The Long Afternoon profile picture

The Long Afternoon

in a shuddering deluge of thick guitar chords...

About Me

Rock addicts applied cut-up technique literally to the brain.
Taking its name from a novel by British writer Brian Aldiss, Pennsylvania-based indie rock pioneers The Long Afternoon formed in Pittsburgh in 1985. Founding members Eston Martz, Gary Anderson and Gary DeSantis defined the band's original sound: angular and edgy, with energy to burn and an emphasis on cryptic, deeply personal songs.
In 1987, Eston Martz moved the group's base to State College, Pennsylvania. Keyboard and tape manipulator Lee Markle switched to drums, while second guitarist Dave Pearson signed on to fill out the sound.
With the addition of Pearson, the group's material and sound became more psychedelic and exploratory, drawing heavily on mid-period Beatles as well as more recent groups like The Dream Syndicate. At the same time, Martz and Pearson were deeply affected by hardcore punk, and sought to incorporate some of the aggression and energy of that scene into their more open, art-damaged sound.
In 1988, following the departure of Gary Anderson and the interim addition of bassist Broose Burton, the lineup solidified. Martz and Pearson's twin guitar attack anchored the group, while drummer Ken Brassington and bassist Butch Robinson brought a heavier feel to the band's rhythm. This lineup's sound became the group's signature, and contributed to increasing success. Opening slots for indie-rock luminaries like Dinosaur Jr. ultimately resulted in the band being offered a deal with Bulging Eye, the Flaming Lips' management company.
Anything might have happened. What did happen was the band recorded an EP, which remains unreleased, and promptly split, with several band members leaving in acrimony and others struggling with various bad habits and nonmusical life events.
After 20 years, group leader Eston Martz, inspired partly by the successful reunions of Mission of Burma, Wire, and other contemporaries, decided to begin recording again. With Dave Pearson missing and other members involved in other projects, Martz enlisted drummer Greg Elliott and former Seen bassist Jeff Edmunds and entered the studio in March 2006. The result is The Long Afternoon's first proper album, entitled "The Luxury Problem." We hope you will explore and enjoy it.
New album The Luxury Problem available now: http://cdbaby.com/cd/longafternoon
and at amazon.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/12/2006
Band Website: thelongafternoon.com
Band Members: Eston Martz + Gary DeSantis Gary Anderson Lee Markle Dejan Kovacevic Chris Downey David Pearson Broose Burton Ken Brassington Butch Robinson Jeff Edmunds Greg Elliot
Influences: Dream Syndicate, Thomas Pynchon, Lilys, Mission of Burma, Rolling Stones, Game Theory/Loud Family, Permanent Green Light, Gun Club, Rain Parade, Opal, Kendra Smith, Dave Van Ronk, Black Flag, Husker Du, Talking Heads, True West
Sounds Like: Wire meets Chad and Jeremy
Record Label: Problematic Audio
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Back in Studio - New Album is Under Way

Hello and thanks for reading. I hope this finds you well. The next record is now officially under way; we went into the studio on June 11 and cut the basic tracks for 5 songs:-- That's Just the Way It...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:16:00 PST

Download The Luxury Problem @ emusic.com

Our album The Luxury Problem is now available for download on emusic.com. This should make it pretty easy for the indie-minded downloaders to procure.  If you don't know about emusic, you should ...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Sat, 24 Feb 2007 10:41:00 PST

The Luxury Problem -- now available via iTunes!

The new album's on iTunes now. Check it out! 
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:24:00 PST

The Luxury Problem is AVAILABLE NOW

available now at http://cdbaby.com/cd/longafternoon...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 06:19:00 PST

The Luxury Problem is done. Almost.

Today marked the final mixing session for our first album, The Luxury Problem. Mastering will begin next week, and the disk should be available before the end of the year. Track order may change, but ...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Sat, 04 Nov 2006 04:55:00 PST

HELP! Need your feedback on near-final mix of "The Luxury Problem."

I could really use some objective input from you about the overall sound of the track "The Luxury Problem", just uploaded to the player yesterday. How does it sound?  Is it clear?  Can you h...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Thu, 21 Sep 2006 07:23:00 PST

Studio Update - Mixing and Round 2

Spent this afternoon in the studio, doing final vocals and three or four guitar parts that needed polishing.  RECORDING OF ROUND 1 IS FINISHED.  The songs are:That's Not What You SaidYour In...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Tue, 19 Sep 2006 07:18:00 PST

Rehearsals for next round of recordings under way

Rehearsals are under way for the next round of recordings for The Luxury Problem. This time, we'll be rehearsing five songs for several sessions, going into the studio and knocking them out, then rehe...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Thu, 17 Aug 2006 07:28:00 PST

Progress in Mixing

Spent Saturday afternoon at Audible Images Recording, finishing the second round of rough mixes  for the 13 songs on The Luxury Problem. Things are sounding great, although there are still a few ...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Mon, 07 Aug 2006 04:37:00 PST

Aw man...

Syd Barrett, just a few weeks ago, and now poor Arthur Lee is gone too.  Not that we would have heard new music from either of them in years to come, but still it's a sad day.  Odd, I was ju...
Posted by The Long Afternoon on Sat, 05 Aug 2006 06:55:00 PST