Django Walker
Encyclopedia
Django Walker is a Texas Country
singer-songwriter
and the frontman for the Django Walker Band.
, Walker is the son of country music
artist Jerry Jeff Walker
and Susan Walker. He began learning to play guitar at age 15. After graduating from Austin High School
in 1999, he attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
from 1999 to 2001, but did not graduate. He has said the experience made him "a better musician", but also says he learned much more traveling out on the road.
His band's debut CD, Down the Road, produced by Lloyd Maines
, was released in 2002. Walker released the CD on a label he formed himself, Lazy Kid Music. He recorded the CD in five days, and wrote all but one of the songs himself. One of those songs, "Texas on my Mind", was later recorded by Pat Green
, and reached number 1 on the Texas Music Chart. Walker had written the song while a student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Walker's second CD, Six Trips Around the World, was released in 2006. It was produced by Mark Bryan
of Hootie and the Blowfish, and recorded at Bryan's home in South Carolina
.
artists The Beatles
, Bob Dylan
, The Allman Brothers, Tom Petty
, Neil Young
, as well as country
artists Merle Haggard
, Waylon Jennings
, Willie Nelson
, Pat Green
, Robert Earl Keen
, Guy Clark
, and Townes Van Zandt
. Reviewers have described his style as "unique country", "country/rocker", and "classic rock with undertones of good old Southern comfort".
in Austin, Texas
, graduating in 1999. He played on the varsity basketball team, and, while studying in England, played semi-professional basketball
.
Texas Country
Texas country music is a rapidly growing sub-genre of American country music. Texas country is known for fusing traditionalist root sounds with the outspoken, care-free views of outlaw country...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and the frontman for the Django Walker Band.
Biography
Named after Belgian guitarist Django ReinhardtDjango Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, Walker is the son of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...
and Susan Walker. He began learning to play guitar at age 15. After graduating from Austin High School
Austin High School (Austin, Texas)
Stephen F. Austin High School, or more commonly Austin High, founded in 1881, is one of the oldest public high schools west of the Mississippi River, and was the first public high school in the state of Texas....
in 1999, he attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is, despite its young age, one of the United Kingdom's leading institutions for the performing arts. The university is situated in the English city of Liverpool...
from 1999 to 2001, but did not graduate. He has said the experience made him "a better musician", but also says he learned much more traveling out on the road.
Career
When he was 16, Walker wrote his first song, "The Road You Choose", and performed it on stage at his father's shows. His father recorded it on his 1999 CD, Gypsy Songman, and Django later released his own recording of it.His band's debut CD, Down the Road, produced by Lloyd Maines
Lloyd Maines
Lloyd Maines is an American Grammy Award-winning country music record producer, musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas and is now based in Bulverde, Texas....
, was released in 2002. Walker released the CD on a label he formed himself, Lazy Kid Music. He recorded the CD in five days, and wrote all but one of the songs himself. One of those songs, "Texas on my Mind", was later recorded by Pat Green
Pat Green
Patrick Craven "Pat" Green is an American Texas Country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of ten studio albums, including several independent works, three for Republic Records and two for BNA...
, and reached number 1 on the Texas Music Chart. Walker had written the song while a student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Walker's second CD, Six Trips Around the World, was released in 2006. It was produced by Mark Bryan
Mark Bryan
Mark Bryan is the lead guitarist for the band Hootie & the Blowfish. He also plays the mandolin, among numerous other instruments, and helps with background vocals....
of Hootie and the Blowfish, and recorded at Bryan's home in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Musical style
Walker has cited several different influences for his musical style, including popular rockRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
artists The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The Allman Brothers, Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, as well as country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artists Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Pat Green
Pat Green
Patrick Craven "Pat" Green is an American Texas Country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of ten studio albums, including several independent works, three for Republic Records and two for BNA...
, Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen, Junior is an American Texas Country singer-songwriter. He is popular with fans of traditional country music, folk music, college radio, and alt-country. Keen currently resides in Kerrville, Texas and maintains a ranch in Medina, Texas.-Early life:Growing up in Houston, Texas,...
, Guy Clark
Guy Clark
Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....
, and Townes Van Zandt
Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
. Reviewers have described his style as "unique country", "country/rocker", and "classic rock with undertones of good old Southern comfort".
Personal
Walker attended Austin High SchoolAustin High School (Austin, Texas)
Stephen F. Austin High School, or more commonly Austin High, founded in 1881, is one of the oldest public high schools west of the Mississippi River, and was the first public high school in the state of Texas....
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, graduating in 1999. He played on the varsity basketball team, and, while studying in England, played semi-professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
.