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Austin, Texas indie-rock/garage-punk outfit Parker Woodland is a band born both by chance and by calling. What began with neighbors jamming in a small church soon evolved into a powerful, sweat-soaked live experience in packed rock clubs. At the center of it all is songwriter/vocalist/bassist Erin Walter, a Unitarian Universalist minister and activist in the Girls Rock Camp scene, unabashedly expressive frontwoman for whom Parker Woodland represents the realization of a lifelong dream.
“A big part of Parker Woodland is about creating community, everybody jumping up on stage together, grinning, flailing,” says Walter. “Having a crew to make music and art with is life-giving. I’ve always dreamed of songwriting, and something about playing with these friends, at this time, finally brought it out of me, fiercely.”
Parker Woodland is in the midst of a unique 50-city virtual tour (including churches, a peace benefit with Willie Nelson, a women’s conference, and get-out-the-vote events), preparing to release their debut EP, The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall In Love). The four-song collection pulses with life-affirming energy, fuzzy riffs, and catchy, shout-along vocals. Though Walter’s lyrics electrify the soul of the EP, Parker Woodland remains a collective effort. Dan McMonigle, a Berklee music grad with a haunting guitar sound, and drummer/DJ/artist Ralph Cutler, a New York transplant, round out the group, bringing a mood and musicality that complement the urgency of Walter’s messages. Prior to the pandemic, various Austin indie luminaries would join Parker Woodland on stage for “The World’s on Fire” finale at each live show.
To record their debut EP, the trio teamed up with renowned producer/engineer Jonas Wilson at his studio The Pink Room and cut the whole record in a single day in August 2019. “This EP is a ‘seize the moment’ record,” says Walter. “We recorded it about a week before we played our first show, so it really captures the moment that Parker Woodland was born.”
The songs have taken on deeper meaning for the band and its fans in light of the epic trials of 2020. Thematically, The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall In Love) explores the paradox of finding love, joy, and purpose within a crumbling social framework. The EP’s title track tackles these concepts head-on, with Walter rallying against forces of division, proclaiming, “But there’s one thing I know, it’s this / opposites do coexist / and the last thing they’ll ever kill is the love.”
Elsewhere on the record, the group confronts death as “Later Than We Think” and “Hit By A Bus” reflect on the love we give to ourselves and others in the face of our own mortality. “Later Than We Think” is inspired by the last words between Walter’s father and his sister: “It’s later than we think, so love yourself.”
“Hit By A Bus” imagines calling up an old friend, only to be told they have died. The chorus — “If I die tomorrow / please just don’t forget to sing” — is an admonition to live life to the fullest and share it with others, a sentiment at the center of Walter’s humanist ministry. “One of the things I believe in very strongly is that we should let each other in,” says Walter. “Literally: let people into your home, or at least your yard with a mask on these days. And figuratively: share your truth, your struggles.” The video for lead single “The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall in Love)” demonstrates this ethic to DIY perfection. Shot/directed by Austin artist/musicians Jazz Mills and Cole Burris, it immortalizes the last party Walter threw in her house before the pandemic, full of adults and kids dancing, singing, playing Twister, making pancakes, and covering the house in bubbles, wigs, and glitter. “I watch the video now and I suppose I could feel sad, since we can’t all be together right now,” Walter says. “But what I really feel is grateful and determined, like I know what we’re fighting for.”
Walter laments that it can be a struggle to explain her dual identity as a reverend and a rock musician. But it was partly her work as an interfaith chaplain that gave her the confidence to finally front her own band, after years of playing bass in other people’s projects. “When you go to seminary, you really dig deep into your beliefs, what you want to say, what you’re here for,” says Walter. “This band reflects that — the combination of Dan’s, Ralph’s and my shared love of indie, punk and even pop and country music plus my mission to inspire and care for people. When you write a song, that’s often where you discover what you really believe. I believe life is short, beautiful, and hard, and we will get through it together.”
“Cathartic…fast and optimistic.” – BTRtoday
“Songs about finding joy in the midst of world-crumbling chaos. Who knew it would be so fitting?!” – KUTX
“Propulsive indie-rock.” – Austin American Statesman
“Sounds like something Joan Jett might have bashed out in a jam session with Fountains of Wayne.” – Columbia Daily Tribune
