The Long Afternoon: A Collection of Multiple Entendres

Reclusive Pennsylvania-based indie rock pioneers The Long Afternoon formed in Pittsburgh in 1985.  Guitarist and vocalist Eston Martz, bassist Gary Anderson and drummer Gary DeSantis, occasionally augmented by tape manipulator Lee Markle, crafted the band’s original sound: angular and edgy, with energy to burn and an emphasis on cryptic, deeply personal songs.

While never deliberately confrontational or anti-entertainment, the group has neither been particularly interested in attaining popularity and showing audiences a good time.  As long as the band was firing on all cylinders, its members seemed equally satisfied whether listeners were appreciative or confounded.

Intentionally obscure from the outset, even the band’s name is open to multiple interpretations. “The name actually refers to a Brian Aldiss novel,” Martz says, “but we liked it because you can project whatever you want onto it. The name didn’t predefine what the group could be, or what you might get out of it.”

In 1987, Eston Martz moved the group’s base to State College, Pennsylvania and formed a new lineup. Bassist Gary Anderson remained, and part-time keyboard player and tape manipulator Lee Markle switched to drums. More critically, second guitarist Dave Pearson signed on.

With the addition of Pearson, the group’s material and sound became more dense, psychedelic and exploratory, drawing heavily on mid-period Beatles as well as more recent groups like Mission of Burma, Wire and The Dream Syndicate. At the same time, Martz and Pearson both 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, Gary Anderson and Lee Markle left, and after a few months of rotating rhythm sections, 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. Although the band band eschewed travel, and only rarely played outside State College or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, high-profile 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, in 1987.

The group recorded a self-titled EP and planned a national tour with Bulging Eye, but tensions during the recording sessions led to an acrimonious split, which ended in Robinson and Brassington leaving music, and Dave Pearson disappearing altogether. In the wake of the band’s dissolution, the EP remained unreleased. Martz continued to study music, sometimes played guitar in various groups, and continued writing, but refused to revive The Long Afternoon.

Then hell froze over. Not only did the Velvet Underground reconvene to perform, but Mission of Burma and Wire also emerged from retirement — and didn’t just emerge, but resumed recording compelling, dynamic music that neither rehashed nor diminished past glories. For the first time in a decade, Martz seriously began entertaining the idea of making music again, and began exploring new options, renewing old contacts, and developing new material.

After seeing one of Television’s final live performances, Martz decided to begin recording again in earnest. With Dave Pearson missing and other members in other universes, Martz enlisted drummer Greg Elliott and former Seen bassist Jeff Edmunds.  The Long Afternoon’s first album, “The Luxury Problem,” came out in 2006 to enthusiastic reviews in The Big Takeover and, ironically enough for a band whose members no longer indulge, High Times.

The Long Afternoon’s second album, the 16-song “Signifying Nothing,” was recorded from March 2007 to January 2009 at Audible Images studio in Port Matilda, Pa., and the band’s own Problematic Audio studio. It became available for physical purchases and downloads in Spring 2009.

The title “Signifying Nothing” references a line in Macbeth, but the band—as usual—is playing with multiple entendres. The title song questions whether certain ideas are worth dying for, especially if those very ideas are lies. “In that sense, as a song title, the Shakespeare reference is literal,” Martz says. “But as an album title, ‘Signifying Nothing’ also poses a question: it’s just a record…how seriously should you really take these little songs about life and death?”

But on yet another level, the title answers those who think it’s foolish for people to make records once they hit a certain age. “They ask, ‘Why bother? It’s not like you’re going to be stars,’” Martz says. “Well, that was never even remotely a goal—so if that’s your yardstick, fine, you’re right, and this record won’t signify anything to you.

“But the music still exists, so maybe the accuracy of your yardstick needs to be checked.”

For the band’s members, even the meaning of their name has evolved over time. “When we started, our neighbors used to call our practices ‘the long afternoon,’ and that was a good joke,” Martz says. “Ex-girlfriends thought we named the band after time we spent with them. Our friends who dug acid thought the name referred to tripping, and that’s a good joke. Now that we’re older, ‘The Long Afternoon’ can refer to middle age, too. Some of us never thought we’d be alive this long, so that’s the best joke of all.”

Still reclusive after all these years, The Long Afternoon almost never plays live, although Martz occasionally plays Long Afternoon material in solo shows. And although the end of the CD era and the rise of “free” music on the Internet compels most artists to step up their live performances, the Long Afternoon has no plans to do anything other than issue recorded statements as situations warrant. The band’s goals never encompassed concepts like sustaining a career or even making fans. “We make music because we have to, and when other people like it, that’s a bonus.”

Martz and his fellow musicians are currently at work on follow-up projects to “Signifying Nothing,” including an instrumental soundtrack for exercise classes and the third Long Afternoon album. They are deeply grateful for the opportunity to spend part of their lives creating music, and twice as grateful to those who listen to the music they create.