Brian Walker

BOSTON — Brian Walker, a 2011 graduate of Exeter High School, was one of six Berklee College of Music students selected to take the stage with John Mayer on June 17. Mayer wore the hat of a professor that Friday, listening to students’ original songs and critiquing them along the way.

Walker, 24, of East Kingston, is in his third year at Berklee, studying songwriting and production. “I’m interested in performing, writing and producing for other artists as well as myself,” he said. Walker sings and plays guitar and piano.

Walker’s songwriting teacher Pat Pattison selected six students to each spend 20 minutes with Mayer as their mentor on stage at the Berklee Performance Center. Mayer, the popular singer/songwriter, who has penned hits such as “Your Body Is A Wonderland” and “Gravity,” is a Berklee alumnus.

“It was pretty amazing,” Walker said. “Once I got up there, it was kind of surreal. But once I started playing it felt like any other performance. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in it. It’s one of those things you look back on it’s surreal to think about.”

Walker said when Mayer first walked into the waiting room, there was a “nervous, excited energy” before the songwriting clinic.

“He stands 6′3″ and towers over most of the people in the room,” Walker said. “It almost felt like everyone was holding their breath until he left.”

Walker played an original song on piano called “Let Me In.” Mayer’s advice, Walker said, was to dissect each line to make the whole song cohesive.

“He was a down-to-earth guy,” Walker said. “He was easy to talk to, approachable, shook everyone’s hand. I thought he was just really insightful. I think it’s really cool nowadays top 40 songs are written by five or six people and his songs are just written by him.”

Mayer had Walker rework his song by switching some lines in the chorus, to “maximize a song’s potential.”


“He would say, ‘Line by line you want to make sure the song is as strong as you can make it,’” Walker said. “The rewriting part is the important process, to make sure every single line is interesting and the whole song builds.”

Walker said his classmates were excited for his time with Mayer. One classmate emailed him after the songwriting clinic and said they were touched by the lyrics of Walker’s song.

“I’m going for a top 40 pop/R&B sound,” Walker said. “Some of my influences are artists like Ne-Yo, OneRepublic, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake and Ed Sheeran among others. I’d love to have a career as a singer/songwriter, and have some songs get on the radio, but I would also be happy writing for other artists and producing. I’m currently cowriting regularly with my songwriting friends, and creating tracks for other singer-songwriters at Berklee.”
Walker started playing piano in elementary school, diving deep into music after high school. He took took vocal lessons while a student at the University of New Hampshire. He applied to attend Berklee while a senior at UNH.

For the summer, Walker is working on his family’s East Kingston fruit and vegetable farm, Monahan Farm. He’ll also be playing several shows at the Exeter Inn, including July 5, July 12, Aug. 16 and Aug. 30.

For more information on Walker, visit www.facebook.com/BrianWalkerMusic or contact BrianWalkerMusic@yahoo.com. - Seacoast Online