An Inspired Chat with WALTER INO

We’re looking forward to introducing you to WALTER INO. Check out our conversation below.

Hi WALTER, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Well, If I’m home, the first 90 minutes go like this:

7:25am – alarm goes off then make sure my 6 year old daughter is up
7:30am to 8:00am – make her breakfast, usually some chocolate chip pancakes with a smiley face, mouse ears and a bow
8:00am to 8:15am – make her lunch to bring to school and make sure her backpack has everything needed
8:15am to 8:38am – get her dressed, teeth brushed, and her hair fixed
8:38 to 8:50am – walk her to her bus stop, wait for her bus and catch up with other neighbors who are there
8:50am to 8:55am – walk home, make my own breakfast and get started with my day

When I’m traveling, then the above does not apply! Those first 90 minutes will vary depending on the day! Sometimes it’s wake up and head to a hotel breakfast then check emails etc. Or Sometimes it’s set 4 alarms to get down to the hotel lobby to head to an airport for an early flight. Or if it’s a gig day, then it’s wake up, grab some coffee then wait til load-in/soundcheck for that day and take advantage of catered meals at the venue.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Walter Ino and I’m a professional working musician. I specialize in being a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, saxophone, mandolin, harmonica and other different instruments for many different national artists or shows as a hired gun. Sometimes it’s for “weekend warrior” bands that mostly play on the weekends throughout the country, or sometimes it’s for touring bands, where I’ll be on a tour bus for 6-8 weeks at a time.

I also wear many other hats under the professional musician title. I get hired to be a musical director for various shows or bands, where I have to put musicians together for shows, or organize everything from song lists to making sure everyone I hire has sheet music, charts or mp3’s for that certain show/event. I also orchestrate or arrange music for many symphonic shows.

And I also run my music studio, Secret Asian Man Studios, where I’ll produce artists or bands, or record different instruments for session work, or also write, record or just mix music for TV or corporate jobs.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Ha, well when I was a kid, I thought I was gonna be a rockstar! I worked at that for decades, playing concerts all over the world, and signing record deals. But then reality hit and I realized that need to be able to pay rent and bills and had to be able to eat. It wasn’t until I moved to California and became more of a hired gun, that I got rid of the rockstar mentality and progressed more towards being a professional working musician and in return, became more content that way. And especially now that I have a kid and a family and a house, my focus is on work and getting the jobs done the best I can that I get hired to do.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I’m sure I would have plenty to tell my younger self but I think that it would mostly be to be more wise and responsible financially, It’s something I still struggle with today, but I’m trying to turn that around!

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Hm? I’m not sure really? I hope they see how much my family means to me, and then also how much they mean to me too! I try not to take the people I have in my life for granted.

They may probably think that my musicianship and professionalism matters to me too? When I do my job, I really try to put 110% into it! I truly believe that hard work pays off! I know I’m not the best musician out there. There are plenty of guitarists, keyboardists, singers etc. with way more skill than I’ll ever have. But I just know that when I need to get a job done, or learn music for a show in 2 days, or anything else a job entails, I need to buckle down and do the best I can. And on the other side of that, if I don’t think I can handle a certain job, or just know that I’m not the right fit, then I know I should recommend someone who I think would be better for it than me. And it turns into a rewarding feeling when that happens.

So I guess my foundational philosophy for what I do is… Do my best… Know my limits… Be kind… and hopefully I’ll be rewarded and see good results?

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Oh I definitely feel like I’m doing what I was born to do. I’m a musician through and through. Most people throughout my life know me as a musician in some shape or form. I never really thought of doing anything else, except for a short time when i was in 6th grade and I broke my first bone, I thought it would be cool to be a doctor and put casts on people. But then I heard that you had to go to years of school for that, and also had to do other things as an orthopedic doctor besides putting casts on bratty kids. So that career came and went away pretty quickly.

I fell in love with music at an early age. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do in some shape or form. I’ve spent decades playing in tiny clubs and smokey bars in front of 10 people, but then eventually played some of my dream venues in front of hundreds of thousands of people. I’ve taught guitar, piano and some other instruments for decades and see some of my old students out there in the scene being succesful. I started writing silly songs in my parents basement and learned how to record on 4-track cassette machines, which eventually led me to opening my own full production studios with some international and national releases and music on TV shows. I’m proud of where my musical journey has taken me throughout the years and I’m looking forward to what happens next!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wawasmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walter.ino.3
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@walterino4175
• Other: https://walterino1.bandcamp.com/track/who-would-u-take-a-bullet-4

Image Credits
Shawn Brandon
Ali Shayesteh
Tatyana Ah Chu