Walter Thomas Beck III • Gonzo Correspondent to the Colonies
Walter Beck joined the Polari family in June 2012, debuting with a review of MC5’s Kick Out the Jams. When he was eighteen, he got his start in underground music journalism, creating the seminal metal fanzine Underground Violence, which ran for five years. He quickly developed a reputation for digging up obscure treasures throughout his freelance career for such publications as The VU 1801, The Indiana Statesman and The Front Row Report.
His freelance career hasn’t been without controversy. He was permanently barred from the Green Room at the Red Skelton Theater in Vincennes, IN for calling the lead actor “a pompous little asshole” in a review of Blood Brothers; and he was reprimanded several times during his time at the Indiana Statesman for making fun of responsible drinking and once referring to a crowd at a movie premiere as “a bunch of douchebags”.
He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature/Creative Writing at Indiana State University and became a member of the Third Thursday Poetry Asylum. Mixing his love of rock n roll and poetry, he was notorious for his live performances, once getting banned from ISU Open Mic nights for performing with his hair and beard braided & dyed and “WE DIE YOUNG” scrawled on his chest in blood. He continues to write poetry and perform live.
His favorite writers include Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg & Stephen King. His musical taste runs the gauntlet from Cannibal Corpse to Johnny Cash. He has a preference for Dunhill and Benson & Hedges cigarettes and Bombay Sapphire gin.
