Void Camp – a two-night celebration of sound and light consisting of various psychedelic and experimental music acts – took place at Cactus Club this weekend, curated by Al Kraemer of Astral Hand. Friday evening featured performances from Astral Hand, Slow Walker and Convert, complete with projected visuals from A. Bill Miller.
Slow Walker consists of vocalist/guitarist Justin Harris, vocalist/bassist Sam Reitman, guitarist/synthesizer Andy Patterson and drummer Nick Fulsher. Formed circa 2009, the band plays rapid-fire psych rock that incorporates grunge, garage and stoner elements.
Their origins trace back to childhood friendship and jamming as they got older. “We started Slow Walker in our early 20’s,” Harris explains. “Nick got really sick with encephalitis and was in the hospital for like six months, and as he got out of it, Andy and I figured we could see if he’s doing okay and get him going if we got him playing drums.”
“And yeah, I was able to,” Fulsher jumps in. “We went through a few bass players for a while, but then we played a show with Sam’s old band Midnight Reruns and all became best friends.”
“We pretty much jammed all the time after that,” Reitman adds. “That’s just what it was for a couple years.”
Patterson left Slow Walker for a bit but eventually returned. The band would release record after record throughout the 2010’s with their latest being 2018’s “Ah Yes.”
Slow Walker reunited for their first two shows since late 2019 this weekend, Friday at Cactus Club and Saturday at Promises. The idea to get together and play again occurred when Patterson was driving around and put on their music one day. “I was texting these guys and it was this weird thing where we all happened to be listening to when Slow Walker played Stevens Point radio at the same time,” he recalls.
“It’s weird…the last three shows we’ve played have all been with Convert too,” Fulsher notes.
Fulsher lives in San Diego now so Slow Walker don’t get to jam as often, but they plan to whenever they get the chance these days. He flew into town and the band practiced for three days before their comeback weekend, playing material that grabs from their various eras. “It’s felt fucking great, just to all be in a room together again,” Fulsher said. “Justin write greats riffs…Sam brings great bass lines…Andy always brings the OG Slow Walker sound.”
“If you could just stop time, we would’ve never stopped playing and this would’ve never stopped,” Reitman concludes. “We’ll play again, always. When, who knows. But we’ll always be a thing.”
Will there be Slow Walker shows in 2024? We’ll see what happens!