Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

Musical career

Early bands

While at Bothell High School in the early 1990s, Walla started a program called Open Microphone with creative writing teacher Laura Drumheller, as a noon-time forum for the arts, which allowed any student to take the stage and perform. Walla regularly performed at these shows, as well as serving as MC. One performance by Walla included a song by

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

. These early Open Microphone shows proved popular and continued for over twenty years, moving from Bothell High School to Inglemoor High School when teacher Drumheller transferred there. Walla was in a short-lived band called The Wallflowers (not to be confused with

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

of California). Later, in 2001, he was an early member of the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

band

The Long Winters The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington. History Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, where he formed the Bun Fam ...

Death Cab for Cutie

Walla joined

in 1997, after moving to

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

where guitarist/singer Ben Gibbard and bassist Nick Harmer were attending

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

. Eventually releasing seven albums, four EPs and two live EPs with the band, Walla co-wrote many of their hit songs, including " Title and Registration" and " I Will Possess Your Heart". On August 13, 2014, after 17 years with Death Cab for Cutie, Chris Walla decided to part ways with the band, stating that he plans to "continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible." Walla's last performance with the band occurred on September 13, 2014, at the Rifflandia Music Festival in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. In a 2015 interview, Walla explained that he left the band because he found himself uninterested in the music they were working on for the band's eighth studio album, '' Kintsugi''. He critiqued the songs as "flat," none of his ideas seemed to be sticking, and he felt the band needed an infusion of fresh blood; "I was really dissatisfied with where the Death Cab stuff had gotten to when I quit as producer, and that’s why I quit."

Solo projects

Walla has recorded a variety of solo material and released his debut solo album, '' Field Manual'', in 2008 on

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington which was founded in 1998 by Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, the members of the band This Busy Monster, to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

. The song "Sing Again" became available for free download from Barsuk's website. Before the release of ''Field Manual'', it was reported that two tracks recorded for Death Cab for Cutie's 2005 album, '' Plans'', would be featured, but this is unconfirmed. Some of Walla's solo work has been released using the name Martin Youth Auxiliary, such as a cassette was released in 1999 on Elsinor Records. A solo instrumental album, titled ''Tape Loops'', was released on October 16, 2015. On October 6, 2023, Walla released the EP ''2002'' on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, consisting of three previously unreleased songs written and recorded by him in the year 2002.

Production

In addition to being a musician Walla has a long career as a producer, earning production, engineering, and mixing credits on over thirty albums and EPs. His first credit was as the producer for Death Cab for Cutie's debut album, '' Something About Airplanes'', released in 1998. Walla produced all releases by Death Cab for Cutie until Kintsugi except 1997's '' You Can Play These Songs with Chords'' EP, which was produced by Ben Gibbard. However, Walla earned production credits on the 2002 re-release of ''You Can Play These Songs with Chords'', which featured 10 new songs. It was announced via Kelly Porter's Facebook Page Walla would be doing guitar work for her upcoming recording work.

Studios

Walla founded his own recording studio, located within his home in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, named the Alberta Court. Prior to moving to Portland, from 2000 to 2005, he was the owner/proprietor of

recording studio, the Hall of Justice, where Death Cab for Cutie and many

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

bands recorded over the years. In 2012, Walla began rebuilding the Hall of Justice after moving back to Seattle.

Personal life

Walla married scholar, knitwear designer, and illustrator Dianna Potter in February 2013, at the Swedish Cultural Center in Seattle. Since leaving the band, Walla and his wife moved to

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

before later settling in Trondheim, Norway.

Discography

;Selected credits * Snarls, ''With Love,'' (2024) - Producer * Ratboys, '' The Window'' (2023) - Producer, mixer * Pinegrove, '' 11:11'' (2022) – Mixer * Braids, '' Shadow Offering'' (2020) – Producer * Mike Edel, Thresholds (2019) - Producer * Foxing, '' Nearer My God'' (2018) – Producer * Lo Moon, '' Lo Moon'' (2018) – Producer * Gotch, ''Good New Times'' (2016) – Co-producer *

, '' Kintsugi'' (2015) – Writer * Rocky Votolato, ''Hospital Handshakes'' (2015) – Producer, engineer, mixer * Fences, ''Lesser Oceans'' (2015) – Producer, engineer, writer, programming * William Fitzsimmons, ''Lions'' (2014) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer * The Lonely Forest, ''Adding Up the Wasted Hours'' (2013) – Engineer, mixer *

, '' Codes and Keys'' (2011) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer * Telekinesis, ''12 Desperate Straight Lines'' (2011) – Engineer, mixer, writer * The Lonely Forest, ''Arrows'' (2011) – Producer, engineer, mixer * Ra Ra Riot, '' The Orchard'' (2010) – Mixer * Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, '' Let It Sway'' (2010) – Co-producer, engineer * The Thermals, ''

Personal Life Personal life is the course or state of an personhood, individual's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's personal identity. Apart from hunter-gatherers, most pre-modern peoples' time was limited by ...

'' (2010) – Producer, engineer, mixer * Gordon Downie, '' The Grand Bounce'' (2010) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

, '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon (soundtrack)'' (2009) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer *

, '' The Open Door EP'' (2009) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer * Tegan and Sara, ''

Sainthood In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

'' (2009) – Co-producer, engineer * Telekinesis, '' Telekinesis!'' (2009) – Producer, engineer, mixer * So Many Dynamos, ''The Loud Wars'' (2009) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

, '' Narrow Stairs'' (2008) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer * Mates of State, '' Re-Arrange Us'' (2008) – Producer, engineer, loops * Youth Group, '' The Night Is Ours'' (2008) – Guitar, vocals (background), mixer * Nada Surf, '' Lucky'' (2008) – Engineer * Chris Walla, '' Field Manual'' (2008) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer * Tegan and Sara, '' The Con'' (2007) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

, '' The Crane Wife'' (2006) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

, '' Plans'' (2005) – Producer, engineer, Mixer, writer * Youth Group, '' Casino Twilight Dogs'' (2005) – Mixer * Youth Group, '' Forever Young'' (2005) – Mixer * Nada Surf, '' The Weight Is a Gift'' (2005) – Producer, engineer * The Decemberists, '' Picaresque'' (2005) – Producer, engineer, mixer * The Decemberists, '' The Tain'' (2005) – Producer, engineer, mixer * The Thermals, '' Fuckin A'' (2004) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

, '' Transatlanticism'' (2003) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer *

, ''

When I Pretend to Fall ''When I Pretend to Fall'' is the second album by indie rock band The Long Winters. It was released on Barsuk Records in 2003. Track listing # "Blue Diamonds" – 3:49 # "Scared Straight" – 4:17 # "Shapes" – 4:03 # "Cinnamon ...

'' (2003) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

The Postal Service The Postal Service was an American indie pop group from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Dntel, Jimmy Tamborello (also known by his stage name, Dntel), and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band relea ...

, '' Give Up'' (2003) – Engineer, piano, drums, vocals * The Stratford 4, ''Love & Distortion'' (2003) – Producer, engineer, mixer * The Thermals, '' More Parts per Million'' (2003) – Mixer * Rocky Votolato, '' Suicide Medicine'' (2003) – Producer, engineer, mixer * Rocky Votolato, ''Light and Sound EP'' (2003) – Producer, engineer, mixer *

, '' The Stability EP'' (2002) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer *

, '' You Can Play These Songs with Chords'' (2002) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer * David Cross, '' Shut Up You Fucking Baby!'' (2002) – Engineer * Carissa's Wierd, ''Songs About Leaving'' (2002) – Engineer, mixer * Hot Hot Heat, '' Knock Knock Knock (EP)'' (2002) – Producer, engineer * Hot Hot Heat, '' Make Up The Breakdown'' (2002) – Additional recording, mixer * The Long Winters, ''

The Worst You Can Do Is Harm ''The Worst You Can Do Is Harm'' is the debut album by indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was or ...

'' (2002) – Producer, engineer, mixer * Nada Surf, '' Let Go'' (2002) – Engineer, mixer * The Velvet Teen, '' Out of the Fierce Parade'' (2002) – Producer, engineer *

, '' The Photo Album'' (2001) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer *

, '' The Forbidden Love EP'' (2000) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer *

, '' We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes'' (2000) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer *

, '' Something About Airplanes'' (1998) – Producer, engineer, mixer, writer

References

External links

20 Questions to Christopher Walla
from 2000.
Hall of Justice Recording

Chris Walla interview, Jan. 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walla, Chris 1975 births Living people American alternative rock guitarists American alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians American indie rock musicians American male singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists Death Cab for Cutie members Singers from Oregon Singers from Washington (state) Record producers from Washington (state) People from Bothell, Washington Musicians from Seattle The Long Winters members American film score composers Guitarists from Washington (state) Guitarists from Oregon 21st-century American singers American male film score composers Barsuk Records artists Atlantic Records artists The Revolutionary Hydra members