Untitled Document
In 2006, readers of Illinois
Times picked Micah Walk as the best
musician in Springfield. Now the twentysomething singer/songwriter is
moving to Chicago. Why in the world would he leave? “Why? I don’t know,” Walk says.
“Some people think it’s crazy, but crazy can be
all right.”
With plans to “just hang out and play music as
much as possible,” he made a good beginning by booking a weekly
Wednesday-night show at Lilly’s (2515 N. Lincoln, 773-525-2422), in the Wicker
Park area of Chicago. He starts March 7, the day after his going-away-party
date in Springfield. Last year Walk released Change, a full-length CD recorded by Mark Rubel at his Pogo
Studio, in Champaign. The disk, a delightful romp of funk-folk tunes,
features Walk’s exemplary songwriting, backed by talented
musicians, including former members of Public Display of Funk, a recently
disbanded group from the Bloomington area. “Me and the guys have been working on a new
album,” Walk says. “Our bass player studied recording at
Milliken [University in Decatur] and has a home studio. We’re
tentatively planning finishing by the end of the year.”
Walk likes the direction of the recording but, when
it comes to describing the sound, gropes for a definition. “The songs are — I don’t want to
say country — it’s rock & roll but mellow, less
funky,” he says. “You could compare it to Ryan Adams’
stuff.”
In the last year, Walk has stayed busy working
at Samuel Music, playing his Tuesday-night gig at Marly’s Pub, and
getting in some regional road trips. One venture in particular seems to
have affected his decision to leave Springfield and take up residence in
the Windy City. “We were coming back from shows in Iowa and
I’d been sleeping the whole way,” he says. “I woke up in
Chicago and got out of the van and thought, ‘I want to live
here.’ It just felt right.”
Just because a decision feels right to you
doesn’t mean that everyone else will hop on board and ride the same
train, though. Friends and fans are not wholeheartedly behind his choice,
and he expresses some frustration about explaining over and over why
he’s leaving town. Finally, he says, he came up with a good,
honest answer that works for all occasions: “Now I say it’s because my life is just
beginning and I want to take advantage of it. I’m not ready to plant
myself in one place for the rest of my life.”
Good luck, Micah. May the songs be
with you.
The Micah Walk Band performs at Marly’s Pub (9
W. Old State Capitol Plaza, 217-522-2280, 9 pm-midnight Tuesday, March 6.
Macie Smith and Walk open with an acoustic set at 8 pm. Micah’s mom
is making mostaccioli, so get there early.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2007.
