Wally and the Paupacks

Come for the clever name; stay for
the music. Wally and the
Paupacks have just released their
self-titled debut CD. The disc, which
contains five tracks of fun, honest,
straightforward, roots based rock, was,
as Wally vocalist/guitarist Rick
“Noodles” Horvath says, “The start of
creating a sound that’s all our own.”
The band, which has
been together since the
summer of 2007, had an
interesting public introduction
for their first gig – they
were part of the nationally
recognized fan convention
for TV show, “The Office,”
which was held in Scranton
in the fall of ‘07. Since
then, Wally has been developing
its own unique sound,
as well as a fan base
throughout northeast PA.
Back to the new CD.
Horvath says that much of
the new original material,
which was recorded at his
own Noodle Studios in Lake
Ariel, is comprised of music that the band members
had worked on in the past - in various musical lives,
if you will. “Some of it was re-recorded from my
own solo stuff,” explains Horvath, who prior to joining
Wally and the Paupacks produced several independent
releases as a solo artist. “Some other stuff
was bits and pieces from our other solo projects that
we thought would fit in to the ‘Wally Sound’ as we
like to call it.” Get to know this sound – “We
‘Wally’ everything,” Horvath jokes. “It’s the verb ‘to
Wally’.”
Horvath notes that the band really came together
when bassist Rob Xtd joined up about four months
ago. “He was the final piece to the puzzle,” Horvath
says. Aside from Horvath and Xtd, the other two
members rounding out the Wally lineup are drummer,
Fred Garvin and guitarist, Jeremy Prostka. “It’s
been great so far. Everybody really focuses on what
they’re doing, and they’re very positive as far as
making suggestions – knowing the direction that we
all want to go into.”
The chemistry that Wally and the Paupacks display
on the new CD is all the more remarkable when
you consider the fact that the band members don’t
exactly have a long history together.
“I’ve only been in PA for a little under three years,”
says Horvath. “I’m originally from Long Island,
NY.” Horvath recounts going to a local NEPA club
By Mark Uricheck
one night where local bands were welcome to play
their CDs for the DJ. “I met our drummer, Fred, that
night at the club,” he says. “It turned out he was
originally from Long Island as well. We talked
about the project he was starting – he was jamming
with our guitar player, Jeremy. So we exchanged
numbers, and I decided to go down and check out
what they were up to.” It turned out that bassist,
Rob Xtd, who also plays for Rolling Stones tribute
band, Hot Rocks, was looking for another project as
well around that time. Xtd soon joined the fold.
Horvath says,
“We’ve been going
ever since.”
So, the four New
York and New
Jersey expatriates
are now firmly
entrenched in the
NEPA musical
landscape (Xtd is a
Jersey boy, Prostka
from upstate NY).
“Jeremy has been
in the Scranton
area the longest,”
says Horvath.
“He has an understanding
of the
circuit, as far as
the original scene. He gives us suggestions
as to what we can possibly pursue, and I have some
ideas as well.” Horvath says he’d like to break open
the original scene a little more in the Scranton area.
“Being from NY, I’m used to performing down in the
Village, and there were a lot of clubs in Long Island
that featured original music. I’m trying to encourage
original bands to unite and get a great scene going
here.”
The band was definitely looking for something
unique as far as an original sound. The individual
members draw influences from artists such as Bruce
Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Neil Young. “I guess
it’s kind of an organic sound,” says Horvath.
“Jeremy brings in a lot of Grateful Dead and Phish
influence; Fred brings in a Rolling Stones influence,
so we try to keep it within those borders.” Horvath
relates an atmosphere conducive to positive musical
ideas when the band members work together.
“Jeremy and I were together the other night
rehearsing,” he says. “We just throw ideas back and
forth and create things. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut
of trying to write structured pop songs – that doesn’t
work, it’s very forced. What we do with Wally is
very natural, very organic.”
What’s Wally like in the studio, you ask? “We do
a lot of takes,” answers Horvath. “We’re getting
pickier as we grow as a band. There were a lot of
things we probably could’ve re-done a few times on
the CD. But, there’s a point where you have to say,
‘This is pretty good; let’s work with this. The foundation
is there; we can build on it.’ We like to take
our time.” That attention to detail shows in listening
to Wall and the Paupacks’ self-titled CD. From
the crisp, twang of the guitars and driving bass of
“45 Country,” to the rocking, carefree rave-up of the
harmonica-laced “Wally Gaggle.” the CD is pure
rough and tumble rock and roll fun. It’s clear the
band has a crowd-pleasing vibe.
Wally and the Paupacks have already found some
encouragement locally in one of the area’s most
respected original music outlets – George Graham’s
“Homegrown Music” on WVIA-FM. “That was
great,” says Horvath of the live radio session.
“We’ve actually been invited back to do the television
program. We’re trying to set a date for that.”
Horvath also notes that the band is pressing local
radio outlets, as well as local clubs, upon the CD’s
release. “I’d like to hit all the college stations, as
well as line up some shows for spring,” he says.
“We got a great response at the Hawley-Lake
Wallenpaupack Chili/Wing Cookoff in January. A
lot of club owners expressed some interest from that
gig. By late March, early April, we hope to have a
tight original show and schedule together. I’ve been
manning the phones, trying to get down into the
Scranton area more.”
Be on the lookout for Wally and the Paupacks this
spring and summer as they deliver their potent live
show to NEPA. Their “Americana/Rock/Jam”
sound, as Horvath describes it, is custom made for
the upcoming top-down, cruising weather.
For all things Wally and to purchase the band’s
self-titled CD, visit www.wallyandthepaupacks.com. - Connections Magazine March 2009

When taking to Rick Horvath, vocalist and guitarist with Wally and the Paupacks, you get a sense it’s a band that has found its groove. Horvath says the songwriting in the group is more collaborative than ever, and that such creative strides are evident on the group’s new CD, “Second Season.” He adds that the melodic rock unit is also looking to take its show on the road and hopes to do more shows outside of NEPA.

Wally and the Paupacks were formed in 2007 and feature Horvath, a.k.a. “Noodles,” on vocals and guitars, Tom West on drums and percussion, Jer “Jeremy P.” Prostka on guitars, vocals, piano and organ and Rob “Xtd” Ekstedt on bass on vocals. Ironically, Horvath and West are both natives of Long Island, but they didn’t meet until each had moved to NEPA. The band released its first EP in 2009. As its moniker suggests, it is based in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.

“Second Season,” was recorded at the group’s own Big Barn Bed Studio. It contains seven original numbers, including “15 Hours,” “Legend of The Ledgedale Bridge,” “Fingerpainting With Prozac” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Cabin Down Below.” Horvath says his writing style is usually more pop and rock based, with an emphasis on hooks and personal storylines, whereas Prostka and Ekstedt often take a more cerebral approach when it comes to lyrics. Lately, however, it’s all been coming together.

“The style of the songs is somewhat the same, with the instrumentation,” says Horvath when comparing the CD to its predecessor, “but there’s actually more collaboration from the entire band on writing the songs. Jeremy and I are pretty much writing a lot of the material, but we get Rob and Tom in the mix, and the collaboration is getting a lot stronger. I’ve been working with different people over the years, and Jeremy seems to be the perfect match to write with. Even though his style is a little different, we compliment each other very well.”

Horvath says the types of musical arrangements have also been tweaked.

“Since we’ve been playing more as a band, we’ve become more of a jam band, so we’ll extend a lot of songs out — both covers and originals — so we kind of have that influence now,” he says. “Our originals are a little more album-oriented rather than radio-oriented.”

Influences on Wally and the Paupacks include Tom Petty, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Warren Zevon, The Beatles and The Kinks, all of whom the band covers at its live shows. Lately, they’ve also been adding more Grateful Dead into the set. Horvath says covering a Petty tune on the new CD felt natural, though the one it chose wasn’t a tune it had played in the clubs hundreds of times.

“We’ve been doing Petty covers since day one,” he says. “It seems to be the most natural fit for us to do live. A lot of people like it. And when we write songs, we’re kind of in that same frame of mind: Pop with a rock edge. Jeremy actually brought ‘Cabin Down Below’ in as a suggestion. I had never heard that song before, and I refused to actually listen to it, because I wanted to have a fresh approach to playing it. And that’s kind of what we did. Nobody else really knew the song too well except for Jeremy. We’ve made it our own.”

Wally and the Paupacks new album is available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon and Rhapsody. It’s also available at the band’s shows and through its website. Horvath says that despite a sometimes tough musical climate in NEPA for live music, Wally is plowing forward.

“It’s become tough,” he says. “There are a lot of bands out there, and I’m sure they’re all experiencing the same frustrations. But we’re trying to keep our heads level and think out of the box a little bit. We have a good 90 minutes of originals, so we’d like to get on the road and out of the area. I’ve been talking to managers and agencies across the country to try and get us out as a support act, or even possibly book us as a cover band someplace, and try to pick up a show as an original band to make the trip worthwhile.”

For local fans of the band, you’ve got several upcoming shows to choose from, including Oct. 1 at Moran’s in Carbondale and Oct. 8 at Ehrhardt’s in Hawley. Horvath says people will not only get a healthy dose of classic rock peppered with a few originals, but also plenty of crowd participation.

That’s the Wally way.

“I hope people are entertained, and they’re not just sitting there watching the band play,” he says. “We like to interact with them and make them part of the show. It really makes a big difference.” - The Weekender September 2010

For Wally and the Paupacks, the musical climate found in NEPA has been a creative haven. Though the regionally based band actually has its roots in Long Island, N.Y., vocalist and guitarist Rick “Noodles” Horvath says the group has found a happy home in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He adds that the area’s acceptance of original music and its love for live bands are part of the reason he came here.

“I was really fascinated with the circuit here,” says Horvath. “It had kind of dried out on Long Island. I was playing there for so many years, with original projects, solo projects and cover bands, and I was just amazed at how approachable people were here in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area. You can actually network a lot more. Coming from New York, you think, ‘Nothing beats New York,’ but once the original circuit started drying up there — there were a couple of main venues that closed their doors — there was really no place to play, to really do your own thing.

“We’re just having a blast here.”

The name of the band, of course, is a play on Lake Wallenpaupack, which is near where Horvath lives in Lake Ariel. The band also features Tom West, aka. “Fred Garvin” on drums, percussion and gang vocals; Jeremy Proska, or “Jeremy P” on guitar, vocals and keyboards; and Rob “Xtd” on bass and vocals. Jeremy P. — who the band affectionately calls “the young kid from Scranton” — played in the local group Alien Red and Grey Lady Down. Rob Xtd has played with national Rolling Stones tributes Sticky Fingers and Hot Rocks.

The group was formed in 2007 when Horvath and Garvin, who each, coincidently, had roots within the Long Island music scene, had a chance meeting at an open-mic night at a local club. The two became friends and decided to put a band together. Soon, the group was in the studio, and earlier this year, it released a crafty 5-song EP of original material featuring the songs “Roll That Rock,” “45 Country,” “Wally Gaggle,” “The Valley of Antiago” and “Minimum.” Some of the songs came from previous projects, while others were newly written by the band.

“We take a song, and we ‘Wally’ it,” says Horvath with a chuckle, explaining the songwriting process. “That’s the only way we describe it. For me, if it has that Neil Young ‘hop’ when I’m playing guitar, then I think it’s a good song for Wally. A lot of these songs are from our solo stuff, but if they fit into that style, we’ll try them within the band.”

More original music is in the works.

“We’re continuing to write and play out new stuff,” says Horvath, adding that the band also recently recorded with George Graham at WVIA-FM. It was the second time the band worked with Graham, who has become legendary among local musicians for his longtime support of local talent.

“A great straight-ahead rock band,” said Graham about the group. “Wally and the Paupacks perform an enjoyable collection of first-rate original music.”

Indeed. In fact, two of the band’s songs will be premiered this Sunday night at 8 p.m. on 102.3-FM, The Mountain on the “Music on The Menu Live” radio show.

Horvath says the band will hit the studio again this winter to record some new material and might consider releasing its most recent work at WVIA-FM as a live album. In an effort to expand into the Wilkes-Barre market, the group recently played an open-mic night at the River Street Jazz Caf?. To the north, they’ve done shows at Kildare’s in Scranton, The Stadium Club in Moosic and the former Molly Brannigans in Scranton. Wally and the Paupacks have also played the Roots & Rhythm festival in Honesdale, and they’ll play at the Tanglwood Ski Area in Tafton on Aug. 22 and the Vintage Theatre in Scranton on Sept. 11.

Influences on Wally and the Paupacks include Tom Petty, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bruce Springsteen. Those influences can be heard in the band’s originals, and those acts are also sometimes covered at their shows, as are tunes by Warren Zevon, John Mellencamp and The Rolling Stones. Sometimes, they’ll even get a bit of a jam-band vibe going, ala The Grateful Dead and Phish.

As for the group’s own songs, Horvath says the group’s personal experiences stamp most of the songs. Still, he adds that some of his work has had other themes. One song, though inspired in part by his own life and his relocation from New York, is set during the Civil War. And some of his other music has offered tropical themes and were inspired by his many gigs at Margaritaville in Key West, Fla., including when he jammed the night away with Jimmy Buffet.

“He came into the club, and we just drank and played,” he says. “It was ridiculous. It was great.”

Horvath says that Wally and the Paupacks strive to create that same fun atmosphere at their own shows. To borrow from The Kinks, it’s a give-the-people-what-they-want type of show.

“I hope people feel that we’re entertaining and engaging,” he says. “I see a lot of bands that don’t really speak much to the crowd. We want to draw people into the show and get them up and dancing. Whatever the crowd wants to hear, we’ll pull it out of the hat.” - The Weekender August 2009