Review / Interview: Walking Papers

Spring has officially come to Boston. You could hear the crack of the bat hitting the baseball at Fenway, flowers, and trees blooming, Bostonians wandering the city and Alice In Chains playing at the House Of Blues.

But that’s not what this review is about.

I was at the show to see Walking Papers; a blues, classic rock mashup with collectively more years involved in the music scene than my own age.

Walking Papers is an American Rock Band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2012 by Jeff Angell and Barrett Martin, with the addition of Benjamin Anderson and Duff McKagan, and touring with Tristan Hart Pierce.

Walking Papers, voiced by Jeff Angell warmed up the crowd in Boston. With each song, he took the crowd through an emotional story of life. From walking through crowd, rhythmically dancing and some mic tricks, Angell kept the fans engaged throughout the show.  Guitar solos by  Pierce followed each smooth but hard hitting rock chorus that audience members appreciate.

Switching it up for soft rock piano ballads played by Benjamin Anderson supported by a  thick deep bass tone played by Duff that would carry the beat, Walking Papers got the crowd moving and singing along.

Below you can check out some interview questions answered by Jeff Angell, the voice of Walking Papers.

Concert Crap: Describe your sound using three words.

Jeff Angell: Cinematic, Sinister, Provocative.

CC: How did the band come about?

Barrett saw me singing in my band the Missionary Position at this club Dante’s in Portland and he approached me about wanting to start a new project with a singer-songwriter as a break from his continuing instrumental endeavors. He had some extra studio time and I had some extra songs, so we rehearsed a staggering total of 6 times and went into the studio, just the two of us and Jack Endino, and laid down the foundation of what would become Walking Papers debut album. We asked Duff, Ben and Mike McCready to play on a few songs each and when we released it things started to grow so we decided to take it out on the road and Duff and Ben decided to join us.

CC: How did you come up with your band name?

We wanted to call the band Red Envelopes which is a mailed notice that lets someone know they are past due and action is about to be taken. There was a greeting card company that already had that name locked up, so we pulled out a thesaurus and Walking Papers was a suitable substitute. Oddly enough Walking Papers is a saying that is exclusive to America so in other parts of the world people are confused by it.

CC: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Inspiration to me is an exhaust-able resource. It’s everywhere. For me, one of life’s biggest disappointments is not having the time to pursue all the ideas I come across.

CC: Can you describe your writing process?

JA: Divine intervention. I don’t feel like I’m really writing these songs. It’s more like I’m leaving an ear open for them to build a nest in. To improve my chances of handing them land in my mind, I journal religiously and record progressions, jams, and melodies whenever they catch my attention. That’s the easy part. The hard part is sorting through all of that madness and deciding which ideas are motives worthy of doing time for.

CC: What artists do you listen to collectively as a band?

JA: We all have widely varied tastes, but I’d say some artist we all agree upon would be Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Dylan, The Stones, The Kills, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Joy Division, Black Sabbath………

CC: I know you just released a new album, but is there anything exciting in the works?

JA: By the time an album is released I’m already at least half way through the next one. I do my best to make a home for as many ideas as I can with my short time I’ve got left here on this disco ball.

Here are some of the places you can find Walking Papers online:

Website l Facebook

Post and photos by Kelsey Lockhart