The Luke Walton Band

Formation (2006)

Luke Walton had been a solo artist for several years who had been featured on both national radio as well as national television. Although he was having profound success for a solo artist of his age, Luke believed he could gain more exposure by forming a full band to play locally. Luke got together with friends Jonathan Gillie (Backup Guitar), Zach Freeman (Drums/ Backup Vocals), and Peter Rosenbaum (Bass) and formed the group Mannequin.

Mannequin (2006-2008)

While Luke was in high school, Luke Walton (Lead Guitar/Vocals), Jonathan Gillie (Backup Guitar), Zach Freeman (Drums/Backup Vocals), and Peter Rosenbaum (Bass) started the band to enter into their school’s Battle of The Bands competition. The band played original songs written by Luke Walton as well as a cover by Katy Perry. After months of playing together, the band finished second in the competition and decided to disband for the summer.

Blue Suburbia (2008-2009)

The following year, Luke wanted to start a cover classic rock and blues trio band with Zach Freeman. After a brief search, Luke and Zach met Jordan Sorokin (Bass) and formed the band Blue Suburbia. The band played mainly covers from artists such as Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and others, along with playing a few originals written by Luke Walton. The band performed at La Costa Canyon High School’s Battle of The Bands and finished first. At the end of the following summer (2009), the band recorded a 4-song EP called The Other Side. When the members of the band all left for college, the band was put on hold. Luke Walton attends The University of Southern California, Jordan Sorokin attends University of Pennsylvania, and Zach Freeman attends Texas Christian University.

The Luke Walton Band (2009-2011)

Luke was accepted into The University of Southern California’s Popular Music Program. During his first semester, Luke formed a band with a few of other students in his major. The new members were Logan Shrewsbury (Drums), Peter Johnson (Violin), and Nick "Thor" Campbell (Bass). The members decided to name the band The Luke Walton Band and play originals written by Luke Walton. During the school year of 2009-2010, the band played weekly local shows around Los Angeles and began to form a fan base.

Summer Tour of 2010

During the summer of 2010, The Luke Walton Band went on a tour up the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco. The band stopped in various cities and playing with artists such as Rozzi Crane, Liplash, and others. The dates and locations of the tour were:

Notablility

The Luke Walton Band, while unsigned has been featured on:

Radio

103.3 WKDF FM (Nashville), 102.5 FM KNIX (Phoenix, AZ), 102.1 FM KPRI (San Diego), 92.1/97.3 FM KSON (San Diego), 95.7 FM (San Diego and syndicated nationally), z90.3 FM (San Diego), 107.4 FM (England), 1320am KKSM's Radio Anarchy with Ron and Renee, AM1700 (San Diego), Aiiradio.net (Internet Only)

TV

FOX 17 (Nashville), Nashville 24/7 TV (Nashville), FOX 5 (San Diego), NBC 7 (San Diego), KUSI 9 (San Diego), CBS 8 (San Diego), Streetside San Diego (San Diego), San Diego Living (San Diego), KOCT TV Band Spectrum (San Diego)

Newspaper/Magazines/Blogs

Country Weekly Magazine (the number one Country Mag in the US), NBC.com (Nationally), The Insider.com-website of a nationally broadcast CBS show (blog), USA Today (newspaper, national), CBS (San Diego, blog), Nashville City Paper (Newspaper-Nashville, TN), The Orlando Sentinel (Newspaper-Orlando, FL), North County Times (Newspaper-San Diego, CA), San Diego Magazine, The San Diego Reader (Magazine), The Coast News (San Diego), Nashville Gab (Blog), Trojan Family Magazine (Magazine, national), Mav Life (San Diego, Newspaper), Nashville 24/7 TV (Blog-Nashville), Amie Street.Com (Blog/Review, National)

Quotes

Famed songwriter, Lamont Dozier, stated about Walton: "It's new, it's fresh, and innovative. Luke needs to be out there NOW showing all these modern day artists how to do it."

Gary Seiler, a musician who performed with Jimmy Buffett and Willie Nelson, said about Walton: “Luke Walton Rocks the Show in Encinitas! - Ron Bell and I had the opportunity to meet and hear one of San Diego’s upcoming singer/songwriters, Luke Walton, at our show in Encinitas. What a treat and thrill for Ron and myself and the entire audience! Google this kid and listen to his music. You will hear a young man who has all of the ingredients to go far in the entertainment business.”

Mike McClenathan of the music website AmieStreet (recently absorbed by AmazonMP3) said about Walton: “Keep Your Eye On Luke Walton - Discovering an artist like Luke Walton, whose picture you might find in the dictionary next to the definition of potential, never ceases to satisfy.”

Original Songs

Luke began his YouTube campaign on December 17, 2008 by uploading videos of himself performing his original songs "Preschool," "Heart In Hand," and "Dead End Love." The three videos have accumulated well over 14,000 views and have been featured on various publications

Six Months To Make It

In January 2009, Luke began an online video blog titled, "Six Months To Make It." The vlog was made to keep fans updated with the latest news as well as to act as a promotion tool. The first episode was uploaded on January 12, 2009 and was titled, "Driving Test." The entire series contains 21 episodes and documents events varying from significant moment's in Luke's musical career to live performances.

Weekly Cover Songs

In March 2009, Luke launched a short series of weekly cover songs. Luke covered songs by artists such as Plain White Ts, The Beatles, Taio Cruz, Katy Perry, Jay Sean, and Taylor Swift. Luke's parody video of Jay Sean's song, "Do You Remember," became a recognizable hit amongst The University of Southern California's community and quickly received over 25,000 hits. The video featured the band, students, and even Luke's great grandmother.

Taylor Swift Date Video

Luke's most significant video, however, which caused him to rise to internet fame was a YouTube video where he asked country artist Taylor Swift out on a date and covered her song "Love Story." The video soon went viral leading to articles being written in national newspapers such as Nashville's The City Paper, NBC, Orlando Sentinel, as well as others. Since the video's uploading on March 21, 2009, it has received over 233,000 views and continues to gain popularity every day.