully it worked with what the other guys were doing as I’m sure I wouldn’t be in the band right now if that wasn’t the case, ha ha! Another thing that has helped me as a musician is listening to a lot of different music, not just one style, it helps you develop a better vocabulary and find a more unique voice on your instrument in which to better express yourself with, which I think is the most important thing about being a musician.
Well we hope everyone now knows that the most modest man in rock/metal is Dale Paul Walker. Lets just hope he will forever keep melting our minds with his schralpin’. Everyone should definitely check out his solo project and start working on their own lounge room shrines dedicated to Dale. Finally thank you Dale for taking time out of your busy schedule for Black Munk.
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