Interview with Flaimahmy, July 28, 2011

FM:  Like many in the music industry, you started singing in church.  You performed with your family, a gospel group called The Walker Brothers.  I’m curious, how does a young man born in Houston, Texas, singing in the family gospel group, become drawn to Jimi Hendrix…and further…learn to play the bass upside down like him?

CW:  [Laughs]  Well, my exposure to Jimi Hendrix came a little later in life because in my household, of course, our parents only allowed us to listen to gospel music.  When I branched off and moved to New York, that’s when I was exposed more to Jimi Hendrix.  Of course, in high school some friends turned me on to him.  I wasn’t allowed to play it at my house.

FM:  You were also influenced by Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Luther Vandross.  What did your parents think about your interests in these artists?  Was there an expectation that you would follow a gospel career?

CW:  Well, certainly, when I was living at home with them.  My father actually wanted me to go to Bible college.  I chose to move to New York City instead.  I heard Luther and stuff on the radio when I was with my Godmother and people like that.  Of course, my parents didn’t allow us to listen to that kind of music when I was growing up but after moving to New York when I was eighteen everything changed because I was exposed to so many things and so many different styles of music and I just took to it.

FM:  You graduated from the High School of Performing and Visual Arts in Houston.  You had your heart set on attending The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, a highly selective school, in New York City.  You even sold your bass amp to pay for your ticket to New York.  You were admitted to the School through an unusual circumstance.  Tell us about it.

CW:  Sure.  Well, I’d been reading about The New School and all they had to offer.  I filled out an application and the school actually told me not to come because I didn’t have the money to enroll.  Well, I had a bass amp; I sold it for $240.00 and bought a one-way ticket to New York.

As I told you, the school was already in progress.  When I arrived in New York I went down to the school just to check it out.  I took my instrument with me.  I walked into the building and heard music coming out of the auditorium so I poked my head in and noticed some guys on stage playing.  I walked in and they noticed I was carrying a bass.  It just so happened they didn’t have a bass player.  So they invited me on stage to play.

While we were performing the dean of the school and the instructor of the program walked in.  They gave me a full scholarship to go to school.  [Laughter from both]

FM:  That’s awesome.  You did something most people wouldn’t do.  Was there ever any doubt in your mind that you would be admitted?

CW:   You know I had no expectations. I didn’t expect that but I’m a firm believer that if you step out on faith…God was watching over me…I didn’t know what to expect…I just knew I had to go there just to see it and be  obedient to what God was telling me to do.

FM:  What were your first impressions of New York City?  Were you encouraged or discouraged by what you saw and experienced?

CW:  I was hungry and very much encouraged to pursue a life of music.  I always heard that if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere in the world. Certainly I wanted to test that theory to see if it was true.  I was never discouraged, never. [I was] always encouraged to continue moving forward and things started unfolding for me and just working out.

FM:  Do you have a philosophy that you follow in your business and personal relationships?

CW:  You know I pretty much make decisions…I pray on them and whatever God speaks to me is the direction I go in.  I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with so many great people in this business and all of them are very down to earth so I’ve been very fortunate.

FM:  You have stated that “performing is like an out of body experience.”  What do you draw on to translate that feeling to your audience?

CW:  You know [laughter] I go into this mental thing in my mind.  I pretend, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I pretend I’m a lion [laughter from FM].  A lion is the king of the jungle and no one invades the lion’s space, basically he’s the owner of his space, he dominates that space.  While on stage I feel that way with the audience.  It’s like I’ve earned the right to be in front of a microphone to give them a thousand percent of what I do.

That’s what happens on stage and I just like having fun.  When I get on stage it’s an out of body experience because I never know what I am going to do.  I never know where I’m going to go on a song or what’s going to happen.   It’s always the unknown and that’s the beauty of music.

FM:  We are looking forward to Zone which is due out August 23, 2011.  Are you ready?

CW:  I’m ready!!

FM:  Were there any surprises in putting this project together and what did you learn about yourself?

CW:  Actually, I had to really get to who Chris Walker is because it’s been a minute since I went out on the market with another project and I had to really, really take my time and focus on the song, the lyrical content, the melodic content, and the choral structure in the songs.

FM:  Is there anythng else you would like to share with our readers?

CW:  I’d like to share that they can pre-order Zone on www.pendulumrecords.biz.  Right now it’s available.  They can get more information on me by logging into myPPK.com/get/chriswalker. They can also find me on my Facebook page.