“I figured going to shows at night instead of going to school was better for me.” He was a student of Chicago’s eclectic music scene and made it his business to attend performances of local legends like Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Chicago Underground). He flirted with college, but it wasn’t to be. Slam it on the ground or just destroy it-it was like anti-guitar music with a guitar.”Īfter high school, Walker moved to Chicago. It was like every part of your body was your guitar pick. and Sonic Youth, played in punk bands, and threw his guitars around. Sick.’”īut as a millennial, Walker was also interested in contemporary music. You look and look, and then you find one and you’re just, ‘Whoa. They had a song called ‘Hats Off to Roy Harper.’ I thought, ‘Who the hell is Roy Harper?’” “‘Black Mountain Side’ is a rip-off of a Bert Jansch song,” he says, “so that’s how I heard about Bert Jansch. “Getting into music is to get into Led Zeppelin.”Įager to expand his sonic horizons, Walker used Zeppelin as a gateway to older music.
“That’s the genesis of some kid from Rockford, Illinois,” he says. His interest in music started with Led Zeppelin. Walker grew up in Rockford, Illinois, about an hour northwest of Chicago. He is a creative, cutting-edge player with deep roots and a willingness to give a nod to the past. He boasts prodigious skill, an ear for diverse styles, and a knack for attracting Chicago’s top talent as sidemen. But don’t miss the point: Walker is anything but a throwback. Just dig the cover art-an overdose of green long, flowing hair a fistful of wild flowers and a photograph that oozes Van Morrison. At first glance, Primrose Green, the new release from Chicago-area fingerstylist Ryley Walker, conjures up some serious ’70s mojo.
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