Cardigan Hunk: A Conversation with Luke Olson of The Walters
The Midwestern indie rockers are touring with The Orwells across the USA this year
by Katie Ingegneri
Photography by Kristina Pedersen
Live show photographs by Katie Ingegneri
It’s time to get to know Luke Olson: lead singer of Chicago’s The Walters, guitarist, Wisconsinite, former varsity athlete, occasional actor, one of many children in a large Catholic family, and a unique facet of the Chicago DIY indie rock scene poised to break out big as The Walters embark on a US tour supporting The Orwells this year.
Although The Walters are based in Chicago, they’re made up of New Englanders (like me!) and Midwesterners hailing from Minnesota and Wisconsin, who came together while a few members were attending DePaul University. Frontman Luke is from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and has been helping The Walters catch the attention of young indie rock fans in the Midwest and beyond with his wildly energetic performances, elevating The Walters’ mellow vibes from their recorded music into a true rock n roll experience at live shows. The devoted scene of high school and college kids here in Chicago couldn’t be more excited about them. They’ve been generating buzz across the country already, while attributing their success to DIY channels, releasing music themselves and working with friends to create their music videos and unique look for their press photos.
From DIY arts space The Observatory to Chicago’s famous Schubas Tavern, The Walters have been key players in stoking the fire that is Chicago’s young indie rock scene, which has been simmering for years now but is now on the verge of reaching a fever pitch (I think I just mixed a whole bunch of metaphors there but whatever). The buzz they’ve generated has been enough to land them gigs like Riot Fest this past summer and the forthcoming tour with The Orwells, plus a run of dates with Summer Salt, a similarly vibed mellow indie band from Austin. I’m excited for more people across the country to experience our Chicago scene firsthand, and what the Live Luke Olson & The Walters Experience™ entails.
The most recent time I saw them perform was the final show at great rooftop DIY venue La Cubierta in Logan Square in October 2016, where they closed their set with two rounds of “Hunk Beach,” a crowd-pleasing favorite and my favorite Walters song that always gets people moshing and going crazy.
Alongside bands like their close friends The Orwells and fellow Chicago DIY indie rock scene favorites Twin Peaks and Modern Vices, The Walters are proving just how much enthusiasm is to be found among young rock fans even without the support of a label for their releases, and how DIY buzz in Chicago in particular can help propel bands toward mainstream success.
The Walters are one of the bands surrounding the genesis of this magazine in the context of Chicago rock n roll and DIY shows. After I had gotten into The Orwells with the release of their album “Disgraceland” in June 2014, and friended lead singer Mario Cuomo on Facebook, he would post a lot about two bands in the fall of 2014: The Symposium, from his hometown of Elmhurst, IL, and The Walters, who had just released an EP called “Songs for Dads.” I really liked their mellow, catchy indie rock, featuring Beach Boys-style harmonies with a modern twist.
After doing my interview with Mario and going to my first houseshow at Benny of The Symposium’s apartment, I jumped right in into this exciting young Chicago rock scene, so I was at The Walters’ first houseshow and live performance in February 2015,where they played with Modern Vices and The Symposium.
I was also present a month later when they had a show at Humboldt Park DIY venue Young Camelot with The Symposium, which was also a photography exhibit for a young photographer named Kristina Pedersen.
Kristina quickly became The Walters’ go-to visual and art director, in addition to being inseparable from Luke. As we discuss in the interview, Luke attributes a great deal of The Walters’ success to her excellent visual branding and direction. (And with good reason — she’s now directed two of their music videos, in addition to doing the bulk of the photography for their press photos and other single releases.) Their relationship has thrived with extensive artistic collaboration, even though she recently moved to New York to pursue her photography career after graduating from college here in Chicago. I’m lucky that I’ve gotten to know Kristina through The Walters, including a great evening we spent at SXSW 2016 when we sat on the porch swing of the giant co-op house for a show with nearly all of the young Chicago rock bands who were in town including The Walters, and that she’s become a regular contributor to this magazine as a writer and photographer. Luke’s unbridled admiration for his artistic and life partner’s talents is a rarity and their relationship is something to be admired. As Kristina put it, she is “very proud of our relationship, and it is truly one of the greatest joys of my life to have an artistic partner like Luke.” #couplegoals
Luke has always been a really great, funny, down-to-earth dude, who is as sincere and theatrical as he is when he’s performing. While he and I have talked since nearly their first performance (I don’t actually remember the first time we spoke, welcome to DIY houseshow life), I was always intrigued by his background. He comes from a huge Catholic family in Wisconsin that includes his four brothers and a sister, and was a varsity athlete across a variety of sports — making him a unique standout in this Midwestern rock scene that’s filled with cigarette smokers, slackers and punks. He also pursued acting a few years ago in New York before The Walters got together, and you can see it’s this combination of theatricality and athleticism that informs his performances which range from sweet to manic at their concerts.
While The Walters’ recorded music is full of catchy, mellow riffs, at their live shows Luke is the conduit of energy connecting with the audience, bringing all the visceral energy that used to inform his sports games to the business of being a rock n roll frontman. Doing push-ups on stage, dancing wildly, fully knocking over his easy-going bandmates, usually guitarist Walter Kosner and bassist Danny Wells, jumping into the crowd, and ripping off his shirt, Luke infuses every performance with a wild unpredictability. As I’ve said before, bands with unique and dynamic frontmen (and women) seem to have a great advantage in getting noticed, and so I think a lot of people will be talking about The Walters very soon as they open for The Orwells and see what we in Chicago get to have as our hometown lineup.
I met up with Luke on a snowy January evening at Soho House in Chicago’s West Loop, where he is a member of the private hotel and social club for creatives, and where he hangs out sometimes during the week and makes ample use of their gym, as he still lives and works for his family business up in Kenosha. Soho House is also up the street from The Walters’ practice space, conveniently. We had some cocktails and food in one of their swanky lounge areas, and Luke showed me the new video for “She’s Gonna Leave You,” their first single of 2017, directed by Kristina Pedersen.
We discussed a range of topics, from his drive to perform and win being instilled by his experience in competitive sports, to attending Bible school, his admiration for Kristina’s vision and work, and his love for the community of fans that are devoted to the band. Read on for more!
Conversation with Luke Olson at Soho House Chicago, January 2017
Katie Ingegneri: You were one of the first Chicago bands I listened to, cause Mario [Cuomo] used to post about you guys and The Symposium.
…[segue]…
Luke Olson: So I work for my dad in Kenosha, and we own a grave-digging business, we make vaults, cement vaults. My dad is the owner, and my older brother Jonathan has been working there for over 10 years, then my brother Anthony started — everyone’s worked there. It’s crazy.
Yeah, cause you have a million brothers, right?
Yeah, I have four brothers, and a sister — six of us all together. Isn’t that crazy?
Yeah, that’s a lot of people.
My dad is just such a good dude, my mom has been a stay-at-home mom, we’ve all been to Bible school, Catholic school…
Did you like that?
Yeah, I mean I’ve always been kind of — faith life has always been important to me, my mom is very spiritual, a very good Catholic woman. The ultimate loving mom. I’ve always gone to Sunday church, but as of late, you go through stages in your faith life. Sometimes you feel connected…I haven’t been to church as of late, it’d be nice to get back. It’s kind of boring though, you know, Catholic church. Like, oh my god.
Is it in Latin?
No, not that extreme — I’ve heard a few of those. You know Baptist churches, they’re always going [*hums and snaps*] — I just wanna be going to some of those. When I was living in New York, we went to this Brooklyn Tabernacle, and we went to one of the services. It’s different.
So are you like, the first one in your family who’s really into this whole music thing?
Music’s always been — just hearing music on our way up north, my dad playing Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, and Neil Young — definitely like my family’s artists. Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, Marshall Tucker Band. My dad loves music, he said he supposedly had a high school band — Johnny Bip and the Bip-Boppers, or something?
Oh, funny. That’s awesome. Did he sing?
Yeah, a singer. He’s a goofball. Cause me and MJ went to high school together — Michael [Tirabassi, Walters guitarist and alternate lead singer], he’s from Kenosha, Wisconsin too — and we grew up together and went to high school together and we would get in trouble, dumb kid shit. And they would call my dad into the office, and we’d be sitting there in the back, and my dad would just start laughing. The principal would just be like, fuck.
That’s why you’re a rock n roller now.
Yeah, punk. Always had to be a little bit punk.
That’s what’s I think is so great about your live shows and stuff, because I was listening to the music again on my way over here and it’s so like, mellow, but at the shows sometimes you go so wild and it’s like a wild punk show — you have all these different elements which I think is pretty cool. And it seems like you enjoy it.
It makes it interesting, you know? I dunno. It’s a live show. There’s no other mode. I grew up playing competitive sports, like that was my thing, my dad was like, varsity baseball coach. All my brothers played for him, we won championships — when that’s instilled in you, you have to go out there and just go hard. That’s why I love seeing shows. Like I wanna see like my random brother who’s kinda shy just go onstage and just go balls out. It’s like wow, that’s inspiring. Every Walters show is a little different because of that fact.
It’s like a total body experience.
It’s primal [laughs] — go into a primal state.
How did the whole band come together?
MJ went to school initially at DePaul, MJ met Charlie at DePaul, and him and Charlie lived together. So Walter was at DePaul, so just by DePaul parties — and I came back from New York, and MJ was my best friend so I would come to Chicago, and I just started to experiment with playing guitar. I didn’t really know how to play guitar up until maybe a year and a half ago. I’m 25, and I started it when I was like 20, and I’ve just been teaching myself. And then Danny went to Columbia, and him and Charlie started making music initially, those dudes make amazing beats, really cool, vibey. I don’t know if you know the Cardigan Boys stuff, that side project, it’s like Charlie and Danny can make beats so we do this other thing.
Oh, that’s cool.
Yeah, it didn’t start right away though. Walter dropped out of school, and I was like, what am I doing. And everybody was kind of at that stage. Cause we would jam when we were 21, 20. We started The Walters a couple years ago, so it wasn’t like, “we’re gonna have a band together.” It was kind of like we’re all not ready, but then it just happened. Cause we made “I Love You So,” we just actually made a song and put it out, you know? Instead of like, jamming and not being really focused, it was like okay, let’s actually make a fucking song. And it’s amazing what like one thing can do for somebody’s head and mindset — it’s like “we’ll fuck around, but we’re not actually gonna take it serious,” to when you get that validation so fast, it’s like okay, that’s cool.
Where did that validation come from, was it the people you sent it to or just you guys doing something and recording it? Or both, probably.
Yeah it was that, and being happy with it. And on the Internet, it helped that it was on like, Reddit, it got to the front page of Reddit, and that helped get it plays and exposure. And people started to be like, oh I want to hear more stuff. So it was like okay, now we have to follow it up. It’s amazing how this friend group went from “we’re in Charlie’s room making it” to…I really wanna show you the new song before it comes out. I dunno if you have headphones…it’s coming out Thursday, and you’re the head of a publication, so I have to give you the sneak peek.
Where are you premiering it?
Noisey. Kristina hooked it up. We haven’t put out anything in a year, so definitely — it’s time. Do you wanna watch it? It’s the song we recorded out in Seattle with Phil Ek, who did The Shins and Fleet Foxes stuff…
[I watch “She’s Gonna Leave You” on Luke’s Macbook Air with my headphones while Luke watches without sound]
This is awesome…That’s such a Kristina ending. I love it.
Dope! Yeah, that’s it! Kristina went in on it. You like the song? I think it’s the best video we have. I think this is really gonna help The Walters. I mean, we’ll see…
It’s really great that you guys keep her as your creative art director. It’s amazing that she can work your shoots into your video.
We’ve been so lucky. I’ve been so lucky, dude, I’ve been with her —
Yeah dude, you’re insanely lucky. She’s a fucking genius.
I know, she is. She’s always working on really good, amazing stuff. We were in the car the other day, and she was reading me something she’s written, and it’s just like — what the hell dude, where is your mind at, it’s so unbelievably smart, and she’s amazing. The Walters have to keep her forever. If it’s up to me, I wish she just made everything for us. Every video, every picture. You know she did Post Animal’s stuff, everything she touches is so Kristina.
It’s like light, and color —
And she’s funny. She like could be on SNL, she has her sketches on YouTube…
Didn’t you meet cause of that Young Camelot show? That was one of your first DIY shows.
Yeah, we played that one at the Modern Vices apartment [ed. note: they played but I don’t think any of them lived there] that was really small and shitty, it was so bad too.
Yeah that was your first one, I remember that.
We had no idea even how to play our songs, cause it was a bedroom project, you know. Then we were like “oh shit, we actually have to play.” [laughs] I wasn’t very good at guitar — still, I’m not very good at guitar — and you know, MJ and Walter can hold it together. It’s cool, I’m just happy now we’re able to play, and we can go without practicing for a week or two and get back together and know what the hell we’re doing.
How did you guys start talking to The Orwells, cause that’s how I heard about you, through Mario. Was it Walter?
I dunno, I think just like, posting on the internet. I don’t think anybody knew…but yeah definitely him and Walter started hanging out. Cause everyone wants to hang out with Walter, he’s like the go-to. He’s the glue to our Chicago scene.
He is! Yeah he’s a hustler man, he knows everyone.
All the other guys, like — I’m usually in Wisconsin, and the other guys’ll go out, but Walter’s out.
He’s always out and about on the town, making shit happen.
Yeah there’s no one like Walt. And he could be a movie star.
How did you come up with the name The Walters?
I dunno, like we were just hanging out, and we had “I Love You So,” but it was just like “The Walters,” out of the blue. There was other things floated — “The Bakery Men.”
Yeah, I dunno if that would’ve worked as well as The Walters does…The Walters is a great name.
We poke fun at Walter, it’s always just part of the thing. Cause he’s such a character. Wherever The Walters go, and we’re like, “that’s the lead guitar player of a really cool rock n roll band” — and there’s him looking back. And it adds such a common man — that’s part of the charm. I’m really happy we have Walter, cause it wouldn’t work — people would see the other four guys and be like all right, fuck this pretty-ass boy band.
Yeah I think it sets you guys apart…
And Kristina has made our pictures — like off the bat we had a brand, image-wise, she had a vision and that shit helps, man.
I remember that Young Camelot show was like March 2015 — almost two years ago.
Yeah, we started dating very soon after that.
And I feel like she started doing stuff for you guys fairly soon after.
So that show happened and I remember talking to Kristina, I didn’t know who she was, and she’s Kristina, she’s confident, she doesn’t give a fuck. So we booked a photoshoot with her after Young Camelot, and at the photo shoot, I saw her and I was like I have to meet you, I have to. And you don’t get many, like there’s not many people throughout your life where you just look at them and be like, I have to meet this person. So then obviously she had her own little thing for me, so it was cool.
Aww, that’s so cute.
Yeah The Walters were playing that night in Evanston, and she came, and that’s when it was like, okay. It was the best thing ever.
That’s so nice. That’s great.
Yeah and we’re still going, still doing it man. Would like to get married.
Yeah? Wait, you want to get married?
Well, she’d like me to have dental insurance first.
Isn’t she shooting Google and stuff? And she was shooting for Pitchfork before she graduated college…
It’s cool being a woman doing it, and she has an attitude about it, she wants to be the best. Like with myself, there’s no disrespect to anyone else doing it but like, I want to be the best. And whether I am the best, it’s just my attitude going into things, like preparing for a show, working out, like I can go 110%. It’s cool having somebody where it’s like, oh you’re also really fucking good, and motivated. I’m so about it. I’m just about around people who inspire, and say they want to do something and just do it. It’s awesome.
I think that’s really cool that you are so supportive of her, and inspired by that — it seems like your mom raised you to be appreciative of women and stuff. Cause not all guys are that into having a really — like someone who’s smarter, or more talented, who’s their female partner.
It’s the best! I’m so happy. I’m so happy when she does something for The Walters, that it’s her. There’s obviously so many guys, homies, and that’s cool, we’ll be having people make stuff for us always, but there is something about having a woman step up and put her footprint on your band. She’s helped us so much. We would not have the same thing, I truly believe, if it wasn’t for Kristina. It’s really cool. And to be dating her the whole time, that helps.
If Kristina’s gonna make it, it’s gonna be good. When somebody proves themselves to such an extent, you have to let go of some control. The Walters are not signed, so everybody in the band is doing different stuff, everybody takes care of different things, cause we have to.
You guys are super DIY.
Yeah, for now.
For now. But it’s cool, cause you’ve achieved a lot of local success already with this DIY approach, like you played Riot Fest.
Yeah we love Chicago, it’s great and we’ll probably stay in Chicago for a while. Like obviously you see bands like Whitney and Twin Peaks and The Orwells who’ve done the whole thing — yeah we want Chicago, of course, but the dream is we want to get out of Chicago. We don’t want to be just Chicago. Cause Chicago is a great city, but New York City and LA are definitely the industry in terms of the big players. Chicago has its charm, like “we’re choosing to be in second place…”
I mean, Pitchfork started here…
It’s the Second City for a reason, and people come here and it’s not like “I’m gonna be a movie star.” People can, but like..I went to acting school in New York City and everyone wants to be some famous, everyone’s like “fuck you, I’m trying to be the guy.” In Chicago, everybody still has it, but…
You’re more of a good old-fashioned Midwestern guy, not like cutthroat New Yorker type.
Yeah, that’s like why acting school didn’t really work.
How long were you out there?
A year and a half. Acting school is great though, it just helped open me up. You have to do things that make you vulnerable and stuff, so that definitely helped me with what I’m doing now with The Walters, performing. I love stage performance so much, I like making songs, recording a lot, I love that, but there’s nothing like — I did musicals in high school, I’m trying to write this Walters musical, I have some things written — but I love going on stage. You can just grab somebody. There’s nothing like it. It’s the best.
We’re touring with Summer Salt in April, we’re hungry to get on the road. We see all these homies, all the dudes here doing it, it’s like oh fuck, we wanna fucking do that. And you have to do it or else you only get so much respect, being an online…you need to be a road warrior.
I think that’s what Twin Peaks have been preaching the past few years, like just get out there, do it.
Yeah man, they’ve been at it. I love watching them perform live, I saw them at Pitchfork, and every guy in the band — they all take the performance at the same…they got great songs.
I feel like they are totally some of the proof like what you guys are doing, like the whole DIY thing can really turn out into something really good.
It will be interesting to see how far you can get, cause it’s just like making money and doing music, and somebody who grew up with a big family, like I want to have a family. I would love to have a family, and be able to be in the Walters, and have that be something that could financially take care of a family, but it’s so hard to get there. Like how big would we have to get to even come close?
Do you guys all write the songs together, or how does that work?
It’s mostly me, Walter, and MJ, but it’s always different each song — can start with Walter on guitar and then me meeting Walter to do a demo, or MJ. That’s what’s kinda cool. I sing on most of the tracks. But we want on the next album to have MJ do more, cause he’s got so many great songs, like demos and stuff. Yeah, I’m excited about putting out this song and new music. We’re working on an album, so hopefully we can get it out…we have no real timeline apart from hopefully before summer.
And you’ll just release it yourselves?
As of now, yeah. Yeah, I dunno. Being online, you look at Spotify and things, it’s leveled it out almost. Like where we’re at right now, we haven’t released music in a year and it’s pretty good for how many people are playing our stuff, own our shit, for now. We’ve been doing this and we’re wherever we’re at, which isn’t like where we want to be, but nobody’s really wanted us yet, so we just have to do it ourselves. Our attitude is starting to just want to do it ourselves, cause Danny has a kid, and we’re 25, we put out music and feel that it’s good…there’s no reason to get down about not being on a label, cause we’re in this position where we have fans, we have really good fans.
I’d always see bands post about like “I love our fans,” you don’t really know until you have people who that notice via social media and start liking The Walters’ shit. And I love those people, I want to be so responsive to those people, it’s the most amazing thing, you know? And since we aren’t on a big label backing us, I think there’s this community that’s really meaningful. It’s cool. I’m not complaining about it.
Follow The Walters on Facebook and Bandcamp and get tix to their upcoming tour with The Orwells!
See more of Kristina Pedersen’s writing, photography & art at kristinapedersen.com.
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