False Waltons

The False Waltons are three brothers who formed a Tauranga-based guitar band with one of the strangest collective backstories in New Zealand music.

Frontman Marcus Walton spent time in England’s underground bare-knuckle fighting circuit before a hospital stay convinced him to swap fists for guitars.

Bassist Pete Walton toured Australasia as a competitive yo-yo performer until a base-jumping related shoulder injury ended his freestyle career. His signature move – The Atom Smasher – is still spoken of with reverence in the global yo-yo community.

Drummer Ben Walton took an even stranger path: he travelled to the Amazon to study shamanism, went missing during a river ceremony near Iquitos, and was eventually rescued by his family. He returned to New Zealand with a cracked hand drum and a beard made entirely of dreadlocks.

The False Waltons write about the less-discussed aspects of life. Most songs begin with Marcus bringing in a riff or a lyrical fragment; Pete bends it sideways, Ben gives it heartbeat, and the band pushes it until it feels true. If a song feels contrived, too obvious, or emotionally dishonest, it doesn’t survive the process.

Together, The False Waltons turn their chaos, humour and life experience into melodic, grown-up alternative rock – loud, honest, and slightly unhinged, just how it should be. Their parents encouraged all three boys to explore widely – musically, spiritually, and otherwise – which may explain why their origin stories are connected but wildly different.

The False Waltons first recordings are now up on Spotify , Apple, SoundCloud, YouTube music, iHeart radio etc.

The album The Purpose was recorded at Rocky Cutting Studios ( just our name for the home based studio) and with a little mastering was complete to our satisfaction. Please check it out.