The Robbie Walden Band keeps its country roots
The band’s new album “When The Rooster Crows” was released Feb. 15 on Floating Records and is being hailed as “one honest piece of hope that real country music is still alive in these days to come.” The sound is the very definition of true Americana, heavy with golden five-part harmonies and American songwriting. The recipe of this five-piece band, however, is four parts Washington and one part Idaho, lives cultivated in the Big Sky country under the constant influence of the working man.
Brad Paul, co-founder and council member of the Americana Music Association, said when he first heard the album, “it’s the kind of real deal twang and dirt Americana record that we started the Americana radio format for back in the mid-’90s.”
Walden was a signed artist on Curb Records in Nashville years ago. One of the most striking characteristics of this album is the addition of horns throughout. This is a concept album, a reflection of Walden’s personal life over the last five years. It was also recorded live in the studio, like back in the days before the age of dubbing. The authenticity is priceless and is what makes this album so significant.
A keen storyteller with a stalwart approach to recording, Walden self-produced this album as he did on his previous releases along with Mark Simmons. The result is a true Americana treasure peppered with a pinch of soul.
A majority of the band members are ex-military, important because that inner code directly translates to their live show experience. The Robbie Walden Band is a bona fide jam band where brand new songs are often tried out for the first time allowing crowds a front-row seat to the band’s creative process and to ride shotgun through its completion. The ultimate trust between the band and the fans allows an organic experience to escalate at each show; everyone all huddled together in the trenches while the sparks fly overhead. It’s the reason you will find most of their Pacific Northwest shows sold out.
The Robbie Walden Band is: Robbie Walden (vocals, baritone guitar), Gabe Burdett (drums, backing vocals), John Coker (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dan Tyack (pedal steel), and Blake Flemming (bass). Horns: Diego Ruiz (sax, trumpet), Austin Long (sax), Jacob Herring (trombone) and Colby Sander (utility player).