Music
Press
Last month, I popped in to Top Fuel, a sleazy little coffee shop on Sunset Blvd, to catch Dean, a singer / songwriter from Liverpool, do his first solo set in the US.
Top Fuel isn't exactly overflowing with customers who've come to see the artists who perform there. On the contrary! At least on the occasions that I've been there, it is frequented by the locals who straggle in with seemingly little or nothing to do with their lives, sipping coffee for hours while they play cards or just sit in a lifeless self indulgent stupor, lacking respect for the artists who seat themselves on the small stage before them. But Dean was about to change all that!
A couple of drunks took notice of Dean's Liverpudlian accent as he greeted the audience. Dean began strumming his acoustic guitar and with a slight grin his voice resonated in the room with a kind of warmth and humour that reached out and firmly gripped everyone within ear range. "It's 4:00 in the morning and all my friends are dead!" he sang out. A shuffle in the room as I felt the energy of this late night crowd sit up and take notice.
Dean took us through an emotional roller coaster with his music, as he amusingly segued from this dark edgy tune into a sweet heartfelt ballad, followed by an upbeat yet whimsical melody into a darker hard driving beat. Suddenly the room seemed to flair up when a coat flew through the air with an explosion of emotion from the once deadbeats who dived into an all out coffee house bar brawl, inclusive of pool cues being suddenly transformed into samurai swords, arms swinging wildly and bodies clambering all over the floor in front of the stage where Dean played on without missing a beat. Even when it looked as though this singer/songwriter would end up in this mishmash of raging fools ( they were ON the stage by now ) before him, Dean played on with humour and grace which transformed a room of stragglers into a captured audience. That's what I call entertainment!
Dean's music seduces your soul as he balances darkness with hope, cynicism with longing and loss with desire. Each song is a cycle of human emotions. His lyrics are easily related to, if you are at all human. When Dean finished his hour long set he left everyone in the room begging
"...I want more !"
Steven DePace.
- Music Connection
“There are elements of Led Zeppelin in this young man, not to
mention occasional hints of Pink Floyd. Oh, and the Doors.
Then there’s … the Beatles.
Dean might have many classic influences but make no
mistake he’s an exciting, cutting edge performer who pays his
respects to the past while launching a vibrant assault on
the future.
Songs like the emotive ‘3:14’ stand peacock proud, strutting a millennium plumage of rare colour and depth.
If you’re looking for an artist that combines the traditional values
of British rock bands with a state-of-the-art cool that goes a lot further than a decent haircut and a day pass to the latest trends,
then this is what you’ve been waiting for. Melody, style, class, passion, power, focus, the sort of thing we used to take as the predominant facets of rock, and the sort of thing we seem to
have forgotten about.
Such is the verve and self belief here you’d have thought
He’d had several years of arena experience behind him.
That surely will be his destiny!”
Malcolm Dome Total Rock Radio, Classic Rock, author.
- Kerrang! Magazine
Dean Walker –'Cliche' 2DOGS RECORDS
ROCK ALTERNATIVE AND INDIE CLUB DJs
Summary to date – This is a great reaction to the first release from a completely unknown and
un-promoted artist and is receiving almost complete support across the whole of the UK rock,
alternative and indie circuit.
• Comments from club DJ’s –
“Bombastic – Punk- Industiral – Disco – rock! Cliché is a fucking Legend! Kinda slinks in, fucks
yer girlfriend and leaves with a smirk. Cliché is a great sound. GENIUS.”
Carling Academy / Beautiful people London.
“What the fuck is this? Fuckin’ great rock n roll track. Great delivery all over and
destined for greatness!!”
Waterfront, Norwich
“The perfect club tune! Wow it’s explosive, catchy riff, distorted catchy vocals,
bouncy! and indie too. Huge tune. Will be massive.”
CSL, Coventry
“Asked for before I had the song. wot luck’- Ten out of Ten, Excellent.”
Edwards no 8, Birmingham
“He has energy and an exciting sound. Impossible to bracket he offers something
exceptionally good and original. Reminds me of the imagination of early Beck.’”
Happy Thursdays? Opium Lounge
“Takin’ no prisoners! This guy fuckin’ rocks!!
“Cliché” is a rip roarin’ floor blitzer. Infectious vocals chugging bass, razor riffs. LOVE IT!!!!”
The Witchwood, Manchester
“Great music great vocals, old rock sound for the 21st century got the aggression,
got the chorus, got the attention of the punters – must have more”
Rigby’s Hull
“Exciting & Energetic, like to listen to more. (Bullet the Blue Sky)’ U2”
Edwards No.8 Birmingham.
“Short sharp and sweet this reminds me of the Beatles around the white album
the distorted vocals, with more riffs and hooks than a roll of barbed wire and as fucking cutting.”
Maximum FM Keighthly
“Bit of a find this one - excellent stuff.”
CUBA CUBA Newcastle
“Commercial, glammy and stompy doing the business on the floor – a great song.”
various venues, Ipswich
“Brilliant sound, very popular, it’s good to hear more artists with that rock ‘n’ roll sound.”
Cathouse, Glasgow
“Yeah this rocks! Ta. Think it’s just gonna need a few more plays &
it’ll be Cool & the Gang.”
UPSU/ Alcalvaz, Portsmouth
“Quality songs from a master songs man, Excellent.”
Rock club
“Great production! Really like ‘Cliché’. Look forward to hearing whole album.”
Bedford.
"Really excellent, great dancefloor filler.”
Shall be playing many times over the coming months."
The Dirty Rider Club, London
"Great looping bass-line and chord crunches. More big distorted power and
walloping chorus. Easy player too, hope it does well."
Music Dash, Manchester
“This guy really kicks ass, I love it and yes please, I would love a copy of the album!”
KC Tavern, Newbury
“I've been dropping this one into my set for a few months and I think it's a great tune.”
The Krazyhouse, Liverpool
“Loads of influences in there all mixed up to produce a fantastic song. Cliché' is a superb
mid-tempo tune. Destined for big things.”
The Smithy, Bradford
“This song is pretty damn good, but coupled with the video it's an absolute killer.”
Bar Phono, Leeds
“The stocking over the CD was a nice touch… it gave a feeling of menace.
The main track uses that feeling, adds a bit of claustrophobia and rides off that
with scraping guitar riffs.”
Esquires, Bedford
Dean Walker – '…I Want More' 2DOGS RECORDS
ROCK ALTERNATIVE AND INDIE CLUB DJs
Summary to date – A really great reaction to the full album so far. Most DJs really like the varied influences on the album and agree that it has a lot of truly outstanding tracks on it. So far the club DJ's favorites are 'Cliché', 'Beautiful' 'Inside' and 'Broken Hearted', which they think are the best club tracks on the album these are apart from the airplay tracks they have identified.
This service was targeted to create a fan base at UK rock, alternative and indie clubs, Dean is
getting a strong reaction from a wide variety of punters and it's really encouraging that they're
so into the chilled material as well as 'Cliché' and the other drillers!
In conclusion, considering that Dean is unknown and had no prior hype, several tracks from ‘THE ALBUM’ are being played out alongside the industries biggest names, this is an excellent! response and continues the trend of the reactions we had for the single ‘CLICHÉ’.
• Comments from club DJ’s –
“Another wonderful thing t - Wild Promotions
CLICHÉ :: Dean :: 3 Trk CD :: Walker Music By JA
Liverpudlian one man outfit Dean, utilises a heavy blend of breeze block guitars with cut and
paste loops, all of which build up to a really intimidating wall of sound. The signature phrase
is based around the loudest set of three chords, maybe in the world ever. It’s a real,
adrenaline busting, slice of retro-sounding verse breaks, shouty bridges and a rebel rousing
chorus, that’ll set the hairs on the back of your neck on end. It’s backed up by two punky,
’77 inspired, blistering cuts, which splice up the guitars of The Pistols with the angsty melodics of
Gen X and 999. Clever stuff, but most of all compellingly, infectiously loud. MMMM ½
…I WANT MORE :: Dean :: 4 Trk CD:: Walker Music By AS
Dean’s second outing is a real rocking out affair. Dean seems pretty studio bound – and he seems to write and perform the lot. But “I Want More” is a thick slice of new rock, full of splattered guitars, chunky distortions and more than enough energy to make the walls bow out in a mid garden terrace. Dean could have the makings of a rock band to equal the pompous spontaneity of The Cooper Temple Clause and the damn right infectious content of any chart hit. It shouldn’t really be allowed – remarkable still, is the fact that Dean is yet to ink a major contract. When he does sign, he’ll be using a hand that has more talent in it than the whole of Camden.
MMMM.
…I WANT MORE :: Dean :: 13- Trk CD:: Walker Music By DH
Talk about self-assurance. Dean has plastered moody topless shots of himself
on both the front and back covers not to mention a large mugshot on the inside. In sync with
such apparent narcissistic tendencies ‘…I Want More’ is from start to finish soaked in swagger.
Dean blends pop/rock with cheeky non-standard arrangements heavily leaning into crossover territory. He slips in gutsy breaks, dance and even drum n bass beats as well as compulsive synths and samples.
The quandary unravels when you actually discover where Dean is coming from. This is
unabashed pop entertainment. A challenge one presumes to the likes of Robbie Williams and
Daniel Bedingfield both of whom he outstrips by a long chalk because as far as pop entertainment goes this is challenging stuff with an undeniable level of talent here.
Dean’s debut LP is light-years ahead of its competition.
- Manchester Music Magazine
Discography
'Cliche' is available now as download from iTunes, HMV Digital, Virgin Digital, Yahoo Music Engine, Real and Napster.
You can get a free clip of the 'Cliche' video from RollingStone.com
The ringtone (realtone) and wallpaper are available on Ringtone Jukebox.
'Cliche' is being played on Indie103.1 fm and many internet radio stations.
The 3 track single 'Cliche', 'Get On Up' and 'Out Of My Way' are being used by Red Bull on their Air Challenge tv programme.
'Remember Us 3:14' is available as download from iTunes, HMV Digital and Virgin Digital.
You can hear all of these tracks and watch the video of 'Cliche' and 'Inside' at: www.myspace.com/deanwalker
The next single is called 'Heaven Is A Promise' and is set for release mid July. Watch this space . . . .
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS, A PARADOX, A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS, AN ICONOCLAST AND A ROCK AND ROLL STATE OF BEING!
Dean Walker comes from the notoriously tough and uncompromising streets of Huyton in Liverpool - known locally as 2DOGS – an area that produces people of great ambition and immense talent, but with that extra special spark that defines them from the rest. The same streets that have given football Steven Gerrard, have given music Dean Walker, those very streets are the roots behind his music.
Dean, whose parents are disabled, was nearly killed at the age of 13 by a stab wound to the throat, just for looking different; it was this incident which became the catalyst for Dean’s determination to succeed. Educated and informed by the Christian Brothers he went off to university to study medicine returning home after the first year, to say he wanted to complete his ambition harboured from a very early age after attending ‘The Police’ Synchronicity tour, to write and perform songs of substance and style.
As a result Dean has toured the world, played in almost every main venue, Theatre and Town Hall in the UK and was booked to play several arenas. He has played all the main venues in Los Angeles, and has played New York State, Chicago, San Fransisco and Mexico, Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
As well as performing Rock his vocal range has enabled Dean to sing opera and jazz. He sang the aria ‘Nessun Dorma’ at Liverpool football Club’s Anfield Stadium, at the memorial for the Hillsborough Tragedy, where 96 Liverpool fans were killed. Dean’s vocal coach at the time, Tona DeBrett, was encouraging Dean to record a full operatic album. He has also been known to perform an impromptu jazz set of classic Nina Simone songs, Nina being his all time favourite performer.
Dean has been offered many film roles but played in only two, one being about the life of the young John Lennon by NBC America, whose executive producer said “I have auditioned thousands of young men in my time, Dean is the most charismatic of them all”
Dean is currently in Los Angeles putting the finishing touches to his second album, performing gigs and licensing his music to worldwide brands, and most importantly he has recently gained syndicated airplay from both ‘Indie103.1’ in LA where he has performed live on air on Sat Bisla’s Passport Approved Show and ‘Mancow’ in Chicago where he is due to perform live on air. In his spare time he has an ad and modelling contract with NTA Talent as well as being a regular guest on World Soccer Daily, a syndicated football talk show.
So there you have it, In an age of manufactured pop, reality TV and all the other vehicles for the ‘15 minutes of fame’ junkies, here’s the real deal. Someone who has toured extensively throughout the UK and the USA learning his trade playing solo as well as performing with his band to packed houses with some of the biggest rock acts in the world gaining their praise and approval.
A modern day British rock star, with bags of charisma who writes, produces, sings and performs with an attitude that screams of both anger and arrogance, yet pulls at a deeper kind of emotion.
On one hand he wants to save the world, on the other he wants to destroy it. Good and bad, black and white. Two distinct and complex identities.
Links
