Walter Etc. Release 'When The Band Breaks Up Again'

Walter Etc. have released their new album ‘When The Band Breaks Up Again’ out today through SideOneDummy Records. The band has also released “Happy To Be Here/Something To Someone Somewhere (Live From A Riverbed)”, which can be seen on YouTube now. The songs performed are the two final songs on the album.

Speaking more on the lyrics of “Happy To Be Here”, vocalist and guitarist Dustin Hayes shares “My uncle died suddenly of Covid and it really recalibrated my perspective on my life. The band grew up practicing across the street from him. The ups and downs of pursuing this goofy little dream can seem like the most important things in the world in the moment, but in reality, none of this matters. Like at all! I’m just happy to be here.”

And on “Something To Someone Somewhere”, he shares “I did an all outdoor solo acoustic tour during the pandemic. I was feeling super anxious driving alone to a Seattle park show, where I was going to just post up and host and perform for dozens of strangers all by myself. I was on the phone with my partner telling her how I felt and she reminded me to just pull through because it means something to someone somewhere. The next morning, I wrote this song and it felt like the answer to the thesis of the album.”

Walter Etc. will be taking the new songs on tour and have an upcoming run of show dates kicking off tomorrow, September 9 in Denver, CO. A full list of dates and tickets can be found below and at www.walteretc.com/tour.

Produced by Hop Along/Algernon Cadwallader’s Joe Reinhart, ‘When The Band Breaks Up Again’ examines and searches for its own sense of purpose throughout. Last month with the announcement of the new album, the band released the lead single and music video for the title track. 

Formed in 2009 by childhood friends Dustin Hayes, Kris Schobert and Jake Lee, the band was at first called Walter Mitty And His Makeshift Orchestra. Named after the fictional character created by James Thurber—who was portrayed by Danny Kaye in the 1947 film The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty and then popularized by Ben Stiller in the 2013 remake—Hayes has always channeled his thoughts and emotions through that character, rather than write about himself directly.

Walter Etc. released a number of EPs and albums before going on something of a hiatus in 2015. But the creative itch was something Hayes couldn’t stop scratching, and in 2016 he reformed the band as Walter Etc., the idea being to allow members to come and go as they please, weaving in and out of records as life and schedules allowed. Now, though, Walter Etc. have returned with ‘When the Band Breaks Up Again’, a new album made by the original three members with a very telling title.

Fun fact: A few weeks before hitting the studio to record this album with Joe Reinhart, drummer Kris Schobert broke his arm snowboarding. Not a fluke accident either. He purposefully went off a huge jump and ate s. The band was forced to decide between hiring a studio drummer or figuring it out with Kris. He recorded the whole album with one arm.

“When the band broke up again, all I could do was write a batch of comfort songs that paid homage to the pop punk we grew up on,” says Hayes on the new song. “I wanted this video to feel like MTV, this song to feel like skateboarding for the first time, and the album to be a light-hearted battle cry for keeping your dream alive. I think we got pretty close…”

Walter Etc. Upcoming Tour Dates

Tickets: www.walteretc.com/tour

* w/ Dollar Signs

 ^ w/ Suzie True

September 9 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge

September 28 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon

September 30 – Berkeley, CA – 924 Gilman (Twin Shrieks Fest)

October 1 – Sacramento, CA – Starlet Room Harlow’s

October 3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Beehive

October 4 – Boise, ID – String Basement

October 5 – Portland, OR – Fixin To

October 6 – Seattle, WA – The Vera Project

October 25 – Flagstaff, AZ – The Hive (solo)

October 28 – Dallas, TX – Three Links

October 29 – Houston, TX – The Secret Group

October 31 – Charlotte, NC – The Evening Muse *

November 1 – Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall *

November 2- Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery *

November 3 – Philadelphia, PA – Silk City

November 4 – Brooklyn, NY – Alphaville ^

November 5 – Hamden, CT – The Shop ^

November 6 – Boston, MA – Arts at the Armory ^

November 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Preserving Underground ^

November 8 – Cleveland, OH – Mahall’s ^

November 9 – Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village ^

November 11 – Moline, IL – The Blackhawk Room ^

November 12 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry ^

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