Altoona native Walkney described his American Idol experience as "Cool!" He said that he went to the open call auditions in front of a producer, made it through that and got called to LA to audition for all of the executives and then eventually went before the judges.  He said that it was such an awesome experience getting to meet so many talented musicians, singers and song writers.  That whole journey, he said, was a big confidence boost for him.  "Just the fact that I was part of that elite group of people that tried out, it kind of lit a fire under me."

 

Growing up in this area, he found that there was not always a lot to do...so he found himself getting into trouble a lot.  He said, eventually while a lot of his friends turned to drugs, he turned to music.  He said that he always wanted to be free and when he picked up the guitar, it was a step towards that coveted freedom.

 

Getting to where he is today, he says was really a long process.  He has been performing for over ten years and has hit a lot of bumps in the road.  Things have fallen apart along the way.  He says that the only thing that he can say is that you have to be persistent and keep going because if you quit, you will never make it.

 

 

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To read Walkney's complete interview, check out our upcoming book

They Came From Blair County due out by the end of 2020.

 

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**Information for this article was obtained from an in person interview with Walkney