Greetings, guitar, music and art fans! It's a pleasure to kick-off my journal on Modern Guitars Magazine. I really look forward to sharing my experiences with you.

Since many of you are strangers, thought I'd provide a little background on my career so I'm quoting myself from my Soundclick page:

I started playing music when I was a teenager, in the Newark, N.J. area. One day, Wilbert Harrison, of Kansas City fame, literally followed me down a sidewalk in his Cadillac, screaming at me to get in his car as I walked and played my harmonica. He had women in the car, champagne glasses on the dash, and almost crushed me into a building. He wanted me to play in his "comeback" band.

I didn't know who he was, and was worried for my life. He kept holding up empty album covers from the 50's, screaming "boy get your ass in this car. My name is Wilbert Harrison, and I want your ass in my band." I got in and my life changed forever.

I spent time with him playing from the elite Tramps Blues Club in NYC, to pot bellied stove dives that had no restrooms. You peed on the sawdust floor and the local hardcore wino would sweep it up twice a day and spread new dust for a free drink. I learned that beat he had and tuned it my own way. I also learned the one-man band concept (bass drum, high hat cymbal, guitar, and harmonica, played simultaneously) from him in those places.

During this time I played with local blues bands and was often fired for making songs up on the spot. I would spend my free time playing at the local train station to the local winos. They taught me more than anyone else about singing and performing. I would make up songs on the spot, which were usually about them, and the energy level would hit the ceiling. From that point on, I pushed this concept into my professional concerts.

During this transition time I kept close to the old blues men, including living with Louisiana Red on Long Island. I played around the NYC area with him a lot. He turned me on to many great blues men like Lightning Hopkins, Sonny Terry, Champion Jack Dupree, Bo Diddley, Lonnie Brooks, Eric Burdon, and others. Red moved to Europe and I continued to play the NYC/NJ scene.

I soon left too, for Arizona, and then Ca. In Ca I played with many blues men including Sonny Rhodes, Cool Papa, Mississippi Johnny Waters, Frankie Lee, Mark Naftalin, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny B. Good, Troyce Keys and J.J. Malone, and began a long friendship with Albert Collins. I lived in Sonoma County, Ca. during these years and also had my own band called Walter H.K. Tore and Below Zero.

A famous guitar player from Norway heard me playing in Oakland and brought us over for a tour. We ended up living in Brussels for two years. I played throughout Europe and Scandinavia with my band, and a lot of festivals with Louisiana Red. He is a great blues man, and a great man. He still lives in Germany. He and Champion Jack Dupree lived together there. I then moved back to the NYC area, and then on to Austin for 11 years.

The Austin music scene is the best in the USA. I met hundreds of great musicians there, and the ego trips were minimal compared to the other 20 or so cities I had tried to break into. We all shared food, equipment, and housing. I had dozens of drummers through those years, and many were quite well known. Among them were Jimmy Carl Black, the drummer for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Uncle John Turner of Johnny Winter, and Dave Sanger of Asleep at the Wheel. I also had the good fortune of being the house band at the famous Black Cat Lounge in Austin for eight years. This club was a hangout for the best musicians in town. We would often start at 9pm and play until 5am.

The owner Paul Sessoms (who is now dead), inspired me to follow my dreams. He was the most determined visionary I have ever met. Those nights in that club are legendary. He let us audition drummers on Friday and Saturday nights while we played. Jamie (my bassist) and I would put an ad in the local music paper for drummers to show up at 10pm. If they sounded good they got the job, if not they were asked to leave. It was kind of like the Gong Show, in front of sold out crowds. What other club owner would allow this on their most profitable nights?

I had complete freedom there. I could play solo, loud, quiet, long sets, short sets, have anyone up to jam I liked, take no breaks, or two-hour breaks, sing, talk, cry, or preach. Listen to The Story of the Mojo Guitar on Live at the Alpine Hall cd, and you will learn all about Paul.

Through the Black Cat Lounge I met and became friends with many musicians including Dwight Yokum, Joey Rammone, Ronnie Lane, Joe Ely, Doug Sahm, Bobby Keys (sax player for Rolling Stones), Charlie Sexton (guitarist for Bob Dylan), Will Sexton, Evan Johns, Timbuck 3, The Call, and countless others.

Major touring bands would stop in the club to get the famous Black Cat t-shirts, and while their busses were idling in front, they would often sit in with us. I even met Badfinger during one of these episodes!

I have spontaneously composed and performed over 1 million songs, which is probably a world record. I refuse to compromise my musical concept, Spontobeat, where all my songs are spontaneously made up. I also believe I am the only person out there who makes it all up as I go along. I never rehearse, or sing the same song twice. My bass player for over 10 years, was Jamie Greenan. We met in Sonoma County, California, in 1980.

We came up with the name Spontobeat - spontaneously created music - around 1985. Together we turned this concept into a reality. He traveled with me until the early 90's, and acted as band director, and conceived many promotional ideas to get our concept better known. These included a Spontobeat documentary, which was shot on a playschool video camera, complete with narration and soundtrack.

Many major record labels have approached me through the years, telling me if I would follow the traditional approach of writing, rehearsing, recording, performing, the same songs over and over, I would be as famous as my friends. I am glad I didn't, because I may never have become a teacher!

Keep your hats on, eyes open, and get ready to join me in my unique quest to...follow my heart!

[All text and images presented on Walter Tore's Journal are copyright, Walter Tore. All rights reserved.]