Brendan Stuart Walter (born June 16, 1986) is an American director, photographer, commercial, music video and film director, and the lead guitarist of Valencia.

Bio

Walter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

for one year and was one of 32 students sued by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in its first round file-sharing suits. He dropped out of school to begin touring and releasing records with the band Valencia from 2004 - 2011, when the band took an indefinite hiatus. Shortly there after, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in creative direction on the other side of music. He took a job at Crush Music and began overseeing creative work for their roster of artists. Since then he has moved on to film and TV with the launch of Crush Pictures in 2017 with partner Jon Lullo.

Valencia

Walter spent seven years touring, writing and recording music with Valencia, first signing with I Surrender Records in 2005, then

Columbia records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 2007. Valencia went on to release 3 major records. On October 11, 2011, Valencia announced that they were going on hiatus. Their last show was at the

Electric Factory Franklin Music Hall is a concert venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is in a converted building once part of the General Electric Switchgear Plant and opened in 1995. It has a capacity between 2,500 and 3,000 people. It is owned and operated ...

on December 28, 2011. The band recently reunited for 2 sold out shows in Philadelphia and New York in December 2016.

Music videos and photography

After moving to New York, Walter began other creative pursuits. He has directed music videos, taken photos and designed album covers for artists such as Sia, Weezer,

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

, The Lonely Island, Train,

Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...

, Shawn Mendes, and many more. Walter's work has landed him an MTV VMA and currently is nominated for Best Rock Video for the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards for his directing on Fall Out Boy's "

Young and Menace "Young and Menace" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on April 27, 2017, through Island Records and DCD2. It was released as the lead single from the band's seventh studio album, '' Mania''. The music video was released simul ...

" music video. Walter's photography has been featured on billboards and album covers, from brands to bands all across the world. His main photography work lies in portraits, landscapes and product photography.

Film and television

His work in directing music videos and commercials has sparked a path towards narrative and feature films. Currently he is in post production on 2 films that he directed, writing and directing a Television show and developing several other projects. Currently Walter is editing his first feature-length film, ''Spell'', a dark comedy psychological thriller set and shot mostly in Iceland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Brendan 1986 births Living people American photographers Artists from Philadelphia Artists from Los Angeles Drexel University alumni Film directors from Los Angeles Guitarists from Philadelphia American male guitarists 21st-century American male musicians