Calling somebody a Walter Mitty-type is an insult, saying that they dream of self glory, but are generally uninteresting and ineffectual. It’s takes a certain type of individual to disparage themselves with that name, and that person is Dustin Hayes; A man who identifies with the pitiful short story character enough to personify Walter in his band, Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra. Hayes daydreams of happiness, success, and comfort aren’t as grand as Walter Mitty wanting to be a battleship commander, but his slew of mental disorders continually convince Hayes that he is destined to fail.

The Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra’s discography was recorded during and just after the band’s college years, which helps to explain Dustin Hayes’ temperament. College promises a huge positive change of pace in life, with independence, friends, and a plan for future success, but that promise clearly wasn’t fulfilled for Hayes. He feels trapped in the crossroads of his life in college. he see no future for himself stating, “remnants of my five year plan are shorter than my attention span”, and in the present he’s been overtaken by nihilism to the point that he can barely brush his teeth.

Hayes’ disillusionment towards college promises lead him to look back into his childhood for happiness. He just wants to drink chocolate milk with his lovelies and someone to tell them that there are Otterpops in the icebox waiting to make him feel alright. He leans towards drugs and alcohol for escapism but they only seem to bring more misery and heighten his sense of nostalgia. Walter Mitty dreams of other ways his life could have played out, but instead Hayes dreams of a time in his life that has already played out.

The band’s college experience and nostalgic focus bleed into the sound of their music as well. Being poor in college means they can only play whatever instruments they have lying around, which is mostly acoustic guitars combined with a makeshift orchestra of tambourines, maracas, box drums, and kazoos, and ukeleles. Their arrangement of childish instruments leaves songs with a superficial catchy upbeat tone, but the lyrics quickly reveal the band’s depressive roots. Their music feels like a college party, where everyone has the facade of constant happiness, but there are dark undertones to the whole experience.

Despite their own lyrics stating that Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra, “turn [their] angst into products to sell somewhere”, their music feels extremely personal, with lyrics that could easily be lines directly Hayes’ personal depressive journal. He prevents himself from falling into his black hole of depressive lyrics by partnering them with carefree mellow acoustic orchestra jams. The band’s instrument choice and musical style are the personification of Hayes’ childhood nostalgia, providing the only source of happiness in his music and in his life.

Article By Taylor Kalsey