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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2011)
fig)] 20 •artistsonline’ FEBRUARY 18.2011 WWW.JUSTOUT.COM At Risk of Change ALICIA J Holcombe Waller’s journey Into the Dark Unknown persists BY RYAN J. PRADO It depends on when—exactly where, why, with this album,”says Waller, 35, between sips how—you’re visiting Holcombe Waller’s new of coffee in a bustling North Portland coffee- album Into the Dark Unknown that will deter shop. “I think in some ways th at’s a step back mine its sentimentality for you. That the album ward from the kind o f idea when I was putting will trigger an eruption o f inimitably potent out the Winter Songs." Winter Songs was what Waller created to es nostalgia is a foregone conclusion the second you hit “play”—hut in what ways exactly re tablish “iterative, song-by-song” releases for all main, obviously, subjective. I.est you feel iffy future recordings—a plan hatched at the height about such a nebulous aural proposition, rest of his Kickstarter campaign, which successfully assured: You won’t be alone. Waller himself is raised funds for the final production costs of still reevaluating the album; after all, he wrote a Dark Unknown last year. Waller released songs majority of the songs five years ago. as they were recorded, or as demos were being “Into the Dark Unknown: considered for recording, to “I feel like the late twenties The Hope C hest” was his website, where listeners Waller’s grand 2009-10 and early thirties are rife would then have the chance touring production, pitting to help choose which tracks with offensive awakening his most cerebral composi would end up on the album. tions to date against his af and great connections, and At the time, Waller was finity for visual arts and bristling with excitement at it actually kind of goes away multidisciplinary expres the effect this would have sion. dhe theatrical folk and you're left there with not only on his new album, show reached cities across hut his future songwriting. the United States, Canada these memories of great More importantly, the pe and even as far as Croatia. rennial independent was fi inspiration and epiphany. Though the songs per nally seeking help. I’m not so able to recreate formed on the tour had al “If there’s one title I ready reached a wide audi those anymore.” think you should put for ence—with help from his this article, it’s ‘Holcombe — HOLCOMBE WALLER musical ensemble The Waller Needs an Intern,”’ Healers—Waller’s decision to actually release says Waller, not entirely disingenuously. the songs on an album did not come without “That’s the only thing I’m really trying to fig its share of self-reflection. In fact, this may be ure out, is how to find people who might like the last proper album released by Waller, to work with me. I don’t know who those whose previous efforts have been hailed by the people are.” likes o f Revolver and SPIN. D uring the recording o f Dark Unknown, “I don’t think I’m necessarily going to make Waller was still crisscrossing the country for another record and push a release like I have “The Hope C hest,” raising funds for the al bum, writing a film score for David Weiss- man’s documentary We Were Here, and in all likelihood conjuring the cosmic molecules that will later this year become his latest cre ation, tentatively called “Surfacing”— a m ulti disciplinary dance and music piece for which he recently received a sizable grant from the Regional Arts &, Culture Council. “I get spread thin between these projects, which I really do put my all into,” relates Waller, who moved to Portland in 2005 from San Francisco. “It’s harder for me to maintain basic things like friendships, personal health, good sleeping patterns,” he laughs. “More and more, I’m trying to prioritize those things.” One of the ways Waller’s done that is by working with Portland photographer and film maker Alicia J. Rose. Through this partnership, Waller has been able to realize more folly a relatively new aspect o f his creative impulses— the music video. Rose co-directed and shot the clip for “Bored of Memory,” which premiered on Out.com in January. “In collaborating on that video, she just became privy to everything I was working on,” explains Waller. “I t’s the first time anyone has ever really been there helping me. I’ve tried working with others, and in the end I’m very particular about how everything gets done. I t’s an interesting experiment.” But Waller’s work with Rose on “Bored of M em ory” is just the tip o f the video iceberg. In fact, it’s W aller’s intention to include video content for almost everything he produces for the foreseeable future, including several videos or other visual stimuli for tracks off o f Dark Unknown. “I’ve been fantasizing that when I finish this album— in a sense because o f how old some o f the songwriting is— [that in the fu- S e r io u s In ju ry & D e a th C ases Wrongful Death • Medical Malpractice • Serious Accidents • Brain Injuries Trucking Accidents • Spinal Cord Injuries • Nursing Home Abuse • Therapist Malpractice O v e r 2 1 Years E x p e rie n c e • Top Proudly serving our community since 1989 Free Consultation 503 - 295-1940 « 800 - 795-8945 w w w .goreslaw .com Holo J, Gores, Attorney H o ld in g I n s u r a n c e C o m p a n ie s A c c o u n t a b le
