Blogging Open Martin

First Show in '08

2008-01-30T23:20:00.000-08:00

At Dusk + Church + Ghosties
Thursday, Jan. 31
@ The Know (2026 NE Alberta)
7:30pm
FREE
21+ (sorry...)

Our first show of the new year!

We in At Dusk will be playing the new, acoustic, nigh drumless, nonetheless high-energy miniatures we've been working on for over a year now. Recordings soon!

Church are a great little chamber band that moved up from Santa Barbara this summer. - http://www.myspace.com/songforcecrystal

Ghosties are a dark corner on the flagship of the Boy Gorilla armada. - http://www.myspace.com/weghosties

Hope to see you there.

Halloween

2007-11-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

We had a blast this week playing the Halloween Party at Rererato, a charming little art gallery on 42nd b/n Killingsworth & Alberta. We played with no instrumental amplification, which gave the whole affair a hoedown sort of atmosphere, as we tried to stomp harder and sing louder than usual. It was also Will's 27th Birthday Eve, so we reconvened at his place, blocks away, for an afterparty and YouTube watching.

We dressed up as villains from David Lynch movies, which, for me, is kind of like somebody with intense arachnophobia dressing up as a spider. In the order pictured below, I was The Mystery Man from Lost Highway, Greg was Frank Booth from Blue Velvet, and Will was a terrifying Bob from Twin Peaks.

One of the other bands we played with, Dr. Something and the Poppin' Fresh Love Engines, dressed up as members of Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem (The Muppet Band), which was pretty cool. Somehow we both lost the group costume contest to a couple of dudes wearing dresses and beards. Oh well.

Things are moving along nicely on the recording front, as we have about 10 songs recorded to some extent, and about 10 more waiting for their turn. Greg is going to be in LA and Hawaii for most of November, so that will give me, Will and Chris some time to tie up loose ends and, especially, get some vocals and lyrics written (I'm looking at you, me).

Plans to release the stuff as we go as EPs online and as CDRs, then collect it all as a full LP.

See you next time!

Show Tonight (Tonight=Friday Oct. 26)!

2007-10-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

"YES Yes yes!" - Molly Bloom on this show I'm about to tell you about.

Friday, October 26
@ The Artistery (4315 SE Division St)
7:30 pm
All Ages
$6

At Dusk + Dirty Mittens + The Ocean Floor

We play for Portland, you and truth. Forsooth.

Wensday Evenin' t'ya

2007-10-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

We're playing an early evening show this Wednesday with two of our bestestt, strangest, and most musical friends - Michael Rockstar & Alan Singley. The timing is perfect for a pre-or-post-work drink or bite, and the price is right at free. We'll be in full acoustic force, and we even provide some percussive assistance to Michael Rokstar, who is the new face of PDX49 (no joke). So come celebrate the death of major label distribution models and Russian democracy with us!

At Dusk
Wed. Oct. 3
6-8pm
Mississippi Pizza Pub
3552 N Mississippi
FREE / ALL AGES
w/ Alan Singley, Michael Rockstar

Two Days in the Eastern Northwest - A Tourette

2007-09-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

We haven't toured in a while. I don't know that you can actually call two shows on two consecutive days out of Portland a tour, but we're going to do it anyway. A tourette, perhaps?

Looking forward to Walla Walla and Pendleton. We have heard wonderful things about these communities. And we'll catch the end of the Pendleton Round-Up (2nd largest rodeo in the country)!

Friday, September 14
Walla Walla, WA
Whitman College - Reid Campus Center Ballroom
8:30pm
FREE/All Ages
w/ Blitzen Trapper

Saturday, September 15
Pendleton, OR
Pendleton Center for the Arts
214 N. Main Pendleton
8:30pm
$5/All Ages
w/ Blitzen Trapper, James Dean Kindle

Like a cougar

2007-09-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's true, we haven't posted in a while. And we haven't played in a while. But that is fast changing, friends, as we are ready to come out of our acoustic chrysalis fully formed and play the 20(!) or so songs that we have written in the past year. Recordings is under way, and if things go apace, we could have a record by the end of the year. Regardless, we will be out there in the world, particularly playing in Portland, much more regularly than we have in a long while. We'll bring you more info as dates approach, but here's how things are shaping up right now:

Fri. Sept. 14 - Walla Walla, WA - Whitman College (Reid Campus Center Ballroom) - 8pm - Free, All Ages - w/ Blitzen Trapper!

Sat. Sept. 15 - Pendleton, OR - TBA - w/ Blitzen Trapper once more

Wed. Oct. 3 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Pizza Pub - Free, All Ages

Wed. Oct. 31 - Portland, OR - Rererato - Halloween Party w/ Please Step Out of the Vehicle, Andy Combs & The Moth, Poppin' Fresh Love Engines

And much more...we're looking at some shows with, among others, Au, The Builders & The Butchers, The Ocean Floor, The Revisions, Eskimo & Sons...

I'm sure we'll see you soon.

Such a Show!

2007-04-30T01:15:00.000-07:00

We are pooping our pants, in a dignified way, with excitement about the show we're playing this coming Friday. We'll be playing with no doubt two of our favorite bands in town, our friends will be making guest vocal appearances with us, and we'll all be served free tea thanks to the awesome living room ethic of the venue. This is definitely one of those shows we think you should come to. We will be, as of late, acoustistos.

Friday, May 4
The Artistery
At Dusk / Dragging an Ox through Water in a rare collaboration w/ Argumentix / Team Evil
7:30pm
$6 / ALL AGES
4315 SE Division St.

Don't be late - we're playing first!
So fun.

Upcoming Show & PDX Pop Now! Requests

2007-03-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

O boy! Lo, boy! Show boy! We get to play all of these strange little acoustic songs we've been working on for you very soon. What's more, we get to do it for people of all ages, playing on bills with friends we've shared practice spaces with, recorded albums with, and just generally admired. Here's what we're looking at:

Sunday, April 15
Satyricon
7:30
ALL AGES / $6
w/ Science of Yabra, Monofog, Microtia

and

Friday, May 4
The Artistery
7:30
ALL AGES / $6
w/ Dragging an Ox through Water, Team Evil

Lastly, I encourage friends of At Dusk, and Portland music enthusiasts in general, to go to the PDX Pop Now! website and let it be known which bands they'd like to see play this summer's festival. Requests are here.

New Song

2007-03-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a first taste of what we've been working on for the past six months, holed up with tea and acoustic instruments in our living room. We've got about 9 songs more or less finished, and whole lot more in the oven. We'll be getting out and playing this stuff a ton starting in April. Enjoy!

This one's called Duck Hunt:

Play Again

2007-01-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

This time it's going down for real - snow, sleet, hail, hurricane or firestorm. We will be playing Ground Kontrol next Wednesday, and it's looking to be At Dusk's first ever all-acoustic set. So be there with us to make minor history. We'll do the music thing, and you can set a record on the orginal Star Wars arcade game, Golden Tee, Burger Time or whatever. Or you could do record liver damage at the bar, as well, if that's more your bag. In any case, it'll be a good time.

At Dusk @ Ground Kontrol
w/ Krav Maga, The Bugs of Lightning
Wednesday, January 17
9pm (We'll be playing first)
FREE / 21+
511 NW Couch St.
Portland, OR

Recently

2006-12-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, it's winter, and the year's wrapping up. Accordingly, we've been up to all sorts of wintery and year-wrapping kinds of activities: cancelling shows due to weather, going to concerts, drinking lots of tea and playing Wii.

The main thing we've been up to, however, is writing a ton-load of acoustic music. I think we're definitely following the time-honored tradition of bands bouncing from extreme to extreme on subsequent records in order to keep things fresh and interesting. We see the connection between these records, but who knows if anyone else will. So, as we prepare to officaly release "You Can Know Danger" with its loud guitars and madman drums, we're sitting at home writing acoustic music, much of which features no percussion of any kind. We're loving the heck out of it though, and based on the limited reactions we've been privy to from audiences and friends this far, it seems like everyone else might, too. It's funny how unplugging makes thinsg so much more accessible for people. As our friend suggested, this is our "Jar of Flies."

Being music obsessives, we're all taking stock of the past year in music. I think it was the best one we've had in a while. I have been posting some best-of lists on a group blog called 123Jamboree! I contribute to with a few friends and a bunch of strangers. Have a peek around if so inclined.

December is a great month for live music. We went as band to see Joanna Newsom, who made us cry, laugh and swoon. We're going to Akron/Family this weekend, which is always an exciting prospect. But most of all, I'm ecstatic about seeing Chavez on San Francisco later this month. The seemingly spontaneous resurgence in that amazing band's unfortunately limited catalogue is a source of great joy. We always felt that we were the only people out there who really knew Chavez, and were baffled about how a record as canonical to us as "Ride the Fader" was could go ignored by the general public. We felt like they were one of the great forgotten bands of the 90s. and based on the this entertaining interview with the band on Pitchfork, it seems like they kind of felt that way, too. Not in a woe-is-me way, but in a great we-just-did-our-thing kind of way.

I'm feeling good about music right now. Let's hear it for ears!

I hope everyone enjoys the end of their year. We're coming after you in 2007!

Cary

Video Booze Music

2006-11-29T02:43:00.000-08:00

Doesn't "Video Booze Music" sounds like it could be a sequel to Elite Beat Agents?

In honor of the Wii and PS3 release melees this past week, At Dusk has taken it upon ourselves to celebrate in the true spirit of rampant commercialism.

Come join us as we play at Ground Kontrol for music, your favorite classic video games, and, if you so choose, alcohol. Seek succor from the cold!

At Dusk @ Ground Kontrol
Wednesday, Nov. 29
w/ Krav Maga, The Bugs of Lightning
511 NW Couch St.
FREE! / 21+
10pm

Beautiful!

2006-11-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Our show here last night was too much fun! We had a houseful of happy people filled with beer and food. We had all kinds of crazy music. And. . .we had a video camera:

And yes, that's Ethan and the three of us on instruments and Jon in the role of Snoop.

Stay tuned for more videos. . .

(watch "Beautiful - At Dusk, Jon Braman, Ethan Chessin" on YouTube)

House Show!

2006-11-03T01:04:00.000-08:00

This will be really fun.

We're having a wildly eclectic basement show over here at our house next Saturday, Nov. 4. There's a lot going on that night - luckily our event will be early enough to allow you to make it wherever else you might want to go that night in plenty of time. The folks playing are our closest friends, some from summer camp, some from high school, some from college. This is a family affair. Here's the deal:

6pm - Michael Rockstar (Musical comedy, featuring singing dolls. Kitsch as sincerity.)

7pm - At Dusk (We'll be continuing our recent experiments with acoustic instruments, as well as the usual. Plus some new songs!)

8pm - Jon Braman (My roommate from college visiting from DC to shower us with his amazing ukulele hip-hop. I am not joking.)

9pm - Hora Tsygane (Ethan's klezmer band. And not the fake indie kind, either - a real one, with real, live Jews.)

816 SE 38th Ave.
(just N of Belmont, next to the now defunct Phu Hua Asian Grocery)
Saturday, Nov. 4

We'll be providing some degree of drink, food and dessert, though the details are not yet clear. Feel free to contribute liquids or solids of your own! Take that as you will.

We're looking forward to this. See you! Friends of friends are welcome, too

Photos by JQ

2006-10-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, we spent a delightful afternoon and evening going on some adventures with super-talented local music photographer, Jason Quigley. We just got back the resulting pics and we couldn't be happier with them. We've put some of our favorites in the Flickr At Dusk group so you can check 'em out, print 'em, and paste 'em on your bedroom walls. So? Get to it!

The Wailing Wall

2006-10-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

We're feeling a rush of enthusiasm over here. Our show with Cinemechanica over at the Towne Lounge last week was a real blast. We're really enjoying doing the mixed acoustic/electric shows these days - it's certainly one way of introducing dynamic range into a rock show. We have some more shows coming up in November - a house show on Nov. 4 and Ground Kontrol on Nov. 29 - and it's not entirely impossible that we may play some new stuff at them. Not guaranteed, but not impossible.

That said, we've finished our first new, post YCKD song. I think you will be surprised. We were. And that's good. I kinda wanna post it. We'll see.

Towne Lounge 10/12 w/ Cinemechanica

2006-10-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Breaking News,

We're playing at the Towne Lounge on Thursday 10/12 with Cinemechanica, The Dimes, and Oh Captain My Captain. It's $6 and 21+.

More shows to come in Nov! You hear me? Nov!

Mosely-Mosely-Bop! Diddybop!

Cincinnati Castlevania

2006-09-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

I don't want to get into specifics for fear of ruining an eventual wondrous surprise, but we're writing new stuff.

WWeek Likes Whoos

2006-08-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Mark Baumgarten of the Willamette Week reviewed "In the Background" on LocalCut. This was a nice follow-up to the YCKD review he published a few weeks ago. [Scroll to the bottom to find that one.] Thanks, Mark.

PDX Pop Now!

2006-07-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

It begins today today, fatherhuggers!

A Beautiful Party

2006-07-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

We had an unbelievably good time last night at Foodhole. What is not to love about music, cookie cakes, friends, fans, water, heat, loud sounds, soft sounds and danger? Thank you to all who braved the degrees and made it out. It was a very special time for us.

And thanks again, Chris and Skyler, for playing midwife to our babe.

Record Release Show

2006-07-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

After much planning, nail-biting and wrist-wringing, we are pleased to announce the juicy details for the You Can Know Danger record release party. We may be calling this a record release "show," but hopefully the mood will be that of a "party" with fine friends (of all ages, no less!) and salacious sounds. Portland, we are ready for you. Come celebrate the past 2 years of our lives with us.

Sun. July 23
Foodhole
20 NW 3rd Ave.
$5/All Ages
9pm
w/ Alan Singley & Pants Machine, and Prime Meridian.

Oh boy, oh boy! This will be the best.

Henry Gummer's Band

2006-06-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

from Stereogum, from Meryl Streep plugging them on Letterman. Apparently, Henry Gummer is the singer.

Here's their MySpace page.

This makes the roster of HW '98 affialited pop music makers, as I know it:
Kyle Beswick
Greg Borenstein
Cary Clarke
Will Hattman
Eric Hirsch
Henry Gummer
Isaac Laskin

Any others? Any girls, for that matter? Weird list. Jake should join Dogstar.

Wish Fulfillment

2006-06-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

I guess this is just one of those fundamental adolescent experiences that get wired into your brain early on, but nothing really makes me feel good in the same way as listening to a new Sonic Youth record I really like. Thanks for Rather Ripped, Lee, Kim, Steve & Thurston! And thanks for never looking back.

Ligeti Died

2006-06-13T01:34:00.000-07:00

The world is a slightly more comfortable, and slightly less interesting place today. Composer Gyorgy Ligeti died. If you aren't familiar with him (or don't realize that you are), think of the extremely dissonany choral moments in Kubrick's 2001. Interesting guy with interesting ideas. If you say "microtone" this is who I think of. Infuriatingly difficult to sing. And fun because of it!