Chris Eckman

The Walkabouts
The Walkabouts in 2012
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington, United States
Genres	Indie rock, Alt-rock, Alt-country, Folk rock, Chamber pop, Slowcore
Years active	1984–2015
Labels	Sub Pop, Virgin, Glitterhouse, PopLlama, Fire & Skill Recordings, Innerstate Records
Associated acts	Chris & Carla, Midnight Choir, The Transmissionary Six, Willard Grant Conspiracy, The Bambi Molesters, Höst, Dirtmusic, Akis Boyatzis
Website	www.thewalkabouts.com
Members	Chris Eckman Carla Torgerson Michael Wells Glenn Slater Terri Moeller Paul Austin
Past members	Grant Eckman Curt Eckman Bruce Wirth John Baker Saunders Fred Chalenor Joe Skyward Brian Young

The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time the other members were Michael Wells, Glenn Slater and Terri Moeller.

The band drew inspiration from folk and country music, particularly Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young and Johnny Cash, but also from other types of artists and musical styles such as Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, French chanson and Jacques Brel. Their sound was typically rich, with string arrangements and keyboards in addition to the standard rock instruments. In reviews the band's music was often described as melancholic or mellow, while Eckman's lyrics, concerning such themes as human relations, loneliness and restlessness, were often emphasized as poetic.

The Walkabouts achieved commercial success and a strong fanbase in Europe, where they did promotion and extensive touring since the early 1990s. They occasionally even made it high on the record charts in countries such as Greece and Norway.

Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman met and began playing music together in 1983 while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1984 they moved to Seattle, and the band was born when they joined forces with Chris' two younger brothers, drummer Grant and bassist Curt. The Eckman brothers had been playing in various punk rock and pop groups during their college years, and Carla came from a folk and street singing background. The band took their name from Nicolas Roeg's cult film, Walkabout.