Connect with us

Features

Rob Lundberg Presents “Uncontaminated Sound – The Interviews” EP #49 w/ Dustin C. Hayes of Walter Etc (formerly Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra)

For the first episode of Uncontaminated Sound for 2022, host Rob Lundberg caught up with Dustin Cole Hayes, the brainchild behind Walter Etc.

Published

on

Guided by artistic desire and a true lover of artistry in all of its forms, Robert Lundberg has become a highly regarded photographer and filmmaker lauded for his innovative and versatile documentaries covering the worlds of music, comedy, art, and film. After spending his early years in Massachusetts, Lundberg moved to New York City where he more actively pursued a full-time career in art and film. Uniquely focused on seeking out the next big artistic challenge, Lundberg chose to pursue one of his most ambitious projects at the beginning of 2020 when he launched his new documentary series entitled Uncontaminated Sound – The Interviews.

Debuting in February 2020, the series follows comedians, musicians, fine artists, and actors with Lundberg’s primary goal to gain a particular insight into their creative processes which can only be thoroughly deciphered by truly going behind the scenes. With Uncontaminated Sound, Lundberg’s purpose is to offer an intimate look into all of the rarely seen or known “little things” that take place during interviews and other similar social and private interactions with artists and performers. Mainstream features are often heavily and unevenly edited, offering viewers only individual, preferred moments. In contrast, Lundberg is dedicated to delivering to you all of the real, raw, authentic moments that you would never otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

It’s a new year which means it’s time for the first episode of Uncontaminated Sound for 2022. For his latest interview subject, Lundberg caught up with Dustin Cole Hayes, the brainchild behind Walter Etc. This is the name that Hayes uses as his songwriting alias, a fairly open musical arrangement that is spearheaded by the singer and songwriter but does involve contributions from other musicians and instrumentalists that he has gotten to know over the years.

Specializing in lyrically inclined pop-rock songs, Walter Etc. began as a bedroom folk project that began to evolve when Hayes invited childhood friend Kris Schobert to contribute some percussion to a project he was working on titled Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra. This incarnation of the project proceeded for several years as a DIY arrangement before it became Walter Etc. The switch involved a refocused musical approach, as well, that incorporated a switch to primarily electric instruments, but with still the same wit and candour that was typical of Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra.

Dustin Cole Hayes

Regarding his recent talk with Hayes, Lundberg shares:

“Dustin or is it Walter? Wait now I’m confused can a stage persona really transgress itself and morph into reality? A question I kicked off conversation 049 with. The founder of the band popularly known by Walter Mitty & His Make Shift Orchestra, now Walter ETC, wasn’t quite sure either.

With a hand clap we were off swimming. We chat about Dustin’s creative evolution, the creation of Walter Mitty, and how Zack Efron as a fan led to a Mitty track being used as the intro to the HBO animated series Ten Year Old Tom.

Fittingly, close out with a tandem hand drum session that has album written all over it. Please enjoy this lighthearted conversation.”

Lundberg has more interviews to come with acclaimed artists who have agreed to be a part of Uncontaminated Sound – The Interviews as 2022 starts to get rolling. Lundberg has already been bringing you for some time now his ongoing series Uncontaminated Sound which takes a look behind the scenes to get a look at performers before they take the stage. The series has featured Macklemore’s Gemini Tour featuring Eric Nally (formerly of Foxy Shazam) and Xperience, Louie Anderson, Sinbad, Ron English, We Are Scientists, Rufus Wainwright, and more. Lundberg’s photography has been highlighted in publications such as Huffington Post, Paste Magazine, and more.

Trending