On the the Greyboy Allstars 2007 spring tour, Robert Walter is the crafty keyboardist tearing it up in front of packed theatres and festivals. But when he is off the road, he can be found on the back patio of the Maple Leaf Bar listening to the Rebirth Brass Band or riding the St. Charles Avenue bus with his grade-school son. Walter’s band the Greyboy Allstars earned a large following in the mid-90s, playing a West coast style of funk that incorporates DJs and electronic sounds. The band came off hiatus last year, and due to the success of their recent tour, they released “What Happened to Television,” their first album in 10 years. To promote the new album, the band has embarked on a national tour selling out large venues such as the river boat Cajun Queen May 4 and Tipitina’s May 5. Both shows are part of the Superfly Productions’ “Jazz Fest After Dark” series. These shows mark Walter’s triumphant return to his adopted city.
Lured to New Orleans by fellow star drummer Stanton Moore of Galactic, Walter joins a growing tradition of musicians who have made it in the eyes of many of their peers and then chose to immerse themselves in the rich culture of New Orleans music.
After the brief breakup of The Greyboy Allstars, affectionately known by their fans as Greyboy, Walter was looking to move back to his hometown of San Diego. As Walter said, “Real estate was really high back home and Stanton, who I’d been playing with a lot at the time said, ‘Why don’t you just come down here?'”
After convincing his wife of the idea, Walter moved to the Uptown riverbend area. He t began sitting in on jam sessions with local favorites and made unannounced appearances at clubs such as d.b.a. and The Dragon’s Den.
“I was always a real Professor Longhair freak, and I loved playing with Vidacovich,” speaking of revered drummer Johnny Vidacovich, who is a member of the Loyola faculty and also played with Professor Longhair, a pioneer of New Orleans funk, at one time. The local musicians locked onto Walter’s skills as well. His West Coast flavor mixed with the New Orleans funk sound that can be heard all over town. These sessions involved many different musicians ranging from many different genres. Walter is a musician who is “always trying to learn more, and you can learn from playing with almost anybody,”he said. Playing in New Orleans also let Walter, “learn to relax a bit,” he said. “Playing in Greyboy, we were trying to be more composition-minded and work on songwriting and songcraft.” Out of these late-night local sessions came the evolution of a group known as Robert Walter’s Super Heavy Organ. The group’s members include bassist James Singleton of Astral Project, and drummers Stanton Moore and Johnny Vidacovich. “You just can’t beat playing with that caliber of musicians,” Walter said. “There’s a real tradition.” Super Heavy Organ released an album and many locals fell in love with Walter’s impromptu sessions. “It’s hard to explain how good he is without using expletives,” said Mark Schlackman, business junior. While Walter became “addicted to New Orleans,” as he says, other members of Greyboy were embarking on their own solo careers as well. Saxophonist Karl Denson toured with his band Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and enjoyed a good deal of success while guitarist Elgin Park, under the alias Mike Andrews, did the score for the cult movie classic “Donnie Darko.” “We all plan to keep our other projects going, and Super Heavy Organ is looking to release a new album soon,” said Walter. Though Greyboy found a new creative spark and positive outlook for the band , Walter said he is not going to abandon his position in the New Orleans music scene. Cole Adams can be reached at [email protected].
