Walter Etc. is my responsibility.

I take all the blame for it. 

 

When it started as a bedroom folk project, I invited my childhood pal Kris Schobert to come play percussion on this thing I was making called Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra.

 

After years of DIY touring, college, and bandmates like Russell Park, Jake Lee, and Milk Flud moving all around the West Coast, WMAHMO eventually evolved into Walter Etc.

 

Besides the obvious switch to mostly electric instrumentation, we're pretty much the same band. I'm still writing songs through this Walter alias, Kris is still smiling like a dufus when he plays drums or percussion, and our old bandmates jump in the studio or in the tour van as much as possible. We've even managed to play in places like Japan, Croatia, and an adult video store in San Jose.

 

While the homies, the hype, and the health may come and go, Walter continues to force me to tell his story- mostly through these lyrical pop/rock songs-  but occasionally at night, when the moon is waning gibbous, and the fleas on my cat suddenly surrender all at once, I feel like he... well, nevermind... 

 

- dustin cole hayes (or more accurately,) WALTER