Matt Walker (drummer)

This article is about the drummer. For the ice hockey player, see Matt Walker (ice hockey).
Matt Walker

Chicago 2014
Background information
Birth name Matt Snyder
Born May 21, 1969
Wilmette, Illinois[1]
Genres Rock, alternative, experimental
Occupation(s) Musician, drummer
Instruments Drums
Years active 1987–present
Associated acts Filter, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cupcakes, The Most Dangerous Race, Ashtar Command, Impossible Recording Machine, Garbage, Morrissey
Website mattwalker.info

Matt Walker is a Chicago based musician and former drummer for Filter, The Smashing Pumpkins and Morrissey.

Matt Walker began his career in Chicago in the mid-1980s, when he began playing drums for the Chicago bands Scott Bennett & The Obvious, The Clinic, Brad Peterson and Peat Moss and Tribal Opera until joining the band Filter in 1994. Matt toured with Filter in support of the album, "Short Bus" until 1996. Filter toured with The Smashing Pumpkins in Europe and when Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was fired after a heroin overdose, Walker was hired to replace Chamberlin. He finished the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness tour with the band (1996–1997) and all of their dates up until the beginning of the Adore tour. Walker also recorded the song "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" with the band on the official Batman & Robin movie soundtrack, as well as several tracks on The Smashing Pumpkins Adore. He also worked with Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan on the soundtrack for the movie Ransom and with Pumpkins guitarist James Iha on Iha's solo album Let It Come Down.[2] In 1998, Walker's own band, Cupcakes, was signed to DreamWorks Records and subsequently left the Pumpkins to record the Cupcakes album.[3] Matt was replaced by John Mellencamp's drummer, Kenny Aronoff, for the Pumpkins "Adore" tour. Walker did, however, play with the Pumpkins again at their final show on December 2, 2000 when he played percussion on an alternate version of the song "Muzzle" and drums on "1979", while the original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin played acoustic guitar. He once again rejoined the Pumpkins on percussion during the Chicago dates of their 20th anniversary tour in November and December 2008. Walker also performed with the Pumpkins at a benefit concert at the Metro in Chicago, in July 2010 for an encore of "1979."

Matt went on to other collaborative efforts including Ashtar Command with former Filter member, Brian Liesegang,and Chris Holmes.[4] Matt co-created the band, impossible recording machine with Jim Dinou.[5]

In 2002, Matt filled in for an ailing Butch Vig during Garbage's European tour. In 2005, he played on Garbage's album, Bleed Like Me, and also recorded and toured with Billy Corgan to promote the solo album, TheFutureEmbrace.[6]

Walker was also a member of the band theMDR (the Most Dangerous Race), who appeared on the 2007 MySpace/SPIN Smashing Pumpkins tribute album performing "Signal to Noise," an unreleased Smashing Pumpkins song.[7] While on hiatus from Morrissey, Matt writes songs and performs under the name "of1000faces" with various singers and musicians. Under his own name in 2009, Walker co-wrote with Adam Ant and Morrissey/Ant guitarist Boz Boorer, as well as drummed on, the track Marrying The Gunner's Daughter, the quasi-title track of Ant's 2013 album Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter.

Walker has played drums with Morrissey since 2006, and played on his albums, Years of Refusal, and Swords and his 2014 album World Peace Is None of Your Business.

As of 2014, Walker has been working closely with Billy Corgan to remix many of the tracks due to appear on the upcoming Adore reissue.

Drum Setup

In a 2010 interview, Matt stated he uses all Zildjian cymbals. His drum kit varies on the material he is working on but has used a Gretsch USA Custom 6-piece kit.[8]

Personal life

Walker has three children and is married to Char Walker.

References

  1. ↑ "Index of articles". Wilmette Life. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Hess, Scott (April 1, 1998). "James Iha Debuts Solo Album in Chicago". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  3. ↑ Hindin, Seth (November 18, 1997). "Walker Leaving Smashing Pumpkins". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  4. ↑ Fischer, Blair (August 26, 1999). "Filter Are Back in the Fold". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  5. ↑ "Impossible Recording Machine official site". Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  6. ↑ Harrington, Richard (June 24, 2005). "Finding Billy Corgan". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  7. ↑ "TheMDR to 'Signal to Noise'". SPIN Magazine. June 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  8. ↑ "talkin' shop with Matt Walker". Rock and Roll Tribe. October 14, 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

External links