Seth Walker On Tour: Spirits Moving - Troubadour, Musician, Songwriter on Life On The Road

Nothing really exemplifies life on the road and all the images that come along with it like a touring musician. It’s not all Leer jets and posh hotels, sold out auditoriums. Plain facts is that the music you hear pouring out of small bars and music houses, cafes come from people like you and me, passionate, driven, inspired….committed. They drive 8 hours from gig to gig, sleep in modest hotels - if they’re lucky. They set up their own drum kits and amplifiers, collect their cash after the gigs, get up the next morning and do it all over again.

 Here's a bonafide troubadour. Seth Walker, touring since the mid 90’s, Seth is an American blues, guitarist singer songwriter….author, poet, painter…..has followed the song of his soul. He has 10 albums, wrote his own book during covid called YOUR VAN IS ON FIRE...poetry, art, anecdotes from life - he grew up on a commune - and on the road, like playing with Alain Toussaint, Willie Nelson...he’s chased the vibe his whole life, lived in New Orleans, Austin, Nashville...he wanted to eat, sleep, drink and breathe every single note he could possibly hear until it flowed through him, like osmosis.

You know that kind of musician when you hear one.

I caught up with Seth from his hotel room in Chicago. By now he’s probably half way to Minnesota where his next gig is.

Seth is more than the sum of his parts. His music is soulful, bright…., sometimes dense, ’’that’s his word...like his song Inside, written during a trip to Cuba right after Fidel Castro died.
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LINKS

For more on Seth and to find his book and music, visit:

https://sethwalker.com/

Seth Walker music featured in this episode:

Trouble

Spirits Moving

Inside

Hard Road

We Got This

Visit Topdrawer at:

https://topdrawershop.com/

Transcript

Thom Pollard: 0:00

This is Tools For Nomads brought to you by Topdrawer. As creative professionals we know the nomadic lifestyle is as much a mindset as it is a way of being. Visit top drawer shop.com or visit one of their dozen plus meticulously outfitted shops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Berkeley, Chicago, and Tokyo. topdrawershop.com. I'm Thom Pollard. I've traveled the world in search of adventure. Since 2001. I've been a member of the Explorers Club. I'm a filmmaker, mountaineer even a sailor. I've been to the top of Everest and help build and sailed a ship made of two and a half million reads from Chile to Easter Island. Almost got eaten by a Maiko shark, filmed with orcas, elk bear from five star hotels to the cold, cold ground. I visited a lot of cool places over the years. But there's a whole lot of places on the globe I've yet to experience

Seth Walker: 1:14

don't want no trouble.Just left behind what I once.

Thom Pollard: 1:24

For me, nothing really conjures up life on the road and all the images that come along with it. Like the life of a touring musician. It's not all first class travel and suites and posh hotels. Plain facts is that the music you hear pouring out of small bars and cafes at night come from people like you and me, passionate, driven, inspired, committed almost beyond reason. They drive eight hours from gig to gig sleep and modest hotels, if they're lucky. set up their own drum kits and amplifiers collect their cash payment after the gig. Get up the next morning. do it all over again in another city or town faraway. That music you hear right now. That's the music of a bonafide troubadour, Seth Walker, touring on and off since the 90s. Seth is an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, author, poet painter. He's followed the song of his soul grew up on a commune in North Carolina, where he learned classical guitar from Quaker parents, using the Suzuki method, a method of teaching and learning music that starts at a very young age, where a student learns by using the ear much like he or she would learn to speak their native language. Suzuki himself believed that this style of learning helped foster good moral character. If true, Seth is the poster child. Yeah, has 10 albums out, wrote his own book during COVID called your van is on fire. It's filled with poetry and art, anecdotes from life at home and on the road. like playing with Alain Toussaint, Willie Nelson. Some of the stories are hilarious, almost self deprecating. Seth has followed his muse and the music his whole life. lived in Austin, New Orleans Nashville. He wanted to eat, sleep, drink and breathe every single note he could possibly hear until it flowed through him. You know that kind of musician when you hear one. I caught up with Seth from his hotel room in Chicago where he was playing a show that night. Next morning, he was off to Minnesota, Wisconsin, then you get the idea. Here's my interview with Seth Walker. You're on the road. Tell me about your tour and what's going on and what are you are you premiering any music that nobody's heard before? And what's it How's it feel out there?

Seth Walker: 4:10

Yeah, it feels good. This is this is the first official band tour. I can safely say we have done a handful of shows in the last year of course we've done some online things to the pandemic and we would you know venture off and do just do a few things maybe outside are a couple indoor things as things are starting to open back up. But yeah, this is this is the first first run we that we have done we started in Des Moines and over at Omaha and then we're I'm in Chicago right now. So it's, it's interesting, you know, I'm trying to ease back into it ease back into this. My spirit is a little is it has As all of us have shifted a little bit,

Thom Pollard: 5:04

no, I totally get that. And I think before the pandemic, you had been just going, going going. And I think you said you felt like a hamster of flaming hamster on a wheel or a wheel, a flaming wheel, you know, when you're a hamster spinning on it about to crash and burn, and then you got some time to reflect you wrote a book. And now you're kind of back doing what you've been doing for 25 years on the road.

Seth Walker: 5:37

I guess I'm through through that contrast. I've, I guess I didn't realize maybe how, you know, unconsciously anxious, the whole thing can be, you know, I mean, I mean, you know, you're driving around and you're scrambling and you're, you know, you're working on songs, and you're working on records, and you're, you're honest, I mean, we're on a stage, for God's sakes, it's like a, you know, a stage and people are staring at you, or, you know, it's like this, all beautiful things. But it's also you know, it's not, it's not I wouldn't call it the most Zen place to be just the whole dynamic of the road, is what I mean. And so as I get back into this, I'm just, I'm just really realizing that I just want to bring my temperature down my nervous my nervous system down, and not try to control so much of it, and just be a part of something bigger than what's going on this on that stage. I mean, that's, that's the ultimate goal. And in any venture, I believe, sometimes it takes a pandemic, maybe to, to remind you of things like that,

Thom Pollard: 7:08

having done not as many nearly as many a fraction of the, if you will, performances on stage, and, you know, doing presentations to audiences, some very small group of school kids, in a classroom up to, you know, 1500 people in an auditorium, it's in the nervous energy before, dissipates The minute I get up there on stage, but when it's over, I realize how much I'm just putting out there just it wasn't just in that hour and a half or whatever, it was all that nervous energy leading up to it. And then when it's over it, it's almost like can I can almost hear buzzing in the silence and it takes a lot to come down from it.

Seth Walker: 8:03

your nervous system is constantly engaged with this, you know, as it should be, if you're putting your if you put everything into it, as I'm sure you do when you do your talks, and you and that's what makes you great, but it's it's, you know, we got a gotta find gotta find that, that balance is is easy to get off balance in that.

Thom Pollard: 8:29

Yeah, and you want so badly the audience to love you. And yeah, what's it like cuz I when I do a talk, I guess that you know, I look out there and there, you know, if I see someone who's not responding or nodding, I'll hone in on them and make and get them to react somehow. And it's part of my I don't know if it's a neurotic type thing from my childhood or whatever, but I want so badly for people to engage. And I know it's nonsense because you can't do that. But as an as a musician, especially when you're trying out a new song or a new vibe. A band is out there. You look out there and you're like, man, like we got a really we got to grab them with this next cut or are you are you feeling the audience like or do you just go with your set?

Seth Walker: 9:27

That's something that I have suffered with in the past is something I'm actually I was actually reading we might have talked about this Willie Nelson book on our last talk. The William that the Tao of Willie brand new book. Oh my gosh, he's just now this is an older book. Oh, really? Yeah, I know. He just came out with something new but yeah, I just I, he's sage. And he was mentioning that what he does is he looks out and finds the not the person that's this this flatline he finds the one person that smiling and then he sings to that person only and then and then the next thing he knows everyone's in the pocket with him

Thom Pollard: 10:21

ah but yeah it is easy

Seth Walker: 10:23

to fall into these these traps because there's nervous energy it's it's our insecurities or you know that creep in but you know as as I'm going forward here I'm really I really just I can't all I can all I can control is what I'm doing you know and how I how I am relating to the Muse and to the music and to myself and that is if I try to do anything outside of that then I'm gonna be in trouble

Thom Pollard: 10:53

you know maybe with the new perspective coming out of this whole year that we were put on ice so to speak and i and i know how busy you were writing your book and you know writing music do you think that maybe there'll be a different perspective looking back as because as you said going into it you were that you know the flaming wheel the hamster spinning around about to crash and burn Do you think that you're going to know when you're hitting that point and just go Okay, it how I pull back here and avert that from happening is whether it's taking solace in in a band mate that you're particularly close with or or a phone call or or or a meditation session and

Seth Walker: 11:43

observation I mean my antennas definitely up you know because I want to be able to do this for a long time out you know I don't want to burn out this is my life this is very important extremely important to me. So mindfulness is is number one with I believe with all of us meditation definitely helps I've been doing meditations in the morning and trying to exercise in the morning trying to get my because I you know I'm not it's not spring chicken anymore so like you know that the road is the road can be tough eight hours in the van can get you get you wonky man get you sideways quick you know so all all things to pay it to to further your point things to pay attention to when it does get start to get wobbly check yourself

Thom Pollard: 12:41

Seth so when you're on the road How do you like what how do you work like what what's your habit? Or do you or is it just stage or do Do you have a like a go to place or is it in your mind or in your hotel room or in the eight hour drive? That you can actually if you will work whatever creating new music or is or does does that happen on the road? Or do you kind of put that stuff aside Are

Seth Walker: 13:13

you are you are you meaning like songwriting or or anything

Thom Pollard: 13:17

a poet well you're a poet you're an artist I would imagine you didn't bring your paint kit with you to do painting or your pastels maybe you did but you've got guitars with you so perhaps

Seth Walker: 13:28

yeah i mean i don't ride a lot on the road I it's not been something I've ever really done always ride at home you know that being said I probably have a bunch of voice memos of me driving and getting a melody in my head and I'll yeah so so maybe I'm maybe I'm wrong on that actually. That driving is like a meditation to me. I don't I do listen to music but a lot of times man I just listen i don't i don't i just open road I that's where I mean obviously in the quiet is where things can come to you. Yeah. So but you know I do have a little journal you know, I'll scribble some stuff down every now and then but but I wouldn't say it's the most creative environment to be in as far as coming up with new stuff. You know, it's just not for me. Some people I'm sure obviously are different than me but I'm usually it's a scramble I mean I'm we're we're it's one nighters I mean, it's never it's never two nights in a row hardly ever.

Thom Pollard: 14:44

Right? Right. Yeah. So um, so then your work at home then maybe you know, because I've talked to you both times we've spoken while we talked on the phone before I believe and texted each other and things but at home So what do you do at home than when you're writing? Is it is it does it happen are you like this is my corner or you surround yourself with your guitars? Or you know like what's your vibe there?

Seth Walker: 15:11

Oh man well most of the time it comes in the morning usually I don't write a lot at night Oh no, just you know just all of the all the monkeys in my brain are piling on me by the end of the day. So I like to get out in the morning when I'm when I'm fresh. It usually I do I do have this back rule room that is cool man. And that's where I have my paints and stuff and and I'll sit back there meditate a little bit and and do my writing. And then I have in the front room is where I have my recording gear, and my guitars etc. And that's where I just sit. And you know, just a lot of times man is just a new it's a noodle fast. And then all of a sudden now get out just kind of get catch on to something and maybe a little THROUGH THROUGH THROUGH mumble mumble. You know, just mumbling words. Trying to get a melody going and upset sometimes a mumble would turn into a whole idea a whole song that's happened many times. mumbles

Thom Pollard: 16:22

mama mamas are underrated.

Seth Walker: 16:27

You ever heard you ever heard Clark Terry Blair he does that thing mumbles

Thom Pollard: 16:33

Yeah. I'm gonna have to pull that up.

Seth Walker: 16:36

Yeah, he's improvising like so good. There's not a word Oh pop out and that's kind of what happens with songwriting for me you know i mean it varies sometimes I'll get a turn of phrase or or like oh, you know, like the future and what it used to be oh well that we should make a song out of that feel like jumping up for joy? I feel like jumping for joy

Thom Pollard: 17:49

That's good stuff right? Well, I think I I might have said this to you last time we talked I think it's like either Tom Morello or Gary Clark Jr. or something but very you know successful musicians I think they record their entire jam session so if they jam for five hours then then they'll if if in the middle of it they go oh my gosh that was insane. I got rolled the bat then boom but just in case something happens

Seth Walker: 18:21

yeah that's that's that's that's wise I don't do that near enough that's good. Sometimes I will that being said sometimes for instance on my ru open album on if we spoke of this but I would record on my phone sometimes a soundcheck or just you know like a jam it's not I'm I guess I do that sometimes at my house too. I just recorded jam. And there's one instance I recorded this soundcheck and I remember listening back to it going wow, that that's that's danis that's a cool group man. And I had written this poem called inside that I wrote inspired by a piece of art that I bought in Havana Cuba. And I ended up just kind of sing in these words over top of this iPhone recording loop and the song kind of you know, sprouted out of that we actually ended up using the iPhone voice memo on the album as a as a loop. So you never Yeah, you know, that being said, you just you never know what the mean the Muse is a again is is a Mysterious, mysterious one. You never know where it's an idea. You'll never find show. never find your way back. You'll never find yourself

Thom Pollard: 20:08

You know I'm constantly in that process of trying to find my creativity and I and and when I need it sometimes or if there's a deadline let's put it that way if there's a deadline it's on my entire brain and soul feels vacants you know like oh my gosh deadline and the deadline ticking closer you know so then I start waking up more often in the middle of the night like thinking

Seth Walker: 20:38

as the worst but when you when you try to summon it when you try to summon some of that stuff it's usually is it's it goes far far far away from you.

Thom Pollard: 20:52

It is so so what is it for you Are you you know we we've already talked about it a little today but is it a book is it what like not even necessarily on the road but what spurs you to find your creativity Are you a reader Do you do spin Do you have a you know mp3 player going constantly

Seth Walker: 21:13

yeah it's it's it's it's a mixture of those things I mean, I do I do read I'm actually reading this Barbara Kingsolver book about it's about her basically dropping off the grid and being living in a self sustainable farm for a year so this is my talk about the kind of breaks down not only her journey with that but the whole food industry and all these kinds of things. which is which is it's it's been good to read it because you know, I'm trying to get back you know, to to more of a more of a natural place. You know, and being being in nature. And that's one thing I've really enjoyed about talk about inspiration when I'm in when I'm walking and hiking and Blue Ridge Mountains where I'm living now that is where the inspiration comes from. For me these days

Thom Pollard: 22:15

you told me about Elizabeth Gilbert the the writer and something about meeting your genius or something and then and that was very interesting like that's kind of that idea of like, how do you tap into that prolific genius that really exists in all of us it's just most people are so caught up in the day to day race of just saying Okay, the first of the month is coming up, man, I got ran the car payments on the 10th. And, and that crap man will just bog you right down. It's unfortunate, but it will end there's your Blue Ridge mountain. You go out there and your that's your church, I guess, right. Yeah,

Seth Walker: 23:08

that depth that definitely is, is a is a cathartic situation just being, you know, because we how quickly we forget that we are now nature we are dirt. You know. Now, Elizabeth Gilbert, what I what I loved about what she was talking about was, you know, back then she was I think she was speaking of like, at an African ceremonies and things were they, the spirit would come You know, you're just a conduit to the spirit. So the Spirit will come through you and you and you emote. And the Jean she was saying that the genius was outside of ourselves. It comes through us. And then where we got in trouble is when we start to call people a genius. And when you call someone a genius, you put that on them. That's no good. Because then you got all this pressure. You got Hell, I gotta be a genius. And I love and I love that. Just that whole concept. You know, that we don't own any of this.

Thom Pollard: 24:20

Yeah, I'm a conduit. We're just we're just passing through. We don't own any of this. And that genius is word just the portal.

Seth Walker: 24:31

If we're lucky. Yeah,

Thom Pollard: 24:33

if we, if we get to tap into this, this is the truth. And I started to realize some things that I didn't when I was younger, and one of them is that I I start to realize, like, Look, I've always done my best when I've been unencumbered with the burden of worrying what the hell other people are going to think of the shit that I turn out.

Seth Walker: 25:00

Oh man you are you're speaking my language now bro this this is good yeah that that's that is that is such a waste of it's easy it's an easy trap to fall into because it's our it's ultimately our insecurities and our little egos you know yeah but yeah on this on the same way I get very you know I grew up in a commune I don't know if we talked about this last time but I grew up around a lot of different people so I was very influenced I always had some you know so I would you know and I've moved to a lot of different places through my life a lot of different lived in you know a bunch of different music cities. So you want to be open you know, so you can sponge influence, but you also don't want to be pulled around by your nose the same time you have to find where your center is and not be as so worried and influenced by outside by the outside world it's a tough balance

Thom Pollard: 26:11

Yeah, fitting into society trying to be

Seth Walker: 26:15

veering off during it Yeah,

Thom Pollard: 26:19

the minute you put your hands on the steering wheel and try to steer this car or ship you're screwed because it it just doesn't work something goes off the rails and it's in it and it's kind of letting go it takes it inherent faith in whatever that genius is up there

Seth Walker: 26:40

it is the ultimate test I mean it is it is trust in the benevolence of all of it is you know it's a it's it's definitely a leap into the unknown and that's can be scary but can also be extremely wonderful and exciting to to not know the questions or where it's at I don't want to know the answers he wants to know an answer when you got questions I mean that's quite answers got a period at the end of where I was raised grab is all I know I made my way with a big truck move up on I can turn this thing around

Thom Pollard: 27:59

so when you're going on the road and you pack up and you've done it a zillion times is there what what are what are your go to things like what goes in the bag and you know I have to have like

Seth Walker: 28:16

honestly as funny as this because I've been I've been I've been I forgot how to pack a bag I used to be Asian actually I used to never unpack a bag away you need but um anyway let's see what do I take try to try to drive travel light Do you know I do bring some books. I do bring gosh toothbrush

Thom Pollard: 28:55

you're there done

Seth Walker: 28:58

all of all of my hair product gels pomades things like that

Thom Pollard: 29:07

that's called a hat

Seth Walker: 29:11

yeah bring my hats yeah try to bring some fruit and try to we're actually we're about to go by cooler I want to put a cooler in the band so we can try to keep some it's hard find a good food on the road you know you have to I'd rather I'd rather just not eat than that. Oh crap.

Thom Pollard: 29:32

Yeah. So do you do somebody drive for you by the way do you have a guy like your tech?

Seth Walker: 29:39

Oh god do your I wish I appreciate the sentiment. My bass player and we switch off and Tommy drab my bad drummer so we just do it. We do it that way. I've I have had tour managers that come out in the past which is really nice to have have the help but You know we're running we're running lean in Maine right now and it works it works really good we keep it we keep a sample

Thom Pollard: 30:09

yeah that's so interesting I hadn't even thought of that so because that this is probably the majority of touring musicians on the road and so you you ultimately I mean I know you have like management and publicists and stuff but so you become your own manager on the road so like getting going to a gig and whatever the system for tickets or payment is like that's your job probably right that's that's a lot extra work

Seth Walker: 30:40

yeah, it's it is it is it is a juggling act and I think you know getting back to we were talking earlier about the your the anxiousness and nervousness of this how this can be there is there is a lot of moving parts out on the road and I think how I you know, I mean we're we get to the gig we you know, luckily I have a great manager Kevin hook us up and he helps with advancing the show so I know I know when to get there we know about blah but when you get there you get you know you got it you got to you got to load it in you got to get it get get it sound checked each each place is a different type of beast as far as the sound goes and the sound man and or sound woman and got to get the merchandise set up we got to try to find some food that fit the mega setlist and then it's it's it's a lot of things and it used to really really stress me out I'll be honest with you man I mean sometimes I would get just just really jacked up by at all and as I'm as I'm going back into this I'm really I I've just I've just got to relax through that you know as best I can as best I can and then ask for help you know like you know my bass player Reese he helps me with that kind of stuff and Tommy and you know, asking for help is a pretty big one

Thom Pollard: 32:30

it's not easy it's like asking for directions not what what man ever asked for directions on the road

Seth Walker: 32:38

yeah i mean that that's again going back that's a control thing and so that's their you know, to relinquish some of that and and zoom in so many ways is going to be I think it's going to be you know make it a healthier environment for me

Thom Pollard: 32:54

well that said I hate to put you on the spot but do you have any tips for life on the road like what are your just that we might have already covered it but what would you suggest

Seth Walker: 33:10

I mean we have covered it some but but I just wrote a piece actually that it was asking me about that I was just kind of outlining further what we talked about as far as just you know just not trying to not trying to control all of these things that are out of your control the Taoist you know bend and you shall be straight kind of stuff. So that's that's that's a that's a good one to further our points we've been talking about I guess, I guess the other the other one is to actually enjoy the actual enjoy enjoy it. I mean, this is a pretty amazing gift to be able to run around and sing my original songs. I don't know how I get away with it. And but when you're in that room with those people actually be in there, be in that room with them. And sometimes when you have all these things going on in your mind you you think about the next song are you thinking about this or how are we going to get there you forget to actually be in the room and enjoy it. I'm guilty of that a lot. And so that's that's some advice I can give to myself as well as verbal thoughts. We live with question every day, wondering how in the world But I want you to know I'm feeling strong. On note together we can carry on because we got going. We got

Thom Pollard: 35:14

Seth Walker has a book called Your Van Is On Fire. It's a wonderful read funny, insightful stories from life and on the road with art and poetry. I'll put a link to where you can find it in the show notes. More music and tour dates for Seth can also be found at Sethwalker.com. Thank you, Kevin Calabro of Calabro music media for helping set up this interview with the real troubadour himself, Seth. in the show notes I'll also provide a link to my first conversation with Seth from March of 2021 on the happiness quotient podcast called the soul of Seth Walker,

Seth Walker: 35:53

right through this shadow of doubt we got but now

Thom Pollard: 36:04

I'm glad you stopped by. Tools For Nomads is an up close and personal look into the lives and habits of passionate and creatively prolific people like Seth Walker, who embrace and cherish the nomadic lifestyle. For a look at top chores quality collection of tools curated from around the world that help you do your best work wherever you are. Visit top drawer shop.com or visit one of their dozen plus meticulously outfitted shops in Boston Berkeley, Chicago, Tokyo for a complete listing of their store locations again you can go to top door shop.com Thanks for stopping by. We'll see you next time on tools for nomads.

Seth Walker: 36:47

Shadow of doubt... we've got going to be All right. We got a way the chain that we had to get together. We got we got we got we got