How did Joshua Ray Walker respond to a potentially devastating cancer diagnosis? He pumped out two albums in six months: the vibey, beach-twang Tropicana and the stripped-down, indie-folky Stuff (East Dallas/Thirty Tigers). For the latter, the Dallas-based singer/songwriter with the creamy, classic-country croon serves up a concept album with a curious inanimate theme. Written while Walker underwent intensive chemotherapy for stage 3B colon cancer, each song tells the story of an item at an estate sale.
Walker’s prognosis took a dramatic turn for the better after a stage 4 misdiagnosis was revised to a clean scan, and he’s back on the road—the place where he feels most comfortable.
MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland caught up with Walker during of a string of Southern dates opening for Molly Tuttle.
Your winning battle with cancer has made you more prolific than ever. How did you find the time and the energy?
Due to my diagnosis, I didn’t know how much time I’d have to make records. That really lit a fire under me to write and record. Making records is my favorite part of being a musician and songwriter. I laid out a year-long timeline to write 50 songs and complete three records and a short film. Once I found out I wasn’t going to die, I decided to stick to the timeline anyway.
What was going on in your mind after your misdiagnosis, and how did it inspire the more conceptual nature of Stuff?
I think it will take me years to unpack that situation—it definitely changed my perspective on things. It all boils down to doing more of what I love with people I love and hoping for the best.
How did you go about recording Stuff?
John Pedigo and I locked ourselves in his home studio and put in 14-20 hour days for a week. The rules were that we could only play instruments from our own collections that we had accumulated in that room, and that he and I had to play everything.
In what sense is Stuff a companion piece to Tropicana?
If Tropicana was all about escapism, then Stuff is whatever the opposite of that—confrontation, I guess. Tropicana was about thinking about anything but cancer and death, and Stuff is about only thinking about it.
Health wise, where are you now? Do you foresee any change in a fairly relentless touring schedule?
I got my one-year clean scan a month ago. I’m taking my health seriously, and I’m trying to tour smart instead of hard. I’m hoping that’ll lead to a long, healthy life.
See Joshua Ray Walker live.
