Walk The Rio
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Walk The Rio

Los Angeles, California, United States | SELF

Los Angeles, California, United States | SELF
Band Rock EDM

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"Fullerton band’s passion plays through challenges"

When Shawn Walker began writing music for his grandfather’s hypnotherapy-for-children project a year and a half ago, he couldn’t have foreseen that it would be the key that would open the door to his future, or that it would bring six gifted people together to fuse their unique musical talents into one unifying sound.

Sensing that his hypnotherapy music had some serious potential, Walker set out on an ambitious quest to gather his army. He began with Eric Rios on the guitar. When trying to dub their new band with a name, Walker and Rios jokingly suggested combining both of their last names. When they found it more intriguing than humorous, they knew that they had found their name. Next, Walker added Justin Vidal, Cal Sate Fullerton kinesiology major and old ballet buddy (yes, ballet – tights and all), on the drums. He was originally rejected by keyboardist and CSUF illustration major Christina Mansour, but changed her mind with the influence of his song, “One More Song.” He added Marty Cole, bass guitarist and Dustin Russell, lead guitarist, around the same time. According to Vidal, Cole and Russell were the last pieces of the puzzle. And with that, Walk the Rio was born.

After playing world-famous venues like Whisky A-Go-Go, Knitting Factory, Chain Reaction and the Viper Room, not to mention playing at the 2009 Warped Tour after winning the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands, it seemed like they are well on their way to success.

It’s a common assumption that, when you put six artists together, the results typically won’t be a happy union of coinciding ideas. Walk the Rio seems to break that barrier. Combining multiple genres of sound, including rock and dance, Walk the Rio creates a marriage of heavy guitars, ultramodern beats and killer vocals. The result? An insane, rocker love-child, catchy enough to implant itself permanently into anyone’s brain, regardless of what type of music you think you love.

When speaking with Walk the Rio, it was immediately apparent that there is certainly no shortage of passion in this group. This was especially clear when hearing Mansour recollect her favorite performance. According to Mansour, she will never forget playing at Eastmont Intermediate School. Located in a less-than-thriving neighborhood, the students of Eastmont don’t always get the chance to experience live performances. Even after getting a ticket on the way to the show, and showing up two songs into the set, the energy and appreciation of the students made it one of her best memories to this day. She recalls, “They don’t get to go to concerts, but they got to experience this. I think I smiled for three days afterwards.”

Besides the expected challenges facing an up-and-coming band, Vidal has been facing his own challenge since May 2009. May 16 at around 8 o’clock in the morning, Vidal was hit by a car in front of CSUF while riding his bike home from a friend’s house. After receiving multiple spinal and collarbone surgeries, he is still not finished healing. Needless to say, the accident had tremendous effects on Vidal’s ability to dedicate himself to the band. He has not, however, let his injury hinder him. Instead, he played shows in his wheelchair and fought through the pain. According to Vidal, “No matter what the obstacle is, do it. There’s always going to be another test. Christina said it best – I have a really hard obstacle to get to a really big goal.”

Walk the Rio has released two EP’s so far, and is currently working on a new one to be released by the end of this year. As for the future, we can expect to see a lot of evolution in the sound. The newer music is “untouchable,” according to Mansour, and implements a heavier guitar sound as well as a more computerized and modern beat. They will also be back on tour and performing once Vidal is completely healed. Russell, lead guitarist, also emphasized a desire to connect people to each other through music. He summed it up by saying, “The future is a bright one. We are making music that allows us to play … with passion and total disregard for how cool we look. We hope to inspire people, because we inspire each other.”

Walk the Rio’s music can be found on iTunes or by visiting www.walktherio.com. For more information on the band, upcoming events, or individual members, visit the Web site. Also, look for Vidal or Mansour around campus for a free CD. - Kristen Hulsey, Daily Titan


"UNSIGNED BANDS 2010: Walk the Rio"

The Rio Grande is a river that rages for more than 1,800 miles from Colorado to Mexico. Walk The Rio is an electro rock band that rages all throughout Southern California.
The band, composed of a whopping six members, consists of Shawn Walker on vocals, Dustin Russell on lead guitar, Eric Rios on rhythm guitar, Christina Mansour on keyboard, Marty Cole on bass and Justin Vidal on drums. As the story goes, Walker and Rios were casually trying to come up with names for the band when Rios decided the combination of their last names would be perfect.


"It made sense and it had a certain ring to it," he said. Plus, it also has a special meaning. "I believe Walk The Rio means unification. Being together and being able to do the impossible. Rio means ‘river' and we all know walking on water is impossible, but not for Walk The Rio," he explained.


It started when Walker, Rios, Mansour and Vidal met at CSU Fullerton and decided to jam. Later, the quartet met Russell and Cole. "They made such an impression that we knew they were the missing pieces of our hearts," Vidal said. The group bonded immediately.
"The greatest thing about being in this band is how it feels more like a family than a band," Cole said. "But being a family also comes with family issues sometimes. You never know what's going to happen next, whether it's someone in the hospital or someone is living in their car. But at the end of the day, we all love each other and are one big happy family, just like ‘The Jetsons.'"


The special relationship the members share is also apparent in Walk The Rio's music. "I try to express personal life events through songs," Walker said. "These events either took place or have a great possibility to take place in the future … I try to keep lyrics somewhat general to help listeners identify with the event or emotion. There is a hint of struggle within the music and lyrics, but also an overtone of triumph. Anything is possible ... not easy, possible."


With a group this tight, getting the recognition it deserves is only a matter of time. However, as far as the sextet is concerned, that can wait. As Rios said, "Our main goal is to inspire and reach out to people. We are tying to do something different and change the world.


"And, also tour for the rest of our lives," he added. - Allie Daugherty, Entertainment Editor


"Today's Style: Modern Rock Saturday August 7, 2010"

Yesterday I ended up chilling out at the SESAC songwriter’s bootcamp. I took in a few panels. One in particular was by Greg Curtis talking about getting the business side of a song together. Something few musicians do, or even understand how to do. It was a very animated talk. I enjoyed it.

I ran into a lot of people I knew. I even had people I didn’t know, but who knew me introduce themselves. That’s always fun.

I was part of the panel for Video Game soundtrack stuff and based on the feedback I got from people who had attended, it was inspiring. That’s definitely a good sign. I even got to meet a contact face to face that I have been chatting with on the phone about bringing some of my music to Rockband and Guitar Hero. It’s always good to put a face with the name. We chatted a bit about where we’re at with it. Definite plus. That reminds me that I need to put a reminder in my calendar, right now.

Afterwards it was a networking fest of people exchanging cards and information. If there is one thing SESAC knows how to do, it’s throw a great party.

Walk The Rio was a band that was at the SESAC bootcamp. They weren’t performing. But I met the drummer and chatted with him. Very cool chap. He mentioned that his band sounded like Muse, and a couple of other bands, so I was interested in hearing it. Once I popped the CD in, I was thinking that it sounded more like a modern version of Dan Reed Network. That’s not a bad thing. Not quite as funky as Dan Reed, but certainly what I could think would be a natural progression of that sound. Very rhythmic, cool vocals, searing guitars, and lots of little ear candy pieces with synths.

It’s a very cool sound as you can hear right now. I’m gonna have to turn Dan onto them.

Change the World is the song that I felt like going with mostly because I like the idea of that title. Everyone is capable of making a difference on this planet if they put their mind to it. Obviously it would be great if people did great things to help others, rather than creating destruction. I prefer the positive myself.

Enjoy the tune and I highly recommend getting the whole CD as it all rocks. - Single of The Day


Discography

One Hand and the Clap Heard Round the World (2009)
Self-Titled (2011)

Photos

Bio

After selling 2,000 CDs from our first EP “One Hand and the Clap Heard Round the World”, there is only one thing for us to do, keep going. We were lucky enough to win “Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands” to play Los Angeles Warped Tour in 2009. We earned endorsements from Masters of Maple drums. We have interviewed and streamed songs at college radio stations. We wrote the Cliff’s Notes version on how to sell out a party bus at our CD release party. We had the opportunity to go on a killer Northern California Tour. We’ve even whored ourselves out in LA and OC at great venues such as The Roxy Theater, Whisky A-Go-Go, The Viper Room, House of Blues, Chain Reaction, and others, making promoters more than happy to book us again.

Now we’ve traded in the pop for a dirty new pair of Rock and Synthesizer boots, opening up to a new audience. You will still dance, but have no shame throwing your fists in the air at the same time with our new 5 song self-titled EP set to release in January 2011. The new EP is all around grittier with a matured sound. It is triumphant, but not overly serious, we throw in a hint of fun, craziness and a lot of energy. Our local following has been growing and more than supportive, consistently filling up venues in southern California.

Our goal is to reach the rest of the US and tour to demanding areas across the nation in 2011. We will continue to write and release music with less time in between releases. We’ve started multiple campaigns to raise money to advertise to a bigger audience with projects such as kickstarter.com, selling extra show tickets and having crazy after parties (don’t miss those). Keep an eye out for us cause we’re making things happen!