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The PLAYBACK:stl Archive Vault
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Home  Archive Diving Head First Into the Abandoned Pools
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Diving Head First Into the Abandoned Pools |
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Written by Michele Ulsohn
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Friday, 16 December 2005 |
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Before he recruited his three new
bandmates (guitarist Pelle Hillstrom, drummer Bryan Head, and bassist
Leah Randi) through friends and people that he knew in the L.A. music
scene, writing and recording songs on his home’s eight-track system
became Walter’s main focus in life.
Currently enjoying the success of their single, “The Remedy,” L.A.’s
Abandoned Pools just may be the busiest touring band of this year. Back
in February, they made an extremely impressive debut St. Louis
appearance at Mississippi Nights, opening for VH1’s Bands on the Run
winners Flickerstick. In May, they returned to the road as the opener
for Garbage, which made a stop here at the Pageant. Then on August 7,
they warmed up the crowd at UMB Pavilion for pop-diva Pink and rock-God
Lenny Kravitz, an odd combination with enough cross-over appeal that
enabled it to fill both the house and lawn to near-capacity levels (a
rather uncommon occurrence, especially on a weeknight, considering the
venue’s ever-increasing ticket, parking, and concession prices).
The touring life, however, is nothing new or unfamiliar to Abandoned
Pool’s singer/songwriter/guitarist Tommy Walter, who shared some of his
post-performance relaxation time for a brief backstage interview. As a
former member of the critically acclaimed trio Eels, Walter was
fortunate enough to taste success very early on in the band’s career
due to their hit first single, “Novocaine For The Soul.” He left the
band, though, after the end of its first tour, for a few reasons. “I
saw the writing on the wall,” Walter explains. “I felt like we had
pretty much run our course, and I sensed the direction that the band
was heading in, which turned out to be a correct assumption. And that
was really not a direction that I was interested in going in. It had
gotten to the point where I just said to myself, ‘I’m going to learn
how to make my own records and do my own thing.’ I was seeing so many
other people do it, and felt that if they could do it, so could I.”
Which is exactly what Walter did. Before he recruited his three new
bandmates (guitarist Pelle Hillstrom, drummer Bryan Head, and bassist
Leah Randi) through friends and people that he knew in the L.A. music
scene, writing and recording songs on his home’s eight-track system
became Walter’s main focus in life. “I just dove right into the
songwriting process. I probably wrote and recorded about 50 or 60
songs, but ended up throwing most of them away because they weren’t
right for what I wanted on my first album. I sort of started out
writing songs similar to ones that I really liked that were already
written by other people, but then I just ultimately ended up finding my
own voice.”
The end result became Humanistic (Extasy Records),
a polished collection of densely textured, soaring melodies that
represent the balance of Walter’s desire to rock hard while still
retaining a non-heavy accessibility. Earning itself comparisons to
works of the Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, and Placebo, Abandoned Pools'
debut CD has moved swiftly up the charts, which Walters feels is
important, but not absolutely essential. “My thing isn’t so much about
going platinum or being on the radio constantly,” he admits. “What
really matters to me is when other musicians—people I have so much
respect for and think so highly of—when those people tell me that they
love the record, that makes me feel great. Or when the band Filter
stopped their tour bus right next to the stage we were on at a festival
just so they could watch our set—that’s the kind of thing that means
something to me. I didn’t write my music for critics, that’s for sure.
You can do that, and there’s really nothing wrong with that, but I was
really trying to be more true to myself.”
Walter does
acknowledge the importance of other people liking your music, however.
When asked if he had any advice for the many struggling bands out
there, Walter had this reply: “You have to write good songs, because if
you don’t, you’re not going to make it. Everybody thinks that it’s who
you know, which is really not true, because if you don’t have good
songs, you could know a ton of industry people, and it’s not going to
matter. It’s all about the quality of your music; if people don’t like
what they hear, it’s just not going to happen for you.” He adds that it
also doesn’t hurt to have realistic, non-“rock star” goals, either. “I
much rather do what we’re doing—be slightly under the radar, and have a
pretty successful song or two, than hopefully be in a place where we’re
able to keep making more records. Although, if we stopped right now,
and the band broke up tomorrow, I’d be like, ‘that’s cool, we did
really well for the time we were together.’ I’d be totally satisfied
with what we’ve done so far.”
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