In Conversation: Parker Woodland

Written by Claire Hookstra

Photo courtesy of Eryn Brooke

Austin-based power-trio Parker Woodland is made up of Erin Walter (vocals, bass), Andrew Solin (guitar), and Keri Cinquina (drums). Forming back in 2018, the rockers have played some of the most iconic venues and events around Austin, including numerous events at the Long Center, Mohawk, and South by Southwest. With a second album and fall tour on the way, Parker Woodland is ready to continue to make their mark around Texas and beyond.

Erin Walter and Keri Cinquina sat down with Claire Hookstra of Slipfast Magazine earlier this July to discuss the group’s unique sound, formation, and fighting for justice through music. 

So I know you guys are a “jam session turned band,” which is such an iconic story for starting a band. Was there a certain moment that you realized this could be something more than just friends jamming out?

Erin: I would say it's been stages of realizing what this can be. Our very first show was packed with our friends, so that was wonderful. I was hooked from the beginning, in that way. This past South by Southwest [marked] two years [of Parker Woodland]. So, when we started playing out together, I think that really was when I thought, “Okay. This is next level.” Then this year, the most recent, “Oh, no, we could take this as far as we want to take it,” was when we played the Sonic Guild Ball at the Long Center indoors, which is usually ballet and other things. We were in this gorgeous, big theater with incredible lighting. We just really ramped it up on our clothes and style and drama - we had a lighting person and it really opened our eyes, like, “Okay, so let's really look at what our goals are for the rest of the world.” Keri has experience touring, like opening for Melissa Etheridge in another project. I've been in bands before, but the most we ever did was a one-week tour from Texas to Wisconsin. So I'm really just trying to go a lot further with Parker Woodland than I ever have before. But I don't know, Keri, what's your perspective?

Keri: I think you're right. The three of us were the rhythm section of a previous band. We've been playing together for, what, 10 years now, Erin? So, that was a seamless transition for her and me to be playing together. I was actually the last person to come in on the project. But I think you're right. From that very first show, [it was] like, “You know what, this band is pretty special.” The comments and everyone just really liking the songs and wanting more, and it just was, I think, from the beginning, we knew that this could go where we wanted it to go. It's gone even farther in such a short time than we expected. Of course, a lot of that is hard work on Erin's part, but still, you have to have good songs and good music, good business sense, and things like that. It just doesn't happen overnight and magically. So I think we are where we need to be, as far as all of us are like-minded, and every time we have a band meeting, which is weekly, we all have the same goals. We all have the same goals of what we want to see. So it makes it a lot easier, [when] you're not at odds with each other. So that's what makes it even better. 

Claire: I feel like agreeing on goals is the first and biggest step that some people never even achieve. That’s great to hear! 

Photo courtesy of Mckenna Sefcik

Erin: Our band is like a family. It’s like a relationship. I spend more time with Andrew and Keri than I do my own family in some ways, and I love my family so much. You’re pouring your heart and soul into your art and working on it enough [so it is] as great as you want it to be when you bring it to people. [It] takes a lot of time, but to answer your question about the forming [of Parker Woodland], I consider it like a magical miracle thing, because truly, a friend of mine was like “Hey, a bunch of us are gonna get together at the Church on The Hill.” It was just the place to be. We just played like Band of Horses and The Rolling Stones and different songs, and I kept expecting someone else to take the microphone and sing. I’ve been in bands all along, but I’d never been the lead singer. I’d always dreamed of singing in a band, but I hadn’t prioritized it. It’s just been such a journey. Now, it’s just my favorite thing in the whole world to be the lead singer of my band. 

That’s so awesome to hear. I love that! When I listen to your discography, I feel like your sound really cannot be described with just one word. There are some punk and alt-rock elements, even indie. How would you describe your sound?

Erin: We are still honing in on what the ultimate definition of our sound is. As a trio, we've only done one album, and we're working on writing our second album right now. So this is the special moment that we're in of getting to look at like all these influences that we have and find what the sweet spot is. We are in that moment now, and I think everybody who comes to see us play live will get to see this evolution [of sound.] I always tell my friends, if you saw us a year ago, you haven't exactly seen us. We're evolving, and that's the beauty of art. But one of the phrases we use is emotionally charged, anthemic rock - important messages, cool guitars, rock, and drums. 

Keri:  You’re right. I think it's good to not just be, “We are heavy metal,” and that's it. You said it great, a little bit of punk, a little bit of this and that's what we portray. We are not lumping ourselves into one thing. We don't go into writing songs like, this is a punk song, and this next one will be a country song, this next one will be a pop song. We just write it, and however it comes out, however it comes out. Like you said where it was just like, “Well, I heard this, and I heard that, and I heard this.” It's interesting to listen to other people's perspectives of what our genre is. So I like not being pigeonholed [into one genre.]

Erin: Yeah, that's cool. I like that. We get asked this question a lot, and we are working toward having, like, our snappy, three-word answer. I asked my friend Ray Prim because he's seen us a lot. He's a musician, and he said melodic, dramatic, high-energy pop punk. So that's six words! The second album will give a lot more clarity to that.

One thing I love about your music is its roots in activism. Was this something you consciously decided to incorporate into your songwriting, or did it gradually become your brand as you wrote and created? 

Erin: The messages are part of the music because my whole life is basically about seeking justice and wanting love and community for people. My day job is as the executive director of a justice organization. I have a lot of experiences in my daily life where, for example, with the song “Makeup,” I was at a rally for health care rights for trans kids and trans Texans outside the governor's mansion, and there was a child holding a sign that said, “Not ready to die yet.” I just knew I could never forget that, and that I wanted to write something that could be reassuring to that child. I'm a mom, and a lot of my kids’ friends are queer. A lot of my own friends are queer. Members of this band are queer. So it's like, I don't want everything to just be a sob story, right? Because the queer experience has so much joy. We want to say, like we did in “Makeup,” like who you are, you don't owe them anything. Like, put your dress on, put your makeup on, put your glitter on, and so on. That is kind of the ethic of Parker Woodland - naming the things that are hard in the world. Like, “The World's on Fire (And We Still Fall in Love)” is our theme song. There's still beauty, there's still love. So, it's [activist messages] in everything, even in the songs that are more subtle. “The Reckoning” has things about climate and like militarized capitalism and Elon Musk. We still want every song to be interpretable by the listener. We don't want to hit people over the head. We want them to be able to hear about their own life, no matter who they are, because actually, the belief is that everyone deserves health and happiness and love and a beautiful world… everyone deserves that. So we're trying to make it accessible to everyone, too. 

Keri: I think as a band, what we have the benefit of is [that] we are older. I mean, we are not 18 years old anymore. There's so much to write about that we have experiences in. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great bands and musicians made up of young, incredible musicians. But there's not a lot of life experience behind that, right? You barely know about love. I've been in a band since I was 14, which was many moons ago, but I've grown so much from the time I was 14 and my teenage years to my 20s, and up and up. I think all those life experiences and seeing the world and seeing the way it was and what it's turning into, and having a voice [is important.] We're in such a different time now, where back in the 80s, especially, queer people weren't out. Now, so many queer people are out. It doesn't mean that it's any better. There's [still] the violence and there's the bullying and everything. Unless you've had to worry about or be afraid of holding someone's hand walking down the street, you cannot relate to a queer person in that way [regarding the difference between young queer bands and generational ones]. Erin, she's doing all of her rallies and justice stuff, and that's what we all want. We want to bring that to the forefront and bring joy to everybody in some way, shape, or form. It [music] transcends everything else, and everybody can find that one song, that one genre, that speaks to them. You see people that have a disability that are making music, that are making songs, and it just transcends everything else. And for me, music is the way, and I think it brings everybody together in some way. I'm just honored to be able to and very lucky to be able to still be doing it, to still be healthy enough to keep doing it. I mean, I will do it ‘til I can't lift a drumstick, because it is everything to being a musician, and playing is everything to me, and I know it is for the other two. It's just a way to be yourself and tell other people that, “You are okay, you are enough, and you will be okay. It may seem hard now, but it will get better.” I'm very happy to be a part of that message.

Erin: One of our biggest shows this year was playing the Hands Off Picnic at the Capitol. Getting to play like our punk rock and roll, for people who are fighting for democracy, that was a really big deal. Obviously, the Long Center Drop-In we just did a month ago or so was like 2000 people at the Long Center. That was amazing. But we have some significant LGBTQ rights benefits coming up. There's a place on our website that lists basically all of the organizations we played benefits for in 2024 and when I sat down to look at it I was like,”Oh my God.” I know we do a lot, but when you sit down and list them, it's like, oh wow, we really have done a lot with this. 

Photo courtesy of Mckenna Sefcik

So, is there one show that you have a special connection to? Something that stands out as a favorite or most impactful?

Erin: The Sonic Guild Ball was really, really important. The Long Center Drop-In as well. I will say we played nine shows in nine days for South by Southwest, including two that were South by Southwest Official. We closed out the week on the Radio Day Stage, which was one of the big public stages. It was like being on tour in our hometown. So, that was also really special.

Keri: That Long Center show with all the other bands, and that was really great being in that venue, and then out front of it for the Drop-In. It just happened to be a really nice evening. It was a beautiful sunset. I also really enjoyed our album release at Mohawk, because it was… it was packed. I mean, it was packed with friends, family, and people who followed us. It was just so great to have everybody there to see where we had gotten at that point in time. That album was such a labor of love, and to finally have it released to everybody was great. We, all of us, love getting up on stage, pouring our hearts out. Whether you're at a small show with a small number of people, you are still going to get the same Parker Woodland as you would if you're going to a large stage, like the Long Center. There is no difference. 

Erin: Yeah, the live show is heart and soul. We sold out that Mohawk release show and had the second night. We were proud of that. It was also great having a Hotel Vegas residency. So, it's been two years of really special shows. 

Catch Parker Woodland in Austin, Texas, at one of these upcoming shows:

- 7/21 Rock Camp 2025 at KMFA Classical Radio 

- 8/29 Slowreader Reunion at 29th Street Ballroom 

- 8/31 Louder Than Hate Benefit at 29th Street Ballroom 

- 9/9 Queer Liberation Network Benefit at Empire Control Room

Be on the lookout for Parker Woodland’s first multi-state tour stopping in cities through Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, and Arkansas. 

Listen to Parker Woodland on Spotify and Apple Music