1.Hello Walter please introduce yourself to the readers?
I am Walter Greggs, 40 years old and I live in Phoenix, AZ. I Have a show called Walter's Wall of Woe.
2.When did you first start listening to rock and
metal music and who were the first bands and artists you listened to?Who are
some of the current bands that you have been listening to?
Oh man, well I started listening to metal at a
very young age. My Mom loved Rock and Roll, (The Eagles, Bob Seger) and my Dad
listened to Heavy Metal, (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest) but when I was about 6
years old my babysitter gave me a copy of Metallica's Garage Days Album. No
joke, I used to listen to it on an old fisher price record player for hours.
Currently, I've been listening to much more
extreme metal. This year (2020) isn't all bad, I've been jamming new releases
from Cytotoxin, Katalepsy, Stillbirth, Incinerate. Analepsy has been one of my
favorite bands the last few years however, they can do no wrong.
3.What have been some of the most memorable concerts you have witnessed over the years?Who are some of your favorite bands and artists that you have had the pleasure to witness?
That's a hard one, let's see. Devastation on the
Nation brings some sick acts through Phoenix every year, so I got to see
Internal Bleeding with Frank Rini and that was a treat. Soreption is absolutely
amazing live. Nile is one of my favorites live on stage. One of my most
memorable concerts was Las Vegas Death Fest 11, I had the pleasure of
broadcasting all three days of this event. So many great acts, but seeing the
legendary Matti Way on stage with Liturgy A.D. was epic. He also did a couple
guest spots with Kraanium and Pathology that weekend, the crowd came unhinged.
4.Did you ever read fanzines back in the 90's? If yes what were some of your favorite fanzines that you read?
Oh yeah, Pit Magazine was my go to publication. Most of the time it came with a compilation CD and that's how I would discover new music. I would also pick up some of the others in the 90's when they featured the more extreme bands, but Pit magazine was the Shit!
5.What do you feel made a good fanzine?Are their
any current fanzines or web-zines that you like to read?
Zines that stay current and consistant with
relevent information to the metal music industry, I don't really dig the ones
that write like they are TMZ. I don't care who Tom Araya votes for, or who
Chris Taylor Brown (Trapt) is trying to get his ass kicked by now. I want good
interviews and strong editorial pieces on the relevence of our industry,
something substancial and informative for the fanbase.
I subcribe to many Zines, Into The Pit With Annie (intothepitwithannie.com) is a good one, Her and I share a lot of opinions on the scene. Frank Rini does album reviews for Teethofthedivine.com that I like to keep up on. There are so many out there these days, it's hard to keep up with all of them.
6.Were you ever into tape-trading if yes what
were some of your favorite demo's and releases that you traded for?
I miss the tape trading days, fans appreciated
music more back then. Some of my favorites
were Acheron "Rites of the Black Mass" and Baphomet "The
Dead Shall Inherit" albums. Two albums that still hold a candle to todays
death metal in my opinion, even with production value being Sub-par by today's
standards.
Back in those days, when you bought an album from
a band you weren't familar with you had to learn to like the album. There were
no returns on tapes you didn't like, and there was no internet to research the
band prior to your purchase. You were stuck with it like it or not, unless you
could find someone to trade with of course.
7.When did you first get the idea to be a dj and
what do you feel is the easiest and hardest part about doing a radio show?
I had a friend that moved across the country, he
started a show for a radio station looking for new talent. There was a chat
room you could log into and chat with the DJ's and that's how we got to hang
out as friends long distance, it was a lot of fun. One day he contacted me
about a writers position at That Metal Station, I had a little writing
experience so I applied for the spot and got it. After a few months of that I
decided to try my hand at live broadcasting my own show, I picked up a computer
at a pawn shop for $30 and a cheap USB Mic and dove in.
The easiest part of the show? That's a hard
question, I guess the easiest part is the motivation to get on air weekly. I
don't care if there are 10 or 10,000 listeners, if I can turn somebody on to a
new band or artist then I feel satisfied and motivated in what I do.
The Hardest part about the show? I would have to
say is learning new techniques and different ways to improve the shows. When I
started I barely knew how to use a computer for more than surfing the web, let
alone knowing any sort of editing software. I am constantly learning new ways
to promote the show and it's content, finding new tricks to sound better on air
or create my own content to add to the show. When I started doing interviews I
learned very quickly that you can't just hold your phone up to the mic and take
a call and expect the recording to be quality enough to post to Youtube for listeners to hear again,
buying new hardware/software and knowing how to use it can be challenging at
times.
Well the name "Walter's Wall of Woe"
was given to me by the editor of the site at the time Eric Walls, with a little
help from the station owner Scott Green. It was what we named my column for the
written content I did in the beginning, I continued with the name when I
started broadcasting. That was in 2015, so about 5 years now.
I'm extremely happy with the progression of the
show to date, I've had the opportunity to interview some of my favorite artists
in the indusrty and work with some great people in the world of metal media.
I've always been more intrigued with what goes on behind the scenes in this
indusrty and the show allows me to experience and be part of that.
9.I believe the show is broadcast through the
internet radio station That Metal Station when did you first discover this
radio station and are you satisfied with them so far?What day and time does
your show broadcast?
Like I said before, I was introduced to the
station by my long time friend Harley. I am very satisfied with my home at TMS.
I actually left for a period of time and started my own station with a
colleague, after that didn't work out I thought about hanging it up for good.
The Owner at TMS asked if I wouldn't mind coming back to do some guest spots on
the station during the beginning of the pandemic, it was so much fun being back
on air again. The staff there welcomed me back and I was asked to continue my show
full-time, it was hard to say no, the crew I have the pleasure of working with
are amazing and I have everything I need to create a quality show at TMS. I
love it here.
My show airs Friday's 1pm Eastern standard time
at thatmetalstation.com You can also find it on the Tunein app for your mobile
devices.
10.What styles of metal and music in general do you showcase on your show? If any bands,labels or PR.companies are interested in submitting promo's where can they send the music to?
I play everything in the extreme metal genre.
Black Metal, Death Metal, Slam and Brutal Death Metal. I'm the Bubba Gump of
extreme metal haha.
If anybody wants to send me their presskit for airplay consideration you can email me at Wallofwoe@gmail.com
11.I believe you live you live in Arizona what is your opinion of the metal scene in Arizona over the years?
Oh Arizona is sick! There are so many talented artists and bands in this state, everything from radio rock to the most obscure noise you can think of. I am pretty fortunate to be here, great bands, awesome venues, you can literally show hop on any given weekend. I hope it is still this way when the pandemic is over and we go back to living our normal lives, I hope there is still a scene, we will rebuild.12.Who are your all-time favorite bands coming
out of Arizona and are their any new ones you could recomend to the readers?
Ahhh, my homies in Atoll are my favorites, but
their are so many. I hate this question because I feel like i'm gonna leave
someone out. I would recommend checking out Lago, Dead Swarm, He Who Binds
Himself, Deadspawn, I, Pariah, Through the Earth, Malnourished, Arboroth, Black
Phantom, Scattered Guts, Dead World Reclamation, Fetal Discourge #FetalDicks,
Oppressor God, and the extremely talented Singularity.
That is a few, I could keep going but I don't
want to ruin the format of your page haha.
13.When you need to take a break from preparing
on your next show what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love keeping fish actually, I have four aquariums
that I take care of. African Cichlids, South/Central American Cichlids,
Tropical fish, all fresh water. I also game a little bit, Borderlands 3 is my
go to right now, and the Tony Hawk remakes. When I have the chance I love to
travel the state with my beautiful Girlfriend.
14.Thank you Walter for taking the time to fill
this interview out do you have any final comments?
Thank you so much for having me, I respect what
you do and know the time it takes to make this a thing. You're awesome my
friend.
Just be nice out there people, stop genre hating.
Metal is a vast world, if you see someone walking down the street wearing a
metal T-shirt throw them the horns \m/ There's no need to bash people in the
scene for liking the metal they like. It's time to reunite the fans and make
metal a driving force in the entertainment indusrty.
Oh and to the bands out there doing your best to
do everything in house on your own, Check your Metadata! If you don't know what
it is, google it. Or email me, I would be happy to help.
