On September 20, Kurth and fellow General Hospital co-star James Patrick Stuart will be performing at Governor’s Comedy Club in Levittown on Long Island, and on the following day, they will be playing at Rockwells in Pelham, New York. “I am looking forward to it. I haven’t brought my guitar with me in a while,” he said. “I will be joined by James Patrick Stuart, who will be bringing his own original music. I love New York.”
“Then, we will be taking questions from the fans in the audience during the Q&A session, and signing autographs if people would like them and we will take some photos. It is going to be a fun night,” he said. “We will perform for the fans in a very relaxed, casual setting. I enjoy meeting people, talking to them and talking about the show.”
Last year, Kurth earned an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actor” for his portrayal of Ned Quartermaine on General Hospital. “That felt really good,” he admitted.
When asked how he handles being dialogue-heavy, Kurth noted that he really spends a lot of time looking at his lines. “I used to be able to memorize the lines quickly, and I still do. I usually get through the dialogue without blowing it,” he said. “I pride myself as ‘One Take Wally’. They only want one take and they only have time for one take. One of the reasons why I am asked to stick around on both of these shows is because I get the job done quickly and I show a great deal of gratitude.”
He continued, “When I go in there I know it is opening and closing night like a night at the theater and two million people walk in. When the curtain opens, hopefully, they want to see a little magic. I try to come in as prepared as I can. I try to create something truthful in front of the cameras.”
On his musical inspirations, he shared that as a kid, he always “loved to sing.” “I loved being loud,” he said, with a sweet laugh. “I have been with my musical partner, Christian Taylor, for 25 years. He was the songwriter, producer and a really good engineer. I was the lead singer and my voice was the dominant voice.”
Kurth noted that his musical influences growing up were diverse and they “ran the gamut.” He listed The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Neil Young as some of his biggest idols.
In 2002, Kurth won the Emmy Award for “Outstanding Original Song” for General Hospital. This accolade was for the song “Barefoot Ballet,” which he co-wrote with Christian Taylor, with lyrics by Debra Cochran. “That was great. It was a real collaboration of a part of a movie script that I had written. We did a really cool trailer for it,” he said. “I have to give Debra Cochran, our lyricist, credit for the lyrics. She wrote a great set of lyrics. It was awesome.”
On being an actor and a musician in this digital age, Kurth said, “It is cool that I can set my iPhone up and use my camera. I can record a tune and load it to my computer. I can sync them up, I can upload them and send the songs to my fans on Facebook. I can also upload my original music and people can see it. I love the digital age.”
Regarding the recent passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA), which protects writers and creators in this digital age, Kurth said, “The songwriters definitely need to be protected.”
Kurth defined the word success as “being able to live a life that you dreamed about and a vision that you imagined for yourself.”
To learn more about actor and musician Wally Kurth, follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
