Waltham 'Waltham' album

"Waltham writes the catchiest Van Halen-meets-Rick Springfield style songs you've ever heard and puts on one of the best live shows you've ever seen. They're a band that delivers on stage and on record in ways that anyone with a heart and a pulse can relate to." The Noise

"Waltham. Population: 5, chief export: irresistibly catchy, fist-pumping anthems. It's all about the music, a tantalizingly unabashed, ballsy power pop that brings the rock out of the garage again and back into the adoring hands of the people." – Boston’s Weekly Dig

Waltham (the band) took their name from their hometown, a quintessential New England factory city nine miles west of Boston, MA, complete with a hard-working blue collar ethic and emphasis on community.

The heart of Waltham, MA is Moody Street: a rag-tag collection of mom and pop businesses, including several second-hand shops stocked with discarded vinyl. In these stores the members of Waltham developed their take on the best music of the ‘80s. At $3 an album, it was easy to amass a collection of great music and absorb its charms. “Growing up, we were the living definition of high-school hard-time, bussing to an all-boy Catholic vocational school in Boston,” says founding member Frank Pino. “We’d daydream about what public high schools were like - no uniforms and real girls...”

Their imaginations were fueled by staple ‘80s teen flicks like Fast Times At Ridgemont High and the early John Hughes movies. The music they bought on Moody Street was their soundtrack to these fantasies, which eventually manifested themselves as Waltham songs: guitar-driven, hook-laden, fist-pumping classics that blend together the best elements of ‘80s rock and the never changing ennui of being a teenager.

When Waltham debuted, the scene was populated by hyper-cynical and painfully introspective post-grunge. The members of Waltham adopted a more upbeat tone and sound, dressing in work clothes that reflected not only their roots and their outsider high-school fantasies, but their commitment. The sound and image that Waltham presented was a complete 180 from the music that was currently clogging the airwaves. Kids and scenesters alike instantly hailed them as daring and fresh, a return to feel-good rock and roll.

The Boston buzz on Waltham was deafening, bringing every major label to wine & dine the band. Everyone agreed the band was great, but the big labels couldn’t fit them into a cookie-cutter marketing plan. Enter Rykodisc.

“Rykodisc has a history of working with some of the most acclaimed alternative artists from Boston, including Galaxie 500, Mission Of Burma, Throwing Muses and Morphine, but I’ve always been a fan of the Boston Rock A-B-C’s, too - Aerosmith, Boston and the Cars,” says VP of A&R Jeff Rougvie. “When I heard Waltham for the first time, it felt as fresh, exciting and different as Morphine did in 1993. I admired their audacity and loved the songs immediately.”

For their self-titled Rykodisc debut, Waltham recorded 12 songs that capture their vision of rock and roll as upbeat and fun. From the hook-filled opener “Cheryl” to the fan favorite “Nicole” Waltham is packed to the gills with tunes that resonate in the listener’s head, leave you tapping your hands on the steering wheel long after you’ve turned off the engine.

Waltham’s live performances are energetic, engaging and exciting. They are one of a few local acts that consistently draws large crowds, selling out legendary Boston clubs like the Paradise, Middle East and TT The Bears. Their hometown gigs are often so crowded that lines snake around the block.

Awards have been bestowed. Waltham has won the following Boston Music Awards: Best Band, Song Of The Year (twice) for “Cheryl” again for “So Lonely.” They were voted Best New Band in the Noise Poll, are frequently nominated in The Boston Phoenix's Best Music Poll, and also made the finals of the famous Boston Rock N Roll Rumble. Waltham's set at the Rumble was declared "veritably monumental" in the Noise.

The world beyond Massachusetts has taken notice as well; Waltham is featured in the theatrical Disney film "America's Heart And Soul”, a documentary on Americans from all walks of life chasing their dreams. Waltham's segment features live performance and interview footage. Fox Sports has used their music during sporting events, and they get fan mail from as far away as Australia and Japan.

Waltham was featured in a segment of MTV’s "You Hear It First." Former VJ Iann Robinson is a big supporter. "I like the fact that instead of the usual '60s and '70s garage rock most bands draw from today, Waltham draws from '80s pop-rock," said Robinson. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High-type songs - very anthemic and very cool. Plus they really get into it. Frank sings to the ladies, and every song makes you smile,” he says of the band. We couldn’t agree more.

Frank Pino – Vocals
Tony Monaco – Guitar
Craig Alan – Guitar
Peet Golan – Bass
Mikey Rorick – Drums

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Waltham - Waltham