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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2011)
• artistsonline • ture I’ll] conceive the visuals first, or I make little films for myself that I can score with a song,” says Waller, who has a degree from Yale in art, specializing in video installation. “I love that idea as a method o f writing.” Dark Unknown, according to Waller, was written from a “lonely, dark, visual-less place.” But that doesn’t take away from the richly spacious imagery the music evokes. “Shallow,” for instance, showcases Waller’s lyrical apex by bemoaning futile lunges at post-idealistic spiritual awakening. His characteristically acrobatic voice flutters over anxious, white- noise cellos and plaintive acoustic guitar, like someone coming to terms with the limits of his lightbulb life. “I think that’s maybe an experience a lot of people have who are my age,” says Waller in reference to the track. “I feel like the late twenties and early thirties are rife with of fensive awakening and great connections, and it actually kind o f goes away and you’re left there with these memories o f great inspira tion and epiphany. I’m not so able to recreate those anymore.” Whereas Waller’s last full-length endeavor, Troubled Times — also released through his own Napoleon Records label— traversed a politically charged diatribe against the Bush era with yins o f governmental admonishing and yangs o f love-is-crazy entitlement, Dark Unknown focuses more on introspection. “It has a kind o f campfire, shamanic vibe,” Waller offers o f the album. “It sounds very much like a conjuring o f a kind o f magical, introspective space where maybe you’re in a melancholy state but you’re still in touch with the kind o f ephemeral, magical vitality o f be ing alive.” Certainly the fact that five o f the album’s 12 tracks are live— taken from recordings o f “The Hope Chest” tour— cements that vital ity, especially on “Q u’Appelle Valley, Sas katchewan,” a rendition o f Buffy Sainte-Ma- rie’s tribalesque stomper.The remaining seven tracks were recorded live-in-studio in single passes to further augment the immediacy o f the album. “There’s certainly a lot about loss and rela tionships and search for love in the album,” continues Waller. “The overarching theme in my mind is really about being at an age that’s Give It Up Portland’s LGBTQ arts community embraces online fundraising BY RYAN J. PRADO Holcombe Waller performs at HRC's Bridges to Equality brunch somewhere between being young and being old and seeing both sides o f that and continu ing forward.” And move forward, no doubt, Waller will. In typical gangbusters fashion, “Surfacing” will see a quick premiere run in Seattle in June, then in New York in October, and here in Portland sometime in the fall. H e’s also trying to figure out how to tour in April fol lowing a trio o f album release shows: Febru ary 20 in Portland at the Alberta Rose The atre; February 24 in New York City; and March 2 in San Francisco. All in all, it’s an other busy year for the troubadour. “There are certain touchstones, and there is a lot o f positioning going around,” says Waller. “I guess it’s planned— that’s one way to look at it.” J * ] Take a walk up and down Southeast Haw thorne on any given weekend, and you’ll see at least a few different musical acts sardined onto a sidewalk street corner, busking their craft to the delight o f passersby and nearby businesses alike. This seemingly yesteryear approach to generating some much-needed cash to the artists involved is both a way to raise funds and an opportunity for an audi ence to greet performers in an intimate way. And while busking is still a viable method for artists to drum up publicity and funds for upcoming projects— as is utilizing Satur day Market booths, pedestrian cold-sell techniques, etc.— more and more artists are turning to the Internet to raise money and to provide donation incentives. Cover boy Holcombe Waller isn’t the only one in Portland’s LGBTQ_creative commu- “You want something for your money! You at least want a copy of the finished product, but lots of people want other little pieces of the artistic process, too, or to be Celebrate the release o / T n to t h e D ark U n known with Holcombe Waller and the Healers Sunday, February 20 at 7:30 p. m. at the Al berta Rose Theatre (3000 N E Alberta). Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and can be purchased via albertarosetheatre.com. Special guests will include Storm Large, China Forbes and M att Sheehy. For all things Waller, visit holcombewaller. com. acknowledged for their support. One or two of my backers didn’t want anything, but most people want a token— an artifact to show they are a part of something.” i-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- M a lo y s Iry workshop Band together. 717 SW 10th Avc Portland, OR 97205 503.223.4720 www. ma loys.com nity to take to this approach. Filmmakers, comics writers, musicians and others have sought the supportive solace o f sites like Kickstarter, GOFundM e and even good ol’ Facebook to give their projects that extra push to completion. Kickstarter, in particu lar, has ballooned in the last year and a half into a must-use fundraising outlet. By incentivizing the donation process, Kickstarter secures a place for those seeking funds for their projects and enables artists to give back to those who’re helping them real ize that sometimes flickering light at the end o f the tunnel. The site requires an ac companying video presentation o f your proj ect, and users allocate increasingly tempting rewards for those who contribute to make TIFFANY TALBOTT OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE Maloy s offers a fabulous selection o f antique and fine custom jewelry, as well as restoration and repair services. —ARIEL GORE, AUTHOR 4
