For bass player Tim Waller, music has always been a family affair.
This is the fourth in a series of articles profiling musicians in Moorestown. This week’s article highlights local bass player Tim Waller.
For Tim Waller, music has always been a family affair. When Beatlemania hit, his brother Jim picked up a guitar. So, Waller followed in his footsteps and picked up a bass. He’s played ever since.
Born in Florida, Waller’s family moved to Willingboro when he was 5 years old. When he was 15, his brother was playing guitar in a band and in need of a bass player. An admirer of his brother’s musicianship, Waller taught himself the bass and joined the band.
He said playing bass has served him well over the years. According to Waller, there are plenty of guitarists out there, but bassists are a little bit harder to come by. So when a band has an opening, it’s typically for a bass player.
His first band with his brother was called “The Wheels,” and they played country music. His senior year of high school, Waller and the band’s drummer delivered auto parts by day, and then the pair would go to the Waller household to jam in a band room set up in the family basement.
Waller attributes his love for music directly to Jim. He said his mother didn’t play an instrument, and his father played a bit of piano at a young age. His brother simply loved The Beatles, and in turn his love inspired Waller’s passion for the craft.
He said music channeled his energy. It kept him off the streets and out of trouble, and along his musical journey, he made friends who shared his passion.
The Wheels came to an end when Waller moved to Texas for work. He continued to play bass, but wasn’t part of any band while he was down there. When he moved back to Jersey, he and his brother formed a new band called “The Waller Brothers,” and they played original music as well as classic rock standards.
Jim was the songwriter, according to Waller. He said his brother wrote the bulk of the band’s material until his brother passed away in 1995. Waller and the band’s drummer decided to carry on with their music and find a new iteration of their band.
The Rents, short for parents, started as a three-piece ensemble and has since grown into a five-member band composed of members from around South Jersey. Waller, a Moorestown resident for the last 26 years, said they play mostly cover songs with genres that include rock and blues.
He said the band only plays about a dozen times a year at bar gigs and the like. Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles songs are popular in their repertoire, but he’s also taken up the mantle on songwriting. His songs are inspired by heartbreak and events that affect him emotionally.
But The Rents aren’t the only musicians he finds himself playing with these days. Music has continued to connect his family. About once a week, Waller, his two sons and his nephew get together for a “fam jam” in his basement.
In the fam jam, Waller plays acoustic guitar, his youngest son plays bass, his oldest son plays keyboard and his nephew plays guitar. He said one of his friends has joined in on the fam jam to play drums.
“In The Rents, I’m a bass player and vocalist; it’s democratic. In the fam jam, I can call the shots,” Waller said with a good-natured, fatherly laugh.
He said he never pushed his kids into playing music. His sons were young when Jim died, but they remember the pair playing and performing together. He said he thinks he and his brother might have been his sons’ inspiration for learning to play.
To learn more about The Rents or to see their upcoming gigs, visit https://www.facebook.com/therentsband.
Know a local band, vocalist or performer who should get featured in the series? Email Kelly Flynn at [email protected] with suggestions.
