A Chat with Brent Walker from In Heat (05.12.20)
Inspired by the likes of AC/DC, Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses, In Heat is a powerful punch of rock music. Originally formed in 2011, the Canadian hard rockers seek to “bring the sleaze back to hard rock”. We speak with vocalist and guitarist Brent Walker about In Heat’s album Fixed, discovering new music and much more.
OSR: Why did you choose to enter the music industry?
Walker: In around 1991, my friends started playing in a band and I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen; that Christmas my parents bought me my first guitar. Mainly, I just thought it was awesome to make a pile of noise but once I realised that I could actually be good at it and make songs myself it became a lifelong pursuit.
OSR: What can you tell us about your new album Fixed?
Walker: Fixed was an album that nearly didn’t happen. The band was preparing to do this record back in 2017 when we had a major member shake-up and we weren’t even sure that we would be able to continue. After a couple of years sorting things out, in late 2019, we finally managed to get things on track to a point where making Fixed was a certainty. It was a laborious process but the will to complete it never died.
OSR: What was the writing and recording process like?
Walker: A lot of the music was written years ago. I’d say that the oldest song on Fixed probably dates back to 2015 or 2016. We ended up writing about 20 songs for the record and we chose the ten that we liked best to be on it. The lyrics all came later with the final cut on them coming the week prior to the Covid lockdown hitting Ontario. So, I guess you could say that the writing process was prolonged, which I think was a good thing because it led to a situation where we were able to be selective and meticulous with what eventually become Fixed.
We actually recorded good studio demos of each song prior to the lockdown starting. I think it really helped us pick the best songs as objectively we could, and it also accelerated the actual in-studio process as our engineer/producer had the opportunity to hear the songs in rough format before tracking them. It gave us a good headstart.
OSR: The album was recorded during Covid-19 lockdown – what challenges did this create and were there any benefits to recording at the time?
Walker: The first challenge we had came down to scheduling. We were originally scheduled to be in the studio for the first week of April, but with Ontario in full lockdown, we were forced to postpone things. The next tentative date we chose was in June where we had the opportunity to evaluate again as we approached the date. Luckily for us, the lockdown restrictions were lifted the week prior to our scheduled date so we didn’t end up having to postpone again. We were still somewhat limited in what we could do though which did make the recording process a little bit strained. Even with the lockdown lifted, there were restrictions on how many people could be there at once and how these people were spaced out, but fortunately, we were able to find a way to comply with all of the public health guidelines while still doing the record.
If there was any benefit to doing it then, I think it’s that we were all really looking forward to getting back to something that resembled normal life by that time, and this was really the first thing we did as a group since the lockdown began in mid-March. I think this put us all in a really positive frame of mind going into it, which I think comes out in the recording.
OSR: Which is your favourite track from the album and why?
Walker: For me, ‘The Ballad of Chocolate Jesus’. I love the groove. The story is that I wrote the song in a hotel in southern Ontario while we were on tour with The Headstones in 2016. It didn’t start out as the final song it became, but the music was done that first night and every time we played it, it made me laugh. It’s just a super fun ripper, tons of fun to play and it really seems to resonate with the fans – a crowd pleaser for sure.
OSR: What about your least favourite?
Walker: ‘Shots’ is the one I’ve struggled with the most. It’s changed a lot since it was first written back in 2015. When we were picking the final songs for the record, in my opinion, it came down to this one versus another one that didn’t end up making it which is called ‘No Business’. Part of me will always feel like we chose the wrong one. I think it’s just that the song doesn’t really feel like it fits with the band we are now, which is fine; it shows that we’ve grown. I doubt very much that we’ll end up performing this one live in the future.
OSR: What is your greatest musical accomplishment to date?
Walker: We’ve managed to do some great things with this band. We’ve played a lot of shows with bands that I’ve looked up to and admired for many years. We’ve received a lot of positive press from industry people who I respect a great deal and found our way onto big-time mainstream radio. We’ve had a great run so far with the band and we’re really just getting started.
All that said, I think the greatest accomplishment we’ve had to date is managing to hold this band together for ten years. My experience has shown me a lot of great bands who unravel long before their time because they can’t set a goal and stay focused on it. I think we’ve managed to do that with In Heat. Fixed is testament to that and our next record will be a continuation of our work towards the goal we’ve set for ourselves.
OSR: What do you think is the best way to discover new artists nowadays?
Walker: I’m pretty old-school; in my opinion, you need to go out into the scene and see bands for yourself first-hand. That said, this whole Covid thing has ruined that for us, at least temporarily. So, for now, I turn to the internet, Spotify, Bandcamp, blogs, etc. These social media formats are powerful tools, but it’s up to the bands themselves to use them properly. It’s not intuitive, but the bands who do figure it out are usually worth checking out.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Walker: Really, just a big thanks for taking the time to read this and to check our band out. The support we received means a lot to us and it helps motivate us to keep going. Please take the time to reach out, we will personally respond to all messages we receive – that interaction is a huge part of what keeps us going!
Thank you to Brent Walker for chatting with us! For more from In Heat, check out their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
