Blogging Open Martin

Water Slide Ski Jump

2009-08-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

I think this is probably BS but it's still totally amazing:

MEGAWOOSH Bruno Kammerl jumps

(via Leaving Home)

Buy Small Light!

2009-07-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Small Light is now available for download on iTunes and in actual CD form on CD Baby! Get 'em while they're hot: Small Light on iTunes. Small Light on CD Baby. Thanks to everyone who came out to our CD Release/Final Show; it was amazing.

Our Final, 10th Anniversary and "Small Light" CD Release Show

2009-06-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 2
The Artistery (4315 SE Division St.)
w/ Team Evil, Alan Singley, Michael Rockstar
Begins promptly at 7:30pm
$6 / All Ages

12 guitars, 10 years, 4 albums, 4 practice spaces, 3 tours, 2 tapes, untold numbers of private jokes and countless pots of tea since we three first began playing music together, At Dusk will be taking the stage for the last (and 83rd) time on July 2 at our favorite venue, The Artistery.

It would mean a lot to us if you would join us to celebrate a decade of At Dusk, as well as the long-awaited release of our fourth album "Small Light", which will be available at the show.

Additionally, a small exhibit of At Dusk show posters designed by Greg Borenstein will be on display. And there may be another retrospective visual treat as well...

We are happy to share the bill with our good friends Team Evil, Alan Singley and Michael Rockstar.

The show is all-ages, $6 and begins promptly at 7:30pm.

And yes, those photos are from our 9th grade yearbook. Good times.

At Dusk on PDX Pop Now! 2009 Compilation

2009-05-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

At Dusk chest-puffing-out proud to announce that our song "For A Reason" is featured on the PDX Pop Now! 2009double-disc compilation of Portland music. We couldn't possibly be in better artistic company, as you can see below from the full tracklist. 6 years and 6 submissions later, here we are, in the nick of time!

Meanwhile, you'll be able to jam to "For A Reason" in another context when our new album "Small Light" is released in early July. You can preview a few songs at our AtDuskSpace at the moment.

Join us to celebrate the release of the PDX Pop Now! 2009 compilation as follows:

Thursday, June 4
Holocene (1001 SE Morrison)
Copy
Jared Mees & The Grown Children
What's Up?
The Taxpayers
DJ Beyonda
8pm / $10 - includes a copy of the comp
All Ages

And here's the tracklisting:

Disc 1
1. The Mint Chicks – Hot on Your Heels
2. At Dusk – For A Reason
3. aed & Quiet Countries – Moving Day
4. M. Ward – For Beginners
5. Luck-One and Dekk – The Coolax
6. Dirty Mittens – The Dock
7. Ethan Rose & Laura Gibson – Sun
8. Third Angle New Music Ensemble performing Bryan Johanson – The Rat Catcher’s Dance
9. The Thermals – You Dissolve
10. Thrones – Trmph Lfe
11. Mirah – Generosity
12. Magic Johnson – Las Malas
13. Chilly Willy – Grab and Glow
14. Ravishers – Keep You Around
15. Silentist – Hex
16. Dykeritz – Chasing the Wheel Away
17. Explode Into Colors – Paper (Hot Sax Version)
18. The Cysts – Human Garbage
19. Caleb Klauder – Can I Go Home with You
20. Plankton Wat – Dawn of the Golden Eternity
21. Chervona – Reality Show

Disc 2
1. Jared Mees And The Grown Children – The Tallest Building In Hell
2. What’s Up? – Seasoning’s Greeting
3. Blue Skies for Black Hearts – Jenny and Steve
4. Starfucker – Boy Toy
5. Lightheaded – HardRock
6. Grouper – Rising Height
7. Lovers – Igloos For Ojos
8. Sandpeople – Hate Aside
9. Blue Giant – Target Heart
10. Cootie Platoon – Divided
11. Benoît Pioulard – Idyll
12. Ah Holly Fam’ly – EIEIO
13. Breakfast Mountain – J Hollerday
14. Gejius – Let Down
15. Tara Jane O’Neil – Dig In (ft The Ecstatic Tambourine Orchestra)
16. MY-G – Take Back Our City (ft Liv Warfield)
17. Bird Announced Land – Sweet Dreams
18. Blue Cranes – Broken Windmills
19. The Taxpayers – Black Batons

Small Light

2009-04-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

1) Every Other Saturday
2) For A Reason
3) Stones Through Water
4) Olympic Games
5) You Once Were The Current
6) Oh No
7) Frank
8) Fantasy Echo
9) Loose Tooth
10) Jacaranda
11) Bet On Confusion
12) The First Alphabet
13) Okays
14) Elevator
15) Duck Hunt
16) Constant Revision
17) Skies
18) Ghost And Corpse
19) Night Trap
20) Paper Crane

Volume Four

2009-04-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Our new record is done.

Two and a half years was worth it, we think.

More info soon.

We are very excited to share this with you.

Show w/ Point Juncture, WA & Aaron Shepherd

2009-01-13T02:05:00.000-08:00

Another month, another show!

Friday, January 16
@ The Coop (3535 N Lombard)

Point Juncture, WA
At Dusk
Aaron Shepherd

$2
All Ages
8pm

If you don't have Point Juncture, WA's fantastic new album Heart to Elk when you arrive at this show, chances are you'll leave with one. That's how into their set you're going to be.

As for a new At Dusk record...well, we're getting there. But you can hear us play a whole barnload of new songs live that will be on it. Some of them will be over before you expect them to be. Others will expect you before you over them to be.

Joining us will also be all-ages music saint Aaron Shepherd who you may know from his band Metal and his work at The Artistery. He's got this new solo stuff and it sounds wonderful.

Playing shows with people you really like, and whose music you love, is a nice way to spend a night. We will smile at you in a totally non-creepy way if you make it out to join us.

A Show?!

2008-12-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

What's this? At Dusk is playing a show, you say? That still happens?

Yes, it's been a while for all sorts of complicated reasons. But we're managing to squeeze out 2 in 2008 after all. Come join us as we play live for the first time in quite a while. This is a subject for another time, but there shan't be too many more such opportunities. So we're going to enjoy it, hopefully with you, and certainly with man-about-town/friend-about-house Michael Rockstar, who will play first.

At Dusk @ Mississippi Pizza Pub
3552 N Mississippi Ave.
Tuesday, December 16
6-8pm (Early Show)
Free
All Ages
w/ Michael Rockstar

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!