Interview: Giant Walker
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
We all grew up in households where music was and still is a big deal, so that’s definitely had a big influence on us pursuing music. In terms of what we’d be doing now if we hadn’t gotten into music...
Jamie - Skateboarding and doing generally nothing productive with my life
Alex - Fuck knows! My other passion is cooking, so maybe a chef...
Jordan - Hard to say as by about 4 years old, I knew I only wanted to play music. But before that, I wanted to be a fireman so... that?
Steff - I’d like to think I’d still be creating something in some sense, so perhaps some kind of digital art... Or maybe, organising music events. Who knows!
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
We actually all work in jobs related to music, so it’s pretty much all we do!
How long has your band been around?
In its current form, less than a year, but we’ve been playing together for 7.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We’re all originally from Newcastle, but we’re now based partly in Guildford. I wouldn’t say either place influenced our music really, more just the people we’ve been lucky enough to meet.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
We were brainstorming different band names for months before we settled on Giant Walker. In the end, Jordan (bass) was looking at mythical creatures and from that inspiration, imagined a giant being walked by a little child and so, ‘Giant Walker’ was created!
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
Well, so far we’ve played one show as Giant Walker and that was at the West End Centre in Aldershot, supporting CLT DRP. We’ve got plenty of shows on the horizon, so maybe we’ll have to come back to this question in a year!
What is your favourite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
Our favourite venues are either The Star in Guildford or The Cluny in Newcastle. In terms of venues we’d love to play, we’d probably say Koko in London!
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
That’s a super tough question - there’s so many bands we’d love to play alongside, but we’d probably have to say Karnivool, Soundgarden & Queens of the Stone Age.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?
Gig as much as possible!!
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
Stop rushing everything
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
I think probably The Fact In Fiction means the most to us at the moment... Mainly because it was our first single, so it marked the start of the project and also because the response that we got from the release totally surpassed all of our expectations!
Which songs are your favourite to play and which get requested the most?
Steff - My favourite to play is probably Optophobia because it has a real frantic energy which I think translates well to a live track
Jamie - The Fact in Fiction, as it’s really fun to play - just feels good under the fingers!
Jordan - Either Past The Peak or Left To Wreck!
Alex - My favourite drum part is in the song, Katoomba and the song usually goes down well with the crowd, too
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your
music?
Jamie (guitar) usually gets an initial idea - whether that’s a riff, chord progression or drum groove - expanded into a full song. Once we have the bones of the song, Steff (vocals) writes the lyrics and the vocal melody either separately or collaboratively with Jamie. Once the song is pretty much finished, Jordan (bass) and Alex (drums) flesh out their own parts, and then we have a song!
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
I wouldn’t say that there’s a specific message across all of our music, but generally just that we try and aim to create something nuanced that keeps you thinking.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
We’re actually all pretty chill... if there’s ever a disagreement it’s usually between Steff and Jamie whilst writing the vocal melody. A fight to the death would probably be more entertaining, but we usually end up compromising in some way and coming up with something that we both prefer in the end 😂
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to
spotlight that is coming up?
We have a new single, Left To Wreck, coming out on the 25th of February! Further ahead from that, we have a UK headline tour at the beginning of June - grab your tickets here: