7 Walkers

7 Walkers are an American rock band featuring former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, guitarist Papa Mali, multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard and bassist George Porter, Jr.

History

The band formed in 2009 out of informal collaborations between Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali. Kreutzmann had been featured as a special guest at several of Mali's concerts since 2008 and the two decided to form an official band together with multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard, best known for his work with Willie Nelson, and Reed Mathis, of Tea Leaf Green.

Their name might be an adaptation of the lyrics of the Grateful Dead song "The Eleven", "Six proud walkers on the jingle bell rainbow." They have also written and perform a song called "7 Walkers."

The band commenced a tour in late 2009 and another on in the spring of 2010. Due to touring commitments with Tea Leaf Green, Reed Mathis was replaced by George Porter Jr., of The Meters in spring 2010. They released their debut album, 7 Walkers, on November 2, 2010. It features new songs written by Robert Hunter. Reed Mathis and George Porter Jr. played bass on the album.Willie Nelson also performs on the song "King Cotton Blues."

7 Walkers (album)

7 Walkers is an album by the rock band 7 Walkers. The group's only album, it was released on CD and LP on November 2, 2010.

The band 7 Walkers was formed in 2009 by former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and guitarist and singer Malcolm Welbourne, better known as Papa Mali, along with multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard and bass player Reed Mathis. In 2010, after most of the tracks for their debut album had been recorded, Mathis went back to touring with his main band, Tea Leaf Green, and was replaced by George Porter, Jr., former bassist of the Meters. Porter appears on one track of the album.

The lyrics for most of the songs on 7 Walkers were written by Robert Hunter, who wrote the words for many Grateful Dead songs.Willie Nelson plays guitar and sings on one track, "King Cotton Blues".

According to the Austin Chronicle, "Kreutzmann refers to the music of 7 Walkers as 'swampadelic,' a natural meeting point between his West Coast psychedelia and Welbourne's voodoo-funk. Theirs is a saga of friendship and good fortune, set in the bayou but firmly entrenched in Austin." The album is dedicated to the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans.