Rising Stars: Meet Tony Burke

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Burke. 

Hi Tony, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Who If Walls Could Talk is today is vastly different from who we were in the beginning and even who we were a few years ago. In January of 2020, the band was at its peak: on our biggest tour, playing to so many people. But soon after, the pandemic halted that success. We weren’t playing shows, online performances were getting stale, and two of our members left. And although we had been a band for several years now, this low was when today’s If Walls Could Talk started. 

The remaining three of us were determined. Unsure how we would navigate this new industry, we set out to write music. And with no drummer or bassist, we turned to our computers and keyboards. Instead of one member bringing a song to rehearsal and fleshing it out in a day, we were now working together, spending weeks and months perfecting “our sound.” And the result of this effort came in August of 2022 when we released our first album back. But getting to that point meant we had to do everything in-house. 

From recording, producing, and even animating our own music video, we were pretty much as independent as it gets. Of course, we have a lot of great friends who helped us along the way and our mixing engineer understood the sound we were going for so well. But our story is simple. Instead of letting all those hardships define who we are, we turned them into strengths and learned more about ourselves in the process. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of our biggest struggles that we are still trying to overcome is understanding this new field that the music industry has become since the pandemic. Lots of venues that we used to tour at are now closed. Not being able to play live shows boosted the need for an online presence and more content. And because of that there’s definitely a shift in the direction of producing constant singles as opposed to the traditional album. So, we’re not fighting these changes. We’re always looking to adapt whether that’s in our style of strategies. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
If Walls Could Talk is alternative pop. What sets us apart is our world-building in our art. Everything has a background and a story. For example, our latest album “Press Start” is all about video game culture. A lot of the story for the album comes from our single “Fs in Chat” where, in the music video, the three of us get abducted in the video game world and we cause chaos to Mario, Link, and notable characters. That video was a real proud moment for us too. In line with the theme of video game culture, the video also involved lots of online Twitch streamers. Having the ability to work with 20+ creatives was super inspiring. Not to mention, all the animations for the video were done by our lead vocalist. This was one of those impossible moments that actually came true. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
What we do and the music we create is a direct result of the people around us and we’re really proud of our If Walls Could Talk community. We try our best to cultivate a space where people feel comfortable being themselves. Our music is meant to inspire and to relate to those feelings not talked about. So, if you’re reading this and want to join the club, welcome! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ifwallscouldtalk.band/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifwallscouldtalkband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ifwallscouldtalkband
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftalkingwalls
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ifwallscouldtalk
• Other: https://discord.com/invite/Uzj3fRFwjU 

Image Credits
Ryian Reed
Al Arnold
Jeff Mahieu