The Waltons | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
Genres | alternative rock, folk rock |
Years active | 1987–2005 |
Labels |
Warner Sire Reprise Elektra |
Associated acts |
Barenaked Ladies Spirit of the West |
Past members |
Jason Plumb Keith Nakonechny David Cooney Todd Lumley Steve Pitkin Sean Bryson |
Waltons were a Canadian folk rock band, active primarily in the 1990s. The band released three studio albums during their career, and won a Juno Award for Best New Group at the Juno Awards of 1994.
The band was formed in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1987, by vocalist/guitarist Jason Plumb, bassist Keith Nakonechny and drummer David Cooney. The band was originally known as "Neurotic Paperboy", before changing to The Waltons; the name was derived from the fact that Plumb had been given the nickname "Walton" by a bandmate in an earlier musical project, although Plumb sometimes joked that the band hoped to be sued by the producers of the television series The Waltons for the free publicity.
They released two independent demo cassettes, '89 Demonstrations and Demo Sandwich, in 1989 and 1990, before moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1991.
They released their debut album, Lik My Trakter ("like my tractor") independently in 1991. That year, they were nominated for two CFNY-FM CASBY Awards for Most Promising Band and Best Western Canadian Band. They signed to Warner Music Canada, which rereleased Lik My Trakter in 1992. Todd Lumley also joined the band that year, playing keyboards and accordion. The album became their commercial breakthrough, spawning the Top 40 hits "Colder Than You", "In the Meantime" and "The Naked Rain", and won a CASBY Award for Best Debut Album in 1992.
In 1993, the band toured Canada as an opening act for Barenaked Ladies.
In 1994, the band won a Juno Award for Best New Group, as well as a SOCAN Award to mark "In the Meantime" being one of the most-played songs on Canadian radio in the previous year. Also that year they released the Simple Brain EP, which comprised the title track, which the band had written for the film soundtrack Naked in New York, as well as covers of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" and Weddings Parties Anything's "Under the Clocks".