For Bend locals, certain names have been a part of the arts and culture scene for so long that it’s hard to imagine the evolution of the scene without them. Jesse Locke has been directing, shooting and editing features, documentaries and music videos as long as there has been a burgeoning film community here and Colten Tyler Williams has been a multi-disciplinary musician for as long as I can remember. With the upcoming mixed media/EDM show, Witch Eyes, they’re teaming up for a live music experiment unlike anything I’ve seen or heard.
I recently spoke with Locke and Williams about the show and what people can expect from this singular new vision.
the Source: For the readers unfamiliar with your past work, can you tell us a little about who you are?
Jesse Locke: Ah, the age-old question. Who am I? Well, I’m a filmmaker who doesn’t enjoy talking about himself, so that’s very counterproductive. Here we go. I love learning and seeking out information in many different ways. That influenced how I made documentary films. It was always so mind-blowing to hear people’s stories and draw human connections from that. I wanted those films to educate and inspire people. I also love wild shit. I love Tarantino. I love Grindhouse films. I spent many sleepless nights wondering if I could live in both worlds. I really don’t have an answer for that yet. I go through phases as a creative person. Right now all I want to do is have fun, take a step back from being serious and find joy. I’m very privileged to be able to do that. Witch Eyes is fun and experimental. That is exciting. I’m always looking for new ways to connect with audiences.
Colten Tyler Williams: I started out playing guitar in bands when I was a teenager. I kept playing in bands for years, but somewhere along the way I became more interested in film music and electronic music, so I eventually moved to Vancouver B.C., to study music production for film/TV and video games. After that I just started scoring a lot of indie films. More recently, I’ve been writing music for companies like Netflix, Apple, Beats by Dre, the NBA and the UFC, to name a few. Some of my music was also used in one of the “Deadpool & Wolverine” trailers, which was really fun and exciting.
tS: So, explain the concept for your upcoming show, Witch Eyes, for us.
JL: Witch Eyes is Colten’s musical baby. He has been making dark wave music under the name Witch Eyes for many years. I love Colten’s music. It’s rich with deep emotional tones and badassery. The current iteration of Witch Eyes as a live show, which combines Colten’s music and my visuals, is the culmination of many years working together in a number of different capacities. A year or so ago, an idea hit me like a bolt of lightning: to make a movie about a coven of time-traveling witches in a desperate chase to save the world from evil capitalist pigs. I would call the movie “Witch Eyes.” Colten and I would make the movie together, working on characters, sound design and music. I wanted to create a one-of-a-kind movie that blends music, sounds and visuals. Our first project with these witch characters was to make a music video, which then grew and grew into what you will see Friday night at Silver Moon. Colten sent me a bunch of music that he felt would fit the vibe of our live set. From there, it was basically creating a cohesive 13-song music video/movie.
CTW: With Witch Eyes, Jesse picked the tracks already suited for his vision and then we got together and talked about new tracks and bounced ideas back and forth, writing new music from scratch. A lot of the tracks were written specifically for this show.”
tS: What do you want the future of this show to be? Touring with live film editing and music across the country?
CTW: I just hope people enjoy the show as an experience. At its core it’s a film with the score being performed live and the music at its core is an electronic music show. I think fans of electronic music and indie films will really love this. Jesse and I will continue to make new music and film. It’s what we love to do and as long as we’re having fun doing it, we will not stop!
JL: I want this live show to keep growing and changing. I want to keep adding elements and creating new songs with Colten. I want to tour Witch Eyes up and down the West Coast and see if people get excited. I love this project so much that it’s almost bulletproof for me. By that, I mean I don’t care if anyone else likes it. If Colten and I are having fun, then we’re winning. I want the audience to be stimulated on multiple fronts: audio and visual. I want to blow minds. I want everyone to have a good time and jam out with some witches! This is a live musical performance with an actual story/movie playing along with the music. Everyone has visuals playing nowadays with their live set, but not everyone has a fully curated movie playing that has been edited and created to fit the music, and is being tricked out on stage with the musician.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 31, 2025.
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