Who is Walter?

Like the great opening line in the novel “Atlas Shrugged”, “Who is John Galt”?

Well, who is Walter Froebrich? That was the question that I had walking into the Rockpile on Saturday. It even got me thinking of now hiring a videographer to start helping Blast Toronto tell stories in a different way. That will be coming in the near future.

I did some on the spot interviews and this is what I kept hearing over and over from each person that I spoke with.

Walter was a soft spoken person with a great sense of humour.

He truly embodied the spirit of Heavy Metal Music.

People have said how many times they were at a show and saw Walter there. It would be in the hundreds of times…

One friend told me how Walter helped a disabled person onto a boat to go to the Island for a Heavy Metal BBQ.

Metal Fans could even share a brain injury together with Walter.

The recurring story that I enjoyed hearing was how enthusiastic Walter was when it came to meeting these metal legends. He just seemed to have no filter when it came up to talking and hanging out with some of the coolest names in Heavy Metal. There are tons of images of Walter with his heroes.

His Title should be the nicest guy you would ever want to meet.

Music Counts

After the passing of Walter back on Dec 2022, there was a go Fund me page to help with funeral expenses.  They raised enough to cover the funeral cost and had about $8000 left over that went into musical charities.

The recipients were Music Counts, Unison, and Sketch.

What made this year special was that the money that went towards Music Counts paid off. They were able to bring in children from this music program whose ages started at 6 years old. They were the opening act on the bill of about 20 other bands.

For the past 3 years, this event has been able to raise $8000 each time for these important musical charities. I hope they do even bigger business this year. That would be a great legacy to leave behind in this world.

This maniacal fan and lover of music is now helping artists grow from the ground up. That is a life worth living.

Walter was 45 years old

Beyond the show

Once you get to the show, bring some good hard cash with you. There are plenty of prizes that were donated to raise money. They had a raffle for Signed merchandise, Posters, albums, tour programs, gift baskets, and artwork of Walter himself.

They also have a 50/50 draw that went up to $800 last year. This year they broke $1000.

There must have been nearly 40 different prizes to be won.

The Show

I won’t go into details but I did arrive late and missed the first few bands including the School children at the beginning. What I did capture was a ton of great Hard Rock and Metal acts that would have kept Walter happy all day long, so here is my short and sweet description of these bands.

Black Water

Black Water has a very beefy sound. They feel like that hamburger you are about to destroy, but it ends up fighting you back. That’s tough meat that will crawl through the gutter to survive.

Grooveco.

Grooveco is a straight forward rocking outfit. The cold grooves skate across your frozen tundra and down into you snowblind mind.

3 Easy Payments

3 Easy Payments may not be that easy. Their sound emulates that of an angry old Repo Man who is coming to collect his final payments but would rather break your legs in the process just for fun. Their motto should be 3 Easy payments, don’t miss our show, or else…

Rat Grenade

What can you say about a hard rock outfit that incorporates some ska into their hard sound? They feel like they are ready to beat you up with a dying groundhog while you were just looking for a hot dog stand. Is that ketchup pouring from your head?

Moist Miracle

MM is an old school 80’s thrash outfit. They deliver that classic thrash sound that us old farts grew up with. The singer looked like he was in search of the perfect straight jacket so he could perform well under duress.

Once Before I die

This one was simple, If you love Ozzy and Sabbath, just throw yourself into the mosh pit and have a great time!

Storm Giant

This is a stoner rock band from another dimension. They have the power to both squish and smash your brain at the same time. I have seen plenty of Stoner Rock bands, but these guys really stand out from that crowd. Smoke a fattie and thank me for sending you off to see these guys.

Talbotville Gore

The gore these guys seep rolled out all over the Rockpile. This is a 70’s Dad Rock band that leaves all the old influences behind and searches out new sounds that the 70’s left behind.

Innocent Gunnz

This is Toronto’s tribute answer to excellent hard rock tributes form the 70’s and beyond. I just watched Song sung blue this holiday and the singers in Innocent Gunnz remind me of Thunder and Lightning from the movie.

Greater Than

This band has its own sound. They sound like a very sharp shiv entering your body several time in seconds. This band is sharp, quick and criminal with their sound.

Rustik

Rustik has a very large sound. The singer tries very hard to stretch out every note and keep things at a pace that lets the music enter our space in a clear and looming way.

Profilgator

Motorhead plays Rock and Roll. Profilgator has a very large man on stage who plays Rock and Roll. This is a great band for biker bars. They should also play retirement homes. They can clear out a few rooms for new customers.

Devilwitch

Devilwitch is an original band that takes sonic landscapes from a different dimension and creates a new sound that strays from the traditional Metal sounds but can still keep the Metal community very satisfied. They brought on a powerful singer named Marta from the band Abysmal Whore to ramp up the entire show.

Phantom High

I am just so happy she is no longer under house arrest! That’s all!

Crazy Babies

Do yourself a favour and go out and see this band if you love Ozzy’s music.