Musician Makes it Through Worst Year

Acoustic/punk rock musician and political candidate Walt Hamburger is just as goofy and charismatic as his name. I met him while working at a pizza place in my hometown of Appleton. Hamburger’s music career came to a sudden halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he’s emerging from this treacherous year more content with life than ever.

Q-Claire Bruder: Tell us about pre-pandemic Walt — what was he doing in his life and in his career?

A-Walt Hamberger: I’m a professional musician and in my pre-pandemic life I was touring two to three months a year in Europe and North America and playing locally during the non-touring months. Other than that I was writing — everything was pretty much music.

Q: Were there any projects or tours that you were looking forward to in 2020 that got canceled?

A: I had three tours. I had a month in Europe, big shows because I was supporting a couple bigger punk bands. Then I had two Canadian tours, one six-day tour that would’ve been like the Europe one and then a solo trip through Western Canada. That all got canceled, and the only performances I’ve done have been online shows for the last 14 months.

Q: What were you doing when you first heard COVID-19 described as a pandemic and what was your initial reaction?

A: So this is interesting. In January of 2020 I was staying at my ex-wife’s house because we were doing an animal rescue of this kitten named Willow who was very, very sick so she needed 24-hour care. I would stay up with her when Caroline was sleeping and we were working 24 hours a day trying to keep this cat alive. What she was dying from was FIP, which is a form of coronavirus, so that’s how I first heard about it. When I read the news that there was some sort of coronavirus in China, I had just learned what coronavirus was like a week earlier.

Q: What was adjusting to quarantine like?

A: The shut-down thing initially was so scary because they were passing out those cards to businesses to say that you’re an essential worker and I was like, am I gonna get pulled over for just being outside? And then when fog or wind came in we were like, “Is this coronavirus?” Because we had no f****** clue. People’s relationships and marriages were tested because they were with their partners a lot more. You sort of pick the people you’re willing to die for. My dad and I live together and he’s high-risk. There’s just no way I was going to be the one that killed him. It got a little more hairy when I started dating a nurse who works with COVID patients, but she was inoculated right away and never got it.

Q: People like to say that artists should have back-up career plans; did you ever feel this way during the pandemic?

A: Well, yeah. At first I was really nervous about that. I had to basically live off of donations because I was doing all my shows online and I couldn’t do a regular job because it would be putting my dad at risk. For the most part, I think people realized, once they started losing art; when TV shows and movies started shutting down and you couldn’t go to shows anymore. When you drove here you were listening to music I’m sure, when you leave you’ll listen to music, when you’re in the shower people listen to music, there’s music in every commercial. Art is everywhere, but it really does seem like something people dismiss. I’m looking at it like it’s all speculative and just trying to keep that in mind. The way things have been going, the whole concept of a concert seems insane still.

Q: What would your role be if you got elected alderperson in Appleton, Wisconsin?

A: Think like Leslie Knope in Parks and Rec. My understanding is they meet twice a month and they go over whatever needs to be gone over. I’ve only been to one of them when they were trying to make a decision about whether Fox River House could have shows. I went and spoke on behalf of Fox River House. Normally they’re not very well attended, but that one was crazy; there were people out into the hallway. The guy running against me is extremely Republican, and I’m probably the opposite of that, so it’s kind of a read-between-the-lines sort of thing. He’s been going door to door without a mask. He’s got more signs up than me because he’s been putting them up.

Q: Now that the worst of the pandemic has hopefully passed, how did this past year change you as a person?

I’m trying to keep everything into perspective — balance is key. Music can go away. The girl can go away. The dog can go away. Any of these things that make me happy — I have to be able to live without any one of them.