Deborah Holland
All the World's a Page
by Anil Prasad

The book is A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey. It sits beaming off a shelf behind singer/songwriter Deborah Holland during a solo, in-store performance at Mockingbird Books in Aptos Village, California.

The title is equally applicable to Holland and her self-paved path over the weeds and infertile soil of the music biz. Her latest CD, the appropriately titled Book of Survival, tackles those experiences, as well as many of life's other foibles. Its sparse, largely acoustic, contemporary folk arrangements and sophisticated subject matter are a far cry from her days as the lead singer of Animal Logic. During their brief career from 1988 to 1992, the trio focused on fusing sleek pop fare with funk and jazz rhythms, courtesy of renowned bassist Stanley Clarke and ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland. But The Book of Survival, her third solo release, isn't about glossy sheens. It's about rough-hewn reality seen through a 40-something tint.

"I was originally going to call the album My Middle Ages," said Holland, looking far younger than her years as she relaxed with a glass of red wine at the nearby Seacliff Inn lounge. "The songs focus on adult themes about coping with life as not being a kid anymore. The topics address being middle aged, there's no other way to say it. I would not have written these songs in my 20s or early 30s. The things that affect me now are being married, being a mother, and being someone who thinks about mortality and politics."

For Holland, The Book of Survival is a metaphor for coping, maintaining balance, and locating peace of mind on one's own brainmap.

"It's about how each individual figures out how they're going to live and not be miserably depressed," said the New Jersey native, who now resides in Los Angeles. "Some people have AA, some people have shrinks. Most people have some type of religion, and others just wing it by the seat of their pants. I include myself in the latter category. I just kind of figure it out in terms of how to live and get along. This is an insane world and insane times in which we live. We have wars, poverty, the threat of terrorist attacks, guys bursting into Jewish community centers and shooting people, freeway car-jackers, and freeway shooters. It's gone over the top. It's hard to figure out how to deal with all of that. So, that's what the Book of Survival is. You have to come up with a meaning for your life. No one can tell you what you need to be happy."

Holland is quick to add that the album has a positive underpinning, too. "I think in all my songs — even the ones that are negative — there is the message that even though it always seems the water is coming in, you have to try and bail out," said the redhead, clad in a dark green sweater, grey pants, and black boots. "I got the philosophy from my father. I know it sounds so politically correct and naïve. But it doesn't mean you have to give up your life and become Mother Teresa. It means you have to do something to try and improve the world."

This is an excerpt. Read the full article in Dirty Linen #86 (Feb/Mar '00).