Doomed Confessionary: Bobby Paranoize & Rosemary Malign (walkingonsunshine)
Photo by David Young
walkingonsunshine is an experimental sludge/doom/noise project from New Orleans, Louisiana. The duo consists of Bobby Paranoize (bass, vocals) and Rosemary Malign (vocals, noise).
walkingonsunshine began as a collab between Shitload (New Orleans noisecore project) and noise artist Rosemary Malign in 2025. After a couple of rehearsals for a live set they decided to make it it’s own entity and give it a name, utilizing their sludge/doom influences while keeping the noise aspect. walkingonsunshine released their first single, »Pray With Me« on June 30, 2025 to get themselves out there in the world while they write and record their debut EP.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Bobby: Rosemary and I (Bobby) became Facebook friends in 2019 and bonded over our love of the New Orleans Saints and 80’s hair metal. During the pandemic I started a one-man noise/noisecore/grind project called Shitload to keep myself busy musically until things got back to normal.
In that time Rosemary was drifting around the U.S. and I started bugging her to collab on some noise with me. After lots of procrastination and a move back to New Orleans, we finally got together and mashed up files of stuff that never got used and released it as the Shitload with Rosemary Malign collab. She was invited to play a show with Compactor here in New Orleans and asked me to play the show with her, so we started working on some live material which was more sludgy/doomy than what either of us played, so we decided to give it a name and make it a thing. I was using a sample from the episode of the tv show Intervention with the lady that was addicted to huffing computer duster (“It’s like walking on sunshine!”) and we decided to go with that as our name, but all one word and lowercase, with a line through it.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Bobby: So far the only challenge was finding time to get together and work on material in the beginning, but we adjusted our schedules/lives and fixed that!
What can you be most proud of so far?
Bobby: Finally releasing our single, »Pray With Me« while we write our EP.
What was your biggest regret?
Bobby: Taking so long to collaborate on material!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Bobby: The 2 that stick out the most and are pretty much a tie. Our first show with Compactor, Empty Model and Lingua Lucem at the Mudlark Theater is one. It was a noise show with a very accepting crowd and interestng lineup in an interesting space (a theater used mainly for puppet shows).
The second was jumping on very last minute at Creepy Fest (a 5 day punk/metal/etc. fest that happens every year in July in New Orleans.) The night we played was a stellar lineup with Flesh Parade, Total Hell, Classhole, Rade (featuring Dave Chandler from Saint Vitus on vocals) and Pussyrot just to name a few. Dave Chandler complimented us after our set which meant a LOT considering…
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Bobby: Slowhole! Check out Slowhole!
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Bobby: Megadeth – Peace Sells…, Henry Rollins – Hot Animal Machine, Godflesh – Streetcleaner, Melvins – Bullhead.
Rosemary: Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley and Monster Magnet – Dopes To Infinity.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Bobby: Don’t quit your day job.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Bobby: 80s pop punk (Dag Nasty, Descendents, All etc.).
Rosemary: Monster Magnet.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in New Orleans?
Bobby: The current New Orleans scene has lots of great bands and lots of venues, from clubs to d.i.y. spaces.I’d be here all day rattling names off of all the great bands. There’s Eyehategod, Crowbar, Acid Bath, etc of course., but other notable names are Thou, Suplecs, Slowhole, Dremm, Slab, Fauns, Totem, High Black River, D. Sablu, Garguts, Blood & Earl, All In The Family, Brat, Stgma, Rade, The Pallbearers. Too many to mention. Favorite venues are Siberia, Holy Diver, The Goat, and Poor Boys and there’s d.i.y. shows at Parisite Skatepark and the Fred Hampton Free Store.
Rosemary: Sunrise:Sunset and Empty Model are also worth a mention!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Bobby: Our only upcoming show that we have booked is October 6th (which happens to be Rosemary’s birthday!) at The Howlin’ Wolf Den in New Orleans with Andreasfalseconsciousness, Acath and We Dreamt Of Being Ghosts Amongst The Stars.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Bobby: We are currently working on our debut EP. When that’s done we’re just going to keep writing and performing.
How can people best support your band?
Bobby: We are on Bandcamp at walkingonsunshine.bandcamp.com and also on all the streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc.)
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Bobby: Don’t quit your day job.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well