Industrial hard rockers, The Dreaming, have been around for over a decade, since their formation they have come a long way, going through member changes, releasing material, playing shows and touring with plans on not stopping of course! Frontman vocalist Christopher Hall who was formerly the singer of other act called Stabbing Westward, took the time to discuss the band's past, present, and future, with some brief delay in discussing their third release to date, "Rise Again".
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Dreaming, and how long the band has been together.
Christopher: I'm Christopher and I'm the singer and a song writer for the Dreaming. We have been together since 2002 and before that the drummer , keyboardist and I were in a band called Stabbing Westward.
2. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Christopher: We are from from Los Angeles and it's a pretty cool music scene. there are constantly national acts rolling through town but the heart of the scene is the local bands. I really like We are the Riot , New Years Day, Die So FLuid and LIving Deadlights
3. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
Christopher: The band started as Stabbing Westward was breaking up. We've put out 3 albums and 2 EPs. We've toured extensively across the US with Trust Company, Flaw, In this Moment, Il Nino and Godhead just to name a few. Our members include Carlton from Orgy and Franccesca Destruct on bass.
4. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Christopher: I write a lot of songs about heart ache and regret. about looking back on your life and seeing all the things you left behind unfinished. but I try and balance that out with songs about living in the moment and not being afraid of the future.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Christopher: Ministry, NIN, Skinny PUppy the Cure, Birthday Massacre and Journey.
6. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Christopher: It's from a comic book called the Sandman by Neil Gaimen
7. You recently signed with Goomba Music, what made them be your label of choice? What do you think they will bring to the table for The Dreaming?
Christopher: Actually we are on Metropolis records which are home to Skinny Puppy, Combichrist, Peter Murphy, Front Line Assembly, and Birthday Massacre just to name a few. Metropolis has given us the freedom to make the music we want to make without any pressure to try and homogenize our sound to fit into a generic rock radio format. they've also supplied the infrastructure to get our music heard by more people than on our own.
8. Where are you in the process of the new album?
Christopher: It's done and it came out 2 weeks ago. It's called Rise Again.
9. Do you have a producer in mind with whom you'd like to work with, if so whom?
Christopher: I produced the record myself along with Walter and Carlton our keyboardist and guitarist. we had Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly mix the record and do some additional production. he was amazing to work with. so creative.10. When did you start writing for this album?
How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous The Dreaming releases?
Christopher: It was very different since adding the original keyboardist from Stabbing Westward. it really brought the electronic / industrial sound to the forefront in a way I couldn't achieve before.
11. Do you plan to use any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Christopher: Not really. we like to stick with what we know and understand.
12. Can you go into one or two tracks on the new album? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
Christopher: Still Believe is a song about regrets. looking back on someone you let go from your life and then constantly wondering if you had made a mistake. I wrote the song while strumming an old Stabbing Westward song so it was sort of inspired in that way.
Alone is sort of an anthem to the lonely ostracized nerds of the world. It's an attempt to communicate that we are all alone but we don't have to be. I wrote the words and melodies many years ago and I've been waiting for the right music to come along. Walter wrote the music many years ago but didn't have any vocals for it. when we started working on this record he played me the track and I immediately thought of the lyrics to alone. the 2 pieces fit like a jigsaw puzzle.
13. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album? How does it compare to Puppet?
Christopher: I think it's better. I think the songwriting is better and more consistent. I think the production is light years beyond puppet. I think Walter really captured the missing electronic elements that I've been searching for on the last 2 records.
14. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Christopher: Haha 2 weeks ago because I suck and didn't do your interview on time.
15. What are your upcoming touring plans?
Christopher: We are touring the west coast in early march and then the rest of the US in June.
16. Will you be road testing any of the new material?
Christopher: Yup. We will be playing 8 of the new songs along with our Garbage cover that was a bonus track.
17. Where hasn't The Dreaming toured and where would they like to go?
Christopher: Australia!
18. Do you remember your first show with The Dreaming and what was it like?
Christopher: It was a the GIG on Melrose and it was pretty dismal.
19. The Dreaming has been around for 11 years now did you guys celebrate in anyway for the 10 year mark?
Christopher: Nope. I don't think we were aware it had happened.
20. The Dreaming has seen it's course of band members over the years, but do you ever seen the original line-up to ever reunite?Christopher: I really consider Johnny, myself, and Carlton to be the heart of the original lineup. Brent sort of comes and goes depending on how green the grass looks elsewhere, but the core of the band up until now has been Carlton and I writing the music and Johnny playing the drums. We are very happy to have Walter in the mix and I feel confident that he will be in the band until the end. And of course we love having Franccesca around who wouldn't.
21. Recently you've sung songs of your former project, Stabbing Westward, do you ever see the actual band to come back together?
Christopher: Nope not as Stabbing Westward. But if you saw SW on the Darkest Days tour the year Save Yourself came out it was me and Johnny and Walter on stage so this is the closest you will ever get.
22. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
Christopher: More music and more shows hopefully.
23.Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Christopher: iTunes, Metropolis.com, Amazon.
24. Any final words of wisdom?
Christopher: I don't think I've ever had any first words of wisdom. Haha!
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