Intro:
While catching up with NYHC pioneer Walter Schreifels over the phone, we spoke about his new solo album AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SCENE and the album’s radical departure both in sound and approach, Walter’s modified cover of an Agnostic Front moshpit anthem and the band’s reaction, an impending Rival Schools reunion, and what makes this man who consistently pushes the creative envelope tick.

EC: When did you decide to sit down with acoustic guitar and not to have a band back you up?

Walter: I guess it was just kind of time, you know? I had been in bands so long. In fact, I’ve been doing it since I was 16. And I got this acoustic guitar and then I just figured why don’t I try writing songs just like au natural – the vocals and the guitar as opposed to having to rehearse with a band and do all that. I kinda have a habit of putting the vocals on the music at the last minute in a panic and I just thought I would do something that I would take a little bit more time and it brought me in different directions.

EC: The video for your rendition of “Society Sucker” is very entertaining; it’s commendable how you made a song by Agnostic Front sound like something that people who attend Lillith Fair will enjoy...

Walter: The melody of the song just kinda struck me. Coming home late at night I just was thinking about AF and how much I love that song…it’s like one of my favorite songs, the mosh part’s so sick… I did the version that’s on the album one night when I was in Berlin. It’s actually a couple years old now, but it fit in with the theme of the record, and I had also recorded it myself. Not that it’s such a great recording, but that I did it, so I wanted it on there.

EC: Have you heard any feedback from any of the guys in AF yet?

Walter: Oh, yeah, totally. Roger sent me an email. I gotta tell you I was absolutely shocked. It was just crazy. He wrote me just a really nice e-mail saying that he really loved the song and how I developed it to a solo piece, and that just made me feel so good.

EC: You’ve basically done everything you want to do musically between Quicksand, Rival Schools, Gorilla Biscuits, and Youth of Today and now this album…is there something that you haven’t done that you want to do?

Walter: I think maybe there’s a kind of like and it’s cool that I’ve kinda got my shit together to do this solo album. I feel like I’ve really opened up the possibilities in terms of the kinds of music that I wanna do. I definitely want to branch out stylistically as much as I can and I guess I’ve been doing that over the years, but it’s been at a kind of a heavy cost…all these bands, kind of putting them together and then rather than continuing with the band, I kind of just switched the whole band. So, in particular I’d definitely have like a few records in my mind that I would like to kind of record and make real. Producing, I like to do once in a while but it’s not really something that I like solicit or try to do. It’s only when people kinda come to me and I have the time and I’m interested in the project. I wanna do everything. You know, I’m just interested in doing creative things. I got, you know, ideas for game shows and I like to paint and write haikus. And I’m into all of it. You know, anything creative, I’m kind of interested in pursuing. But it takes so much for me to just get these albums together…that keeps you pretty occupied.

EC: Do you feel like this album is less of a strain because it was a less chefs in the cook kitchen kind of deal?

Walter: Ah, well I think that cuts both ways, to be honest with you. When you have different people in the band, you have more feedback and you have more things and people to bounce ideas off of and you can also get in the world of “that’s that person”, so you can blame other people when something’s not working, but when you’re alone, you gotta figure it out, ‘cause you’re the only person at fault. So you gotta look at it with what level do you want to take it to? And that can be tricky too. I’m really happy that I’ve managed to navigate it, because there was a couple moments there, I was like, “Oh, dude, I don’t even know, man.” You’re just you’re too far in it. I enjoy having the back and forth between me and band but with bringing it solo, I feel like it’s got a different set of problems, but it’s also really fun to just not have to really consult anybody and just do it how you want.

EC: For the next solo album, would you consider a more hands in the mix?

Walter: Actually, I actually just did finish – I didn’t finish it but I recorded all the basic tracks to a new solo album already up in Canada about a month or so back. And I worked with a guy who’s a friend and an amazing musician who has his own little primitive recording studio. I think he has a real interesting technique. I really collaborated with him on the record in terms of I just had the songs and we just kind of put ‘em together. And it was a way more kind of quick process. Like we just did like I don’t know, 11 songs in ten days. So, yeah – I wanna do it differently, you know what I mean? So I think there was a fair amount of collaboration this time.

EC: Does it follow this album’s blueprint?

Walter: I think it’s a little different. The kind of sonic quality to it’s very different. I think it’s definitely a step forward into something new. I think the song writing is… some of these songs I’ve had for a while. You know, I mean, it was really something to make them all and I wanted to get them out, you know what I mean? But to make them all sound cohesive and fresh took some doing. Whereas the songs that I just recorded, I don’t have that kind of baggage connected to it. So I think it’s a really different kind of sound. And, you know, so I’m really excited for the next step, you know? But there’s a lot, I just, this one just came out. And I got a Rival Schools’ album coming out in the fall too…that’s pretty much finished too. We just signed a record deal with Photo Finish/ Atlantic. So that’s happening as well. So I’ve got a lot, a lot of cool shit that I’m working on.

EC: What prompted the Rival Schools reunion?

Walter: I guess after a while, we kind of especially at the time we put it on ice and called it quits or whatever it was, we didn’t solidify and say hey we’re broken up and dismantle the whole thing. We were just kind of all burnt out and the guitar player had quit to do solo stuff. We had just done a lot of touring, and for me personally, I mean, I can only explain it for myself, I needed to put it down, you know? Like the whole way of doing things, the major label way of doing stuff, the touring and all that kind of stuff. I just needed to put it down for a while. I put my attention into the Walking Concert, which was pretty much like a solo album in the sense that I really did work all the stuff myself. And I had all the songs written on acoustic guitar. And, you know, and then doing this solo album as well. We always kind of knew that we would be stupid to just let Rival Schools just be a one-off thing. And, you know, we also are friends and our relationships are all really good. So, everyone was still game for it. No one had like gotten some sort of situation where they couldn’t devote enough time to make a record and do some touring. So, it’s been fucking great, man. I’ve been really enjoying it. And I really think the music we’re making is very good. And I’m really looking forward to it coming out.

EC: When is it actually coming out? And there’ll be some touring for that as well, right?

Walter: The date coming up for that release is September 21st. So, you know, around that time, I guess we’ll be touring in September, probably more October, November, December.

EC: I guess you’ll do the whole big thing – go to Europe and the whole nine, too, right?

Walter: Yeah. We’ll do it. I mean we’re not – not probably on the level that we have done it, you know. We all have kids now. And that kind of you don’t want to be away from – you know, I don’t want to be away from my daughter very long. And so, that definitely factors in. But we’re definitely gonna go everywhere and play everywhere. We just might not, you know, play Lincoln, Nebraska three times. Yeah. We’ll make it out once we’re hoping.

EC: Sergio from Quicksand is in the Deftones now and I wanted to ask you about that whole thing and your feelings on that. Because I know you guys are tight and I know you guys in the Deftones are tight.

Walter: Yeah. It’s awesome, man. I mean, it’s not the best of circumstances, you know, like Chi is an amazing person and it’s just really kind of surreal, the state that he’s in and that shit like that happens to people that you know, but things being what they are, they gave Sergio a call and like they’re all pretty jazzed up, man. So it’s pretty positive.

EC: Who have you met that really has surprised you by saying how much that you have influenced them?

Walter: That I have influenced them? Ahh, gosh, man, I don’t know. I guess I haven’t really kept track. So I mean I can’t really quantify like or qualify but I guess it blows me away how the records that I’ve made whether it be Quicksand or Rival Schools are old but continues to find new listeners. And that people who are 16 years old or 22 years old or, approaching 30 and will discover records that I made a while back and that it still speaks to them, the things that I’ve been involved in. It’s not like they’re the Led Zeppelin catalogue or anything like that but it’s amazing that it has resonance for different people.

EC: Have you heard the new Sick Of It All album yet?

Walter: I haven’t heard the new album. I heard the last one and I was pretty impressed actually. I thought that they had a, you know, the cliché of “return to form.” But they – fuck man, it’s so heavy, you know? You know, it’s almost like I can’t listen to music like that for more than a song or two anymore. My ears are just old and weak. I mean I just think they’re one of the most important bands that are continuing to play and remain vital.

EC: Well, they have a song called “A Month of Sundays” on their new album and it really is a great companion to your “Open Letter to the Scene”. It’s funny how it got released almost at the same time.

Walter: I’m kinda going out on a limb here but I’m gonna be playing a solo acoustic show with Sick of It All and Snapcase for a Snapcase reunion. They especially asked me to come up and I just wanna do the show but I don’t know if the kids are gonna really feeling Uncle Wally on acoustic guitar. But I’m gonna give it a whirl. I think it’ll be all right but I don’t know if it’s gonna be my shoe-in audience.

EC: Do you still follow anything about going on in hardcore these days?

Walter: Ah, not too much. You know, I will, I know people that are involved in it, so from time to time I will, you know, brush up against it. But I’m not really following the bands or what’s happening, I really love Fucked Up but I don’t know if that even counts as hardcore. I thought that record was really taking stuff that I really liked in hardcore. And doing something new and all. You know, and every once in a while there’s a band that’ll creep up that kind of catch my ear, but, man, I spent seriously two years pretty much listening to nothing else but hardcore. So, I guess kind of in some way paid my dues and but I just check in every once in a while and make sure everyone’s all right.

EC: What’s the ideal touring situation for you? Would you ever consider a doubleheader or tripleheader show?

Walter: Oh you mean where I’m playing in different bands? I don’t know I think it would be cool maybe on paper, I’m kind of involved in my solo shows, I kind of throw in a song from each band that I do. And that’s sort of a good way for me to do that. Because getting it for real, you know, it’s just like 20 people, just to practice with and all that. So, I guess I was doing it back in the hardcore days… it happened all the time, Gorilla Biscuits was playing with Youth of Today and I was in both bands. Or Gorilla Biscuits would play with Warzone and I’d be in both bands. That kind of stuff would happen a lot in hardcore days. In hardcore there was that group of musicians that could all fit in and fill in for someone…lots of people in hardcore bands don’t last that long, so yeah, I would do that then. But now, I don’t know…I guess I just kind of involve those songs into my solo set.

EC: What can we expect from a solo show from you?

Walter: I do a little bit of everything but I’ll probably be focusing more on the new album. I know that the people are coming out to see me and they’re supporting me at this time and they want me to kind of touch on some of that stuff. For me that’s all part of my story and I enjoy that aspect of it.

EC: Ever get any negative backlash towards your variety of musical styles?

Walter: Every single thing I’ve ever done there’s been someone that said I’ve sold out or my new shit sucks. You know, that’s always gonna happen but I guess I don’t really pay attention to that too much because it’s hard to control. And I wouldn’t really be able to just keep doing the same thing, you know, it’s just not how I am. I want to do different things. I have A.D.D. and I can’t really help it. But if Gorilla Biscuits kept making records or Quicksand kept making records, you know, or any of these kinds of things were playing those directions, and continued on that same path, maybe those would be bigger bands…or maybe we would have just made a bunch of bad records that no one will play. So it’s hard, it’s hard to second-guess yourself because you got to move forward and do your thing. And, you know by doing the Rival School stuff I guess I’m kind of trying to maintain some sort of continuity with something. We’ll see how that turns out.