Artist description The name ‘Walk about Groove’ tells the story. We are 19 to 21 year old musicians from Cleveland, Ohio whose musical style covers the influences of the Rock and Roll City’s roots. We are laid back Rock & Roll with an Alternative flair and the groove is enhanced by our Latin percussion.

Music Style Classic Rock / Alternative Rock

Musical Influences The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Dave Matthews, and King Crimson

Similar Artists Depending on which band member wrote the song; We may appear to sound like the Grateful Dead, Smashing Pumpkins, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Green Day, Dave Matthews, or The Doors.

Artist History Sometime during their freshman year in high school, childhood friends Matt Norcross, Scott Borchert, Andrew Gash and Mike Valerino discovered that they had a common interest in music. They played the Grateful Dead's "Franklyn's Tower" as well as their own instrumental tunes. Matt's sister, Kelly, introduced him to a guitar player named Rob Peeples. After they played together a couple of times, Matt called Mike and told him to meet them at the beach with a set of bongos. Rob was two years younger than Matt and Mike, but he caught on quickly and even harmonized on a few tunes. They were planning a Rock N' Roll hall of fame theme for that year. The Band now called 'Kokopelli' played a High School Rock Off at the Odeon in the flats of Cleveland. There, they debuted their first original song, "Grand Central Station," which was written by Rob Peeples. The band received very high marks. They played three more Band Bonanza's in the Spring. Matt, Scott, Andrew, Bob and Mike Valerino graduated at the end of the school year. They played a gig at the Magic Unicorn coffee shop in North Olmstead, Ohio at the beginning of the summer. Kokopelli's last gig was at the fourth of July "Bay Days" carnival in Bay Village. Shortly after, Rob Peeples started another band called True Corona. 1998 True Corona played the High School Rock Off at the Odeon in January. They broke up shortly afterwards, though. When Scott, Matt and Mike came home from school for the summer they decided to get another band together. The three of them played an acoustic set at the Magic Unicorn and were asked back. They decided to return with a full band. This time they wanted to start writing more original songs. Their search for a second guitarist lead them right back to Rob Peeples. They needed a bass player and Rob suggested Matt Kaiser. They played the Magic Unicorn as the ‘Dharma Bum Jam Band’ and were asked never to come back because they were too loud. Around this time the band started writing original tunes. This year's Fourth of July at the Bay Days carnival saw the debut of Scott's new song, ‘Time It Takes’ and Norcross's ‘Moondance Chaser’. The ‘Dharma Bum Jam Band’ played another gig at the end of the summer, this time at Peabodies Down Under. They debuted Rob's 'Change By Color' at this show. The recording of the Peabodies show was pretty good, so the band decided to use it as a demo until a CD would be recorded. Norcross, Scott and Mike left for school again in the fall and the band would not play together again until Winter break. They changed their name to ‘Walkabout Groove’. During this time, the band arranged a song that Norcross had written at school called ‘Naked Rain’. 1999 The band played their first paying gig as ‘Walkabout Groove’ on Monday, March 1st at the ‘Swindlefish Saloon’ in Athens, Ohio.. They spent the entire next day freezing uptown on Court Street passing out flyers for the show. A surprise opening band, "Granola Funk Express," helped ‘Walkabout Groove’ fill the house for their Athens debut. The show was a complete success. Their next show was a benefit concert given on Saturday, March 13 for Habitat for Humanity at ‘Mama Einstein's’, another bar in Athens. ‘Walkabout Groove’ got 45 minutes to play to another full house. This time they shared the bill with "West Coast Beverage", "Guest" and "Short-Tail Dog." The band rode these two successes into the summer. Rob Peeples and Matt Kaiser graduated from high school, and the rest of the band returned home to Bay Village. Soon after their arrival, they played a show at ‘Peabodies Down Under’ in the flats of Cleveland. Finally, with time to practice, the band was able to write a few more songs. ‘Tiger's Willow’, Norcross's song about chasing dreams was arranged. WA, was invited to play at ‘Frankies’, Toledo, Ohio. Borchert's new song, "In A Different Light" debuted that night. ‘Walkabout Groove’ played one more gig at the end of the summer at ‘Peabodies Down Under’. Norcross, Borchert, and Mike returned to their schools in the fall. Rob joined Mike at Ohio University and Kaiser stayed to attend Cleveland State University. Realizing the difficulties of scheduling a gig for a band of guys that attend all different colleges ‘Walkabout Groove’ was not able to play together again until November 19. Walkabout Groove anxiously headed into the studio during winter break to record their first demo CD. They began the millennium with their new CD called, ‘DREAMS’, and a new hunger to play. Look for ‘Walkabout Groove’ this summer. A tour is in the works!

Group Members Rob Peeples-Vocals, Lead GuitarMatt Norcross-Vocals, Rhythm GuitarScott Borchert-Vocals, KeyboardsMatt Kaiser-Bass GuitarMike Valerino-Drum SetTom Reed-Percussion

Location Bay Village, Ohio - USA

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