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[ W A L T E R
T R A G E R T ]
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Born in Cleveland and raised in the Maryland suburbs
of Washington, D.C., Tragert showed his musical
inclinations at an early age, mastering the lyrics to 'Sweet Jane' and 'All The Young Dudes' by the time he was
six. In his teens, he conquered the guitar, keyboards,
saxophone and trumpet, and played the usual gigs any
aspiring musician suffers: singing Simon and Garfunkel
songs in pizza joints, and being asked to join bar bands
because he knew all the words to 'Papa's Got A Brand New Bag'. Meanwhile, he began penning original songs that
reflected a variety of inspirations - Ray Charles, Neil Young, Bob
Marley, Leadbelly, the young Steve Winwood,
Mississippi John Hurt and even Marocco's Master Musicians
of Joujouka - eventually honing a style that 'tears
some of the best pages from Graham
Parker and Elvis
Costello songbooks, crumples them up, and then tosses them out
tothe audience with an aplomb |
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charm that's all is own' as the Austin Chronicle notes.
After three years of hotel rooms Tragert landed in Austin, Tx - '
just about the only place I hadn't been' - and found a musical
environment that allowed his talents to bloom. Releasing two tapes
- Scrapple From The Road To Apple and Victory At Sea - to a warm
local reception, Tragert has recorded and appeared live with some
of Austin's best players: Ian
McLagan (Faces, Rolling Stones), guitarist Jud
Newcomb (Loose Diamonds, Toni Price), drummers John Nelson
(Poi Dog Pondering) and Don Harvey (The Motels), and bassists Sean
McCarthy (Mojo Nixon's Toadliquors), Bruce Hughes (Poi Dog
Pondering) and George Reiff (Mason Ruffner, Michael Fracasso,
Charlie Sexton Sextet) to name but a few. |
"Dicono
di lui..."
'Of the literally hundreds of tapes I've
received for our station's 'Daiy Demo' feature, Walter Tragert's stands above them all. His
gritty, blue-eyed
soulfulness and expert songwriting make him a viable
contender for widespread recognition'
| Jody Denberg, program
director KGSR-FM Radio Austin |
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'Un nome da tenere d'occhio, alla luce di un più
che confortevole esordio'
| Paolo Vites, Jam Magazine |
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'Tragert fa parte di quel genere classico di
songwriters per cui le canzoni sono più importanti degli
assoli di chitarra. Il suo è un disco fresco, ben
arrangiato e brillante, che si rifà allo stile di
Costello e non ha nulla a che spartire coi lamenti folk
di molti new-hobos'
| Mauro Zambellini, Mucchio
Selvaggio Magazine |
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'Walter Tragert c'è, e si sente'
| Marco Denti,
Feedback Magazine |
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'With an all-star cast of Austinites at his
disposal including Rich Brotherton, fiddler Champ Hood,
members of the Gourds and Loose Diamonds, and even former
Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, Heavy has a full, polished, but not too-slick sound that compliments the
sentiments Tragert offers up'
| Ken Lieck, Austin Chronicle |
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'Heavy Just The Same' è il disco di un
cantautore con anima che, pur senza far ricorso ai fiati
e rimanendo in strutture puramente rock, riesce ad
esprimere pienamente tutto il suo 'soul feeling'
percorrendo una via tra le meno trafficate nell'ambito
della canzone d'autore, ove oggidi domina incontrastata
l'autostrada folk'
| Renato Bottani, Out Of Time
Magazine |
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'Un piccolo gioiellino che si incastona alla
perfezione nella categoria dei dischi preziosi'
| Renzo Cardini, Late For The
Sky Magazine |
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'Heavy Just The Same' è un ricco e variegato
progetto come pochi esordi lo sono stati. Ci mette di
fronte ad un soul man dagli occhi blu la cui voce, sporca
e ruvida quel tanto da essere affascinante, è al
servizio di un songwriter di notevole caratura'
| Franco Ratti, Audio Review
Magazine |
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