Brian Walker aka A Day Without Love is the definition of DIY in my humble opinion. This human lives and breathes music and collaborations, relentlessly practicing and releasing new sounds. I was delighted to get a listen at his new collaboration “Where You Fit In” featuring all Philadelphia musicians: Kelsey Cork of Kelsey Cork and the Swigs on Sax, Jace Miller of Alright Junior on Bass, Erin Fox of Erin Fox on guitar and vocals, Aaron Weiss on Keys, and Branden King on Drums. They all teamed with Philly producer/songwriter Jesse Gimbel to create this jazz fusion alternative rock song.
Immediately the track entices with soothing twinkling guitar that reels you in softly. The song quickly shifts to a more upbeat tempo, accompanied by a lulling sax and beautiful vocals by Erin and Brian. I really loved how lush and dense all the instruments are with the voices. It took me a few listens to really soak and digest all the instrumental elements and the lyrics. Listen so you can hear for yourself!! Artwork for the single by Dre Grigorpool. I was stoked that Brian and Erin wanted to answer some questions about the track and a little more.
Elaina Valore: Hey Brian and Erin thanks for your time!! Real quick how would you describe your sound? What do you personally identify as if you had to put a few labels on yourself?
Brian Walker: Thank you Elaina, I would say I am multi-genre mostly but if I had to say I am in three categories I would say folk punk, indie rock, and alt rock. However I dabble with jazz, blues, electronic (chillhop /edm), and rap.
EV: How did you all come together for this track? Have any of you met in real life?
BW: Erin Fox and I met in person and traded lyrics from our cell phones a few months prior to COVID-19, we had one jam session at Philadelphia School of Rock, then we recorded with Jesse Gimbel a producer and songwriter out of Philadelphia, we still had to complete the Piano and Bass parts which we recorded remotely and shared files over Dropbox. Jesse took those files and made magic. Also thank God, for groupchats.
EV: Who came up with the lyrics for the song? Was there a certain message you wanted to get across?
BW: We both shared lyrics from notes we had in our cell phones for other ideas and then built the song together. In terms of a message or vision the song is intended to share the idea that it's important to recognize your own positive energy even when you are facing the hard times because when you face the positive you give room to find your own happiness with others.
EV: How have you personally been coping during this time of pandemic social distance?
BW: Pandemic has been difficult, I have lost two family members to non COVID related diseases and lost an Uncle to COVID-19. Many of my peers lost friends and family and it has been hard to cope. It feels disrespectful to be around peers who are breaking the rules. However, I have been trying to stay grounded with a daily routine of practice, yoga, writing, production and other self development. Erin Fox: I’ve been coping by learning to record on my own and by gardening. EV: What is your favorite type of chips??? Favorite dish?? BW: I don't eat potato chips often , but when I do, you can holler at some sour cream and onion with the ruffles. My favorite food of all time is chashu ramen.
EF: My favorite chips are Takis. EV: I see you post a lot online about your routine, I admire how disciplined and focused you are! Can you explain to us some of your habits? How do you stay consistent? BW: Thank you! I try to accomplish 2 -3 big goals a day and then work on small tasks to get them done. I flex those goals based on self care, spirituality, career, community, content and music and make sure I spend anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours on each task. I don't try to obsess too much and if I have a longer task I spread myself out. I do give myself some time to reflect at times, but I don't try to take too much time off otherwise I would lose focus. I stay consistent as I have a lot of things I want to say musically, so I try to spread out my content, I haven't run out of things to say... yet. EV: What was one of your favorite shows you ever played? Do you have any shows coming up? BW: One of my more recent favorite shows was playing the Musicians for Bernie show, 32,000 people saw me play and I was just playing in my pajamas. I felt very comfortable. I don't have any shows coming up any time soon, but I am recording for two EPs and an album in 2021. EF: My favorite show played this year was Philadelphia Folk Fest.
EV: How do you feel about the future of shows, have you been planning anything?
BW: Right now I am organizing for a Musician's Equity Survey to help reorganize how musicians are given equity , fairness and resources when it comes to booking. I think going back to shows is a good thing, but I think we need to collectively organize for fairness as many practices in the music industry and community have not been exactly fair for artists. You can view the survey here (https://bit.ly/MusiciansEquitySurvey). EV: How would you like to see the scene change when we get back to doing more shows irl? BW: I would like to see it become more accessible, less paywalls, more inclusion and representation, and more community uplifting and development. I know it sounds vague and pitchy, but there are many inequalities that discourage people from fitting in or being able to access communities. If we held stakeholders responsible for communicating, working fairly and treating each other as equals we would be moving forward to making music communities more safe. Music does not need to be competitive , there may be a lot of musicians, but theres still many more non musicians and we all deserve a space at the table to share our story. EF: I’m also hopeful for the future of the scene and to see more inclusion and coverage of a more diverse landscape of artists from all walks of life who make different types of music that deviate from our collective habitual norms. EV: Where do you fit in?
BW: I ask myself that question every day, some days I don't know, other days I just say right where my feet are and where I am moving forward. I fit in the place that I am walking to , the dreams that I chase and with the people I meet along the way. EF: I never knew where I fit in (especially growing up), but I was lucky enough to find myself through music. So I believe as long as I’m making music, that’s where I belong.