Wally Scharold
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Walter "Wally" Scharold | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Walter Ballew Scharold |
| Born | January 30, 1978 Houston, Texas, United States |
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Avant-garde progressive rock, Modern classical music, Video game music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, voice |
| Years active | 1995-present |
| Labels | AltrOck Productions |
Walter "Wally" Scharold is an American composer, guitarist, vocalist, bandleader, producer, games designer, and filmmaker.
Early life and education[edit]
Born and raised in Houston, Texas he sang in choirs and musicals from age 10, studied rock, jazz, and classical guitar from age 11, and studied contemporary classical composition from age 17 with Todd Frazier, Michael Remson, Christopher Theofanidis, John Luther Adams, Brenda Hutchinson, Randolph Coleman, Fred Frith and Alvin Curran. He is a graduate in Music Composition from Oberlin Conservatory[1] and has a Masters in Music Composition from Mills College.[2]
Career[edit]
As a performer/arranger/composer he has been an active member of the avant-progressive rock community in Oakland, California. He led his own ensemble miRthkon, an "amplified chamber ensemble masquerading as a rock band"[3] — a six-piece ensemble which performed and recorded his own compositions (as well as others by fellow members and other local composers).[4]
He has also been a member or guest of several other bands including MoeTar, The Fuxedos, Research & Development, Tholus, Midline Errors, Think Tank, My Hero, and Headshear.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
He is also a composer of works for film, dance, video games, and other media including Guitar Hero: Van Halen,[13]Disney's iOS Rhythm Game Tap Tap Revenge,[14] Disney's iOS game Cars 2,[15] a score for the documentary "Pup",[16] a commission by the intermedia performance group Double Vision.[17]
Since 2003, Scharold has also worked professionally as a composer, sound designer, audio engineer, guitarist, voiceover artist, and game designer for over three hundred commercial products and titles released by many companies including LeapFrog, Electronic Arts, Activision, Tapulous, Disney, IGT, and as Head of Audio at Play'n GO.[13][18][15][19][20]
Selected discography[edit]
Bands[edit]
- miRthkon (1999, self-released, CD-R)
- ruth-bikula phaze-ivy (2001, self-released double CD-R)
- The Illusion of Joy (2006, WBS-001, EP)
- Wayside Sampler 1 (2006, Wayside Music, Various Artists, CD)
- Vehicle (2009, altrOck Productions, #ALT-009, CD)
- (Format) (2012, altrOck Productions, #ALT-029, DVD)
- Paranoid: A Tribute to Black Sabbath (2012, UnderCover Presents, UCP004, Various Artists, CD)
- Snack(s) (2013, altrOck Productions, #ALT-038, CD)
- Tholus
- "Constant" (2007, Aural Music/Goregorerecords, CD)
- Research & Development
- "All Things to All People" (2010, Bandcamp, CD/Digital)
- My Hero
- "Whop! Bam! Boom!" (2003, self-released, EP)
- "Untitled" (2005, unreleased, CD)
- Headshear
- "Headshear" (2006, Big Balloon, CD/Digital)
Performer only[edit]
- Brett Larner / Burkhand Stangl / Taku Sugimoto
- "Compositions for Guitars" (2003, A Bruit Secret, CD)
- Research & Development
- "All Things To All People" (2010, CD/Digital)
- Dave Willey and Friends
- "Immeasurable Currents" (2011, AltrOck Productions, CD)
- Alex Wroten
- "The Gatekeepers" (2022, Think Like A Key Music, CD/LP)[21]
Arranger & Performer[edit]
- The StiKman
- "Broken Glass Promenade" (2014, Digital)
Composer only[edit]
- Oberlin Conservatory Division of Contemporary Music[22]
- "Aural Capacity - Student Works" (2001, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, CD)
Production only[edit]
- The Living Earth Show
- "High Art" (2013, Innova Records, CD) - Producer, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer[23]
Patents[edit]
- Gaming system and method configured to provide a musical game associated with unlockable musical instruments[24]
References[edit]
- ^ Oberlin Conservatory article about a CD featuring a composition by Scharold, class of 2001
- ^ WorldCat Entry for "Towards a Definition of miRthkon" Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Music Composition at Mills College 2003
- ^ About blurb for miRthkon band from official website
- ^ premiere performance of "Hi Def" by Richard Warp for miRthkon & chamber orchestra, 2009
- ^ MoeTar concerts announcement including concert with Scharold substituting Matt Heulitt on guitar for one show
- ^ Video of Scharold performing "Freebird" with The Fuxedos, August 2013
- ^ Bandcamp page for "All Things to All People" album by R&D, featuring Scharold on guitar
- ^ Encyclopaedia Metallum entry on Scharold in Tholus
- ^ Midline Errors bio from Lebofsky.com
- ^ Live performance of Think Tank in Oakland Feb 26, 2006 featuring Scharold on guitar
- ^ Archive of all songs featuring Scharold in My Hero from frontman Mark Stichman's site TheStikman.com
- ^ ProgArchives entry for HeadShear album featuring Scharold on guitar
- ^ a b MobyGames entry for Scharold as Notetracker on Guitar Hero: Van Halen
- ^ Playthrough of Tap Tap Revenge track: "Cars on the Prowl" by Wally Scharold from Disney iOS game "Cars 2"
- ^ a b Video Review of Cars 2 iOS game by Disney Mobile featuring "Cars on the Prowl" music and sound design by Scharold
- ^ Crew listing for "Pup" documentary film, by Wise Orchid Productions, LLC.
- ^ Program Notes for "13 Dreams of a Dying Clairvoyant, featuring "Recurring Dreams of Rotting Teeth" for Electric Guitar & 2 Drumsets composed by Scharold
- ^ About the Team page at Tapulous (pre-acquisition by Disney)
- ^ IGT Audio Personnel entry at Video Game Music Preservation Foundation
- ^ Mini-Documentary on Hugo: Legacy Orchestral Soundtrack with Play'n GO Head of Audio Walter Scharold
- ^ "The Gatekeepers" album artist bios.
- ^ Review of Aural Capacity, The Oberlin Review.
- ^ PDF of Album Liner Notes from Innova Records
- ^ US20140087878A1