Walter’s Wheelhouse was scheduled to play on the Paramount’s Local Roots Series on May 1st, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the performance has been indefinitely postponed. We had a chance to catch up with Janelle Kendall and the rest of Walter’s Wheelhouse to see what they are up to during their time at home. Be sure to check out the video!
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Tell us a little bit about who you are and what type of performance you were planning to do at the Paramount.
Janelle – “Walter’s Wheelhouse has been playing together since 2012, starting out at Fisher’s Club in Avon through a series of events. I called Dan Witte after not seeing him in years, he agreed to join us (we’d crossed over in the BLT Band many years earlier), and we started playing as a full band and acoustic duo soon thereafter. We play as a 6 piece band, acoustic duo, and now acoustic trio, led by me on vocals/guitar/keyboard, Dan Witte on vocals/guitar, Alex Kendall on vocals/drums, John Kirchner on bass, Carter Vonderahe on keyboard/vocals and Steph Swearingen on fiddle/keyboard/vocals. We had the full 6 piece band with special guests ready to go for May 1st at the Paramount, showcasing the musical history of each of us plus how we came together, including a number of originals!”
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What is the band doing now that you can’t perform in front of a live (in person) audience?
We are re-creating some of our Paramount show for the acoustic trio. The video here is last week’s rehearsal, socially distanced, with three of the original band members, and very much in the early stages of re-working some of these songs!
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Are there any new opportunities or partnerships, artistically, that have come about for you during this time?
This is the first video we’ve done like this. Andrew Kendall, my oldest son and former band member, and his wife, Lizz, are educators, and through the current distance learning requirements of their professions (Andrew is just finishing his master’s degree in choral conducting and starts his D.M.A. at Iowa this fall. Lizz is an elementary teacher and makes awesome distance learning videos for her students), they have become skilled at making videos! So we grabbed some quick footage last week – and here you go.
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How can people connect with you while we are all staying at home?
People can visit our website at www.walterswheelhouse.com or Walter’s Wheelhouse on Facebook.
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Is there anything else you’d like to share with the Paramount online audience?
We are honored to have been scheduled for the Local Roots Series. The Paramount stage defines credibility for musicians in our community, and we welcome any and all opportunities to play there!!
Thank you to Janelle and the band for taking the time to share some of their time and talent with the Paramount. If you’d like to support the mission of the Paramount to provide opportunities for artistic production, creative exploration, arts education and the enjoyment of arts and entertainment, and to help keep us strong and vibrant during these uncertain times, DONATE TODAY. Thank you.