What does one do after breaking up a successful and influential band? If you’re Christopher Hall of The Dreaming, you start again, but this time as a supergroup. In the late ’90s, Hall’s previous project, Stabbing Westward, took modern-rock radio by storm with singles “Shame” and “Save Yourself” before calling it quits in 2002. Unwilling to remain idle, Hall and drummer Johnny Haro formed The Dreaming later that year.
Since then, Hall and Haro have seen their share of small lineup changes. “I’ve had a great career of touring and making records and I’m not going to deny that opportunity to my friends,” Hall says.
Those friends have included members of Black Veil Brides, Murderdolls, American Head Charge, Deadsy, Orgy, Kuza and others. Perhaps the most notable addition to the lineup is Hall’s Stabbing Westward bandmate, Walter Flakus, who joined as keyboardist last year.
The result is 2015’s Rise Again, a synth-heavy alterna-rock record that will appease fans of The Dreaming and Stabbing Westward alike. Coming to terms with the ghosts of projects past can be tricky, Hall admits.
“It’s an advantage to tap into that fan base but at the same time I want people to see and hear The Dreaming for what it is, not how it compares to a 15-year-old memory.”
Whether it’s to reminisce or revel in the new stuff, catch The Dreaming with London’s Die So Fluid and Eugene’s Pistol Whipped Prophets at 10 pm Friday, March 6, at Black Forest, 50 E. 11th Ave.; free. 21-plus.