Jeff Walter
Jeff Walter is a writer — a journalist as well as a songwriter. Because he makes his living stringing words together, he takes the craft of writing, be it prose or lyrics, seriously. Consequently, he usually brings at least one song for critique when he attends a meetings.
Jeff joined' the LASC in September 1993, but it was awhile before he attended a meeting, mostly because he lives in Lexington. A sports writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader for seven years, Jeff left that paper in 1991 to start his own business, Vital Communications. The Insider's Guide to Greater Lexington, published by the Herald-Leader, is one of his most notable efforts.
He has also written cover stories for Louisville Music News, the most recent being the Karen Kraft story in this issue.
For the last few months, however, Jeff has been making the trip to Louisville regularly, leaving his wife Roberta and son Reece with her family in Louisville before arriving at the Union hall.
He has also made the journey to Music Row to pitch his tunes and to network. Like many other songwriters, he is still looking for that one publisher who likes his material.
Jeff's music reveals a variety of influences, from rock to country to blues. He says that he has learned that a great song transcends musical boundaries.
"There's a lot of great music that tends to fall between the cracks," he notes. "[Such music} is too rock for country or too country tor rock or simply not mainstream enough."
As for his own material, he shrugs.
"Although I'm most actively pursuing country markets right now, I'd rather just write music and let somebody else worry about what kind of label to stick on it."