Rising Stars: Meet Rand Walter of East

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rand Walter.

Hi Rand, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have been playing music for as long as I can remember, but I became an artist & producer in earnest when I moved to Nashville to attend college. These days, I wear a lot of hats: artist, songwriter, producer, sideman, and music educator. But it always comes back to writing songs and making records.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Everything has been hunky-dory! No bumps in the road here!
Yeesh. I wish! It is currently not a smooth road – and I doubt it ever will be. Financial difficulties are undoubtedly ever-present, alongside the daily emotional whiplash of being an artist; one minute, it’s, “I’m a failure,” and the next, it’s, “wow, people deeply, deeply care about these songs!” Oof.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I’ve heard from many people that my songs struck a deep chord within them. When you write honestly about your life and perspective, others can relate – regardless of how different their own experiences are. Songwriting has always been an emotional outlet for me, so it remains to this day. However, these days, it has become a space to process my evolutions and invite others to do the same. If that’s too vague, try this: I’ve changed a lot over the past few years – outgrowing old beliefs and desires and working on a new paradigm. The world has changed a lot, too, you may have noticed. So, the personal and political are deeply intertwined in my recent work. That’s always true, whether we’re conscious of it or not.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
My friends and family know this about me, but probably most fans don’t – I love to cook! I do 99% of the cooking in my house, and I love it 98% of the time. We mostly eat vegetarian, so I make a lot of Asian- and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, and whenever I have extra time and money, I love to spend 2-3 hours with a new recipe.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.itsjustrand.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjustrand/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RandWalter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2d8axeFpwQXN-JMWn4CXrA

Image Credits
KT Sura Gina Di Maio