History

Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman met and began playing music together in 1983 while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1984 they moved to Seattle, and the band was born when they joined forces with Chris' two younger brothers, drummer Grant and bassist Curt. The Eckman brothers had been playing in various punk rock and pop groups during their college years, and Carla came from a folk and street singing background. The band took their name from Nicolas Roeg's cult film, Walkabout.

They released their first EP, 22 Disasters, in early 1985. Curt Eckman then left the band, to be replaced by Michael Wells. Their second EP, Linda Evans/Cyclone, was released in 1987. The following year they released their first album, See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens, on the PopLlama label, before being signed by Sub Pop as that label's first non-grunge band. Adding keyboard player and multi-instrumentalist Glenn Slater, they released three albums on Sub Pop over the next few years - Cataract (1989), Rag & Bone (1990), and Scavenger (1991). They also toured extensively, particularly in Europe. In 1992 they left Sub Pop Seattle, but remained with Sub Pop Europe who issued three more albums, New West Motel (1993), Satisfied Mind (1993), and Setting the Woods on Fire (1994). Drummer Terri Moeller replaced Grant Eckman in 1992, when he left to care for his newborn son, Dakota Eckman.

Satisfied Mind was their first of several albums largely or wholly comprising songs originally written and recorded by an eclectic variety of other artists, including Nick Cave, Charlie Rich, Johnny Rivers, Patti Smith, Mary Margaret O'Hara, and Gene Clark. Their 1996 collection of unreleased songs, Death Valley Days, also included songs by Neil Young, Nick Drake and Bob Dylan, and in 2000 they issued Train Leaves At Eight, which broadened the approach further by including songs by European artists including Mikis Theodorakis, Goran Bregović, Jacques Brel and Neu!.

In 1995 the band signed with Virgin Records in Germany and released Devil's Road (1996) - recorded in part with the Warsaw Philharmonic - and Nighttown (1997), leading to new levels of success in Europe. The video for The Light Will Stay On, the lead single from Devil's Road was in heavy rotation on MTV Europe. Michael Wells left the band for several years in 1996, rejoining in 2003. In 1999 they moved to the German record label, Glitterhouse Records (the successor to Sub Pop Europe), and released Trail of Stars (1999), Train Leaves At Eight (2000), Ended Up A Stranger (2001), Slow Days With Nina (2003) - an EP tribute to Nina Simone - and Acetylene (2005).

In 2010 guitarist Paul Austin joined the band to begin work on a long awaited new album titled Travels In The Dustland, scheduled for release in Europe on October 21, 2011, and in North America in early November.

Side projects

Eckman and Torgerson have also released albums as side projects under the name "Chris & Carla" and as solo artists. Carla Torgerson has worked with Greek musician Akis Boyatzis and his band Sigmatropic on their album 16 Haiku & Other Stories (2001). Later Torgerson has released a solo album Saint Stranger (2004) with help of Akis Boyatzis. Chris Eckman has worked in 1996-2003 with Norvegian band Midnight Choir and teamed with Al DeLoner of Midnight Choir in Electronica-project called "Höst" for an album The Damage Suite (2001). Also Eckman has worked in recent years with Willard Grant Conspiracy on the albums Regard The End and Let It Roll, as well as with The Bambi Molesters. Eckman is also a member of the trio Dirtmusic along with Chris Brokaw and Hugo Race and he has worked with the band Tamikrest from Mali. These two acts toured Europe as a double bill in the spring of 2010. Eckman has also worked with Tosca (band) on projects including the song "John Lee Huber", and with Rupert Huber of Tosca (band) on the album "L/O/N/G"

Terri Moeller has also formed The Beltanes with Eric Alton, formerly of X-15, releasing one cassette EP, entitled Love Punks (1990), and The Transmissionary Six with Paul Austin, formerly of Willard Grant Conspiracy. She released a solo CD under the pseudonym Terri Tarantula in 2010.

Band member history

Current line-up shown in bold.

Name	Playing	Member period
Chris Eckman	Vocals, Guitar, Piano	1984-Present
Carla Torgerson	Vocals, Guitar	1984-Present
Michael Wells	Bass Guitar	1985-1996; 2003-Present
Glenn Slater	Keyboards, Piano	1989-Present
Terri Moeller	Drums, Percussion	1991-1999; 2001-Present
Paul Austin	Guitar	2011-Present
Grant Eckman	Drums, Percussion	1984-1991
Curt Eckman	Bass	1984-1985
Bruce Wirth	Violin, Lap Steel, Mandolin, Vibes	1991-1994
John Baker Saunders	Bass Guitar	1996-1999
Fred Chalenor	Bass Guitar	1999
Joe Skyward	Bass Guitar	2000
Brian Young	Drums	2000

Discography

EPs

• 22 Disasters (1985 - Necessity Records - produced by Terry Date & the Walkabouts)
• Rag & Bone (1990 - Sub Pop - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts)

Studio albums

• See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens (1988 - PopLlama - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts)
• Cataract (1989 - Sub Pop - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts)
• Scavenger (1991 - Sub Pop - produced by Gary Smith)
• New West Motel (1993 - Sub Pop - produced by Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts)
• Satisfied Mind (1993 - Sub Pop - produced by Kevin Suggs & the Walkabouts)
• Setting the Woods on Fire (1994 - Sub Pop - produced by Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts)
• Devil's Road (1996 - Virgin, Germany - produced by Victor Van Vugt)
• Nighttown (1997 - Virgin, Germany - produced by Victor Van Vugt)
• Trail of Stars (1999 - Glitterhouse Records - produced by Phill Brown & the Walkabouts)
• Train Leaves at Eight (2000 - Glitterhouse - Kevin Suggs & Walkabouts)
• Ended Up a Stranger (2001 - Glitterhouse - produced by Larry Crane, Phill Brown & the Walkabouts)
• Acetylene (2005 - Glitterhouse - produced by Tucker Martine & the Walkabouts)
• Travels in the Dustland (2011 - Glitterhouse)

Compilations

• Death Valley Days: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1985-1995 (1996 - Glitterhouse) - Rare or previously unreleased songs 1985-1995
• Watermarks: Selected Songs, 1991 to 2002 (2002 - Innerstate) - An anthology featuring the best of the Walkabouts from their Innerstate, Glitterhouse, and Virgin Records releases 1991-2002
• Slow Days With Nina (2003 - Shingle Street Records) - Tribute to Nina Simone, EP
• Drunken Soundtracks: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1995-2001 (2002 - Glitterhouse) - Rare or previously unreleased songs 1995-2001, 2-CDs set
• Shimmers (Walkabouts album) / Shimmers (Best of ...) (2003 -Glitterhouse) - An anthology featuring the best of the Walkabouts from their Glitterhouse and Virgin releases 1993-2001
• Got No Chains / The Songs of The Walkabouts (2009 - Glitterhouse) - Remastered versions of 15 Walkabouts songs + those same 15 songs performed by others - a tribute disc - 2-CDs set

DVDs

• Life: The Movie Collected Films & Clips (2012 - Glitterhouse) - Contains "Live in Prague" video (same concert as in Prague bootleg), "Tracking The Walkabouts", a 40-minute "on-the-road" documentary, "Walkie Talkie", 40 minutes of interview footage and all 9 official video clips

Singles

Year of Release	Title	Comment
1987	Linda Evans/Cyclone	Necessity Records - produced by Bruce Calder, Tony Kroes & the Walkabouts
1991	Where The Deep Water Goes
1992	Dead Man Rise
1993	Jack Candy
1993	Your Hope Shines
1994	Good Luck Morning
1996	The Light Will Stay On
1996	All For This
1997	Lift Your Burdens Up	Not official released
1997	Immaculate	Not official released
1999	Drown
2005	Devil In The Details	Adopted by Jack Wolfskin for advertising

Official bootlegs

List of official bootlegs (sold at concerts) and mailorder only releases.

Year of Release	Title	Comment
1995	To Hell And Back - Live in Europe	mailorder only (GRCD 356)
1997	Mystery Mountain Chronicles	official bootleg
1999	Airmail	official bootleg
2000	Bruxelles w/ the Nighttown Orchestra	mailorder only (GRCD 505)
2002	I'm Sorry	official bootleg
2003	Emona	From the Italian music magazine, "Mucchio Extra"
2005	No You Won't	official bootleg
2007	Prague	mailorder only (GRCD 669)
2012	Reuters - Live 1996 & 2006	official bootleg

Album details

Cataract

Cataract is the band's second album by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on March 1, 1989 through Sub Pop Records. Harold DeMuir wrote for "Trouser Press Record Guide, 4th Ed." that "The full-length 'Cataract' resonates with rueful Americana on such tracks as 'Whiskey XXX', "Hell's Soup Kitchen" and "Long Black Veil" (not the traditional song), marking The Walkabouts as a distinctive band with loads of potential."

Track listing

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Spin	positive
Dave Thompson	7/10

All tracks written by The Walkabouts.

1. "Whiskey xxx" - 2:56
2. "Hell's Soup Kitchen" - 3:24
3. "Whereabouts Unknown" - 3:01
4. "End-In-Tow" - 3:23
5. "Bones of Contention" - 4:38
6. "Home as Found" - 2:38
7. "Smokestack" - 3:04
8. "The Wicked Skipper" - 1:38
9. "Drille Terriers" - 2:24
10. "Specimen Days" - 3:44
11. "Long Black Veil" - 5:01
12. "Goodbye (to all That)" - 3:05

Release history

Date	Label	Format	Catalog
March 1, 1989	Sub Pop Records	LP	SP031
April 4, 1990	Glitterhouse Records	CD (reissue with EP Rag & Bone)	GR 0085

[ Source: Wikipedia ]