Even if you haven't heard of
PT Walkley, you might
have heard him whistling in a MasterCard commercial or singing
"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" in a GE spot.
For a handful of years, the songwriter has earned such placements
working at Frisbie, a creative advertising and branding music
studio in New York. A day job as a composer has left Walkley ample
opportunity to use the studio's facilities for his own music, which
blends feel-good, upbeat pop with Brit rock.
Walkley's own music takes center stage on "Mr. Macy Wakes Alone,"
which he will self-release Jan. 27. Guests include Sean Lennon, Bob
Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell, singer/songwriter Jesse Harris and
trumpeter Steve Bernstein, with strings arranged by David
Campbell.
His college band won a competition that landed it on "Late Night
With Conan O'Brien," and Walkley found his way into the biz for
good after scoring a trio of films for actor/director Ed Burns:
"The Groomsmen," "Looking for Kitty" and "Purple Violets."
Burns also brought Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to a New York
show by Walkley's indie-rock project the Blue Jackets, and Martin
was so impressed that he stayed in touch and wound up inviting the
band to open for Coldplay at New York's Madison Square Garden last
June. "I didn't feel out of place at all on that stage. I was like,
'This is what I was born to do!' I kind of set the bar high,"
Walkley says.
Tracks from "Mr. Macy Wakes Alone" have already scored spins on
rock WRXP New York. And the artist will celebrate the new album
with a release-day show at New York's Blender Theater, for which
he'll be backed by a 14-piece band. The finale, he says, features a
12-person choir in order to "reinvent the goose bump."
"That's what's going to make touring hard. Since taking 15 people
on the road isn't feasible, we're trying to make a
fantastic-sounding band for the road with only five people
instead," he says. Walkley, who is unmanaged, is settling on a
booking agent.
Looking ahead, Walkley is working with animation company An Idol
Robot on a Nickelodeon TV pilot and three videos for the album.
He's also enlisted designer T-shirt maker Barking Irons to create
his merchandise.
