Late Night Lowlights

Today we’d like to introduce you to Late Night Lowlights.

Hi Late Night Lowlights, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Our drummer, Gabe, lives in Garner with his beautiful wife and daughter, while Keyboardist Michael and Bassist Aaron reside in Durham and Briar Creek respectively. We perform primarily in Raleigh and Durham and are open to playing wherever we can book a show.

We were three strangers connected solely by the common urge to make music. We found deliverance in a website notorious for scams, stalkers, assault, and in some cases, murder – Craigslist, but miraculously, things worked out for the better. Little did we know that taking that risk would lead to the formation of the doom jazz trio we self-proclaimed as Late Night Lowlights, but more importantly, that chance meeting of three like-minded yet starkly different individuals led to a friendship built on the mutual love of music and the constantly ever-growing love of fun, comradery, and life.

Gabe is a professional illustrator that makes comics, kids’ books, and board games. He started drums as a teenager with a repertoire influenced by heavy metal, progressive metal, and marching percussion. If you want to see Gabe’s brain smoke and fry, ask him to choose whether he loves his wife, daughter, or music more.

Michael grew up in Sunny San Diego but ditched his charmed life of authentic Mexican food, perfect year-round weather, and a twenty-minute drive to the beach to pursue a career in science on the East Coast. As a ballroom dancer, rock climber, piano teacher, and scientist, Michael takes advantage of everything life has to offer, and that definitely includes forming a band with strangers he met online.

Aaron was the mastermind behind Late Night Lowlights. As someone who has been playing in other peoples’ bands for a while, he decided it was time for his own band and crafted the perfect Craigslist ad to bring Gabe and Michael together and we just clicked instantly. His bass playing is second to none, but what’s even more impressive is the level of charisma and charm his personality exudes on and off the stage.

An unlikely trio blossomed from the minds of Aaron Mack, Gabriel Dunston, and Michael Pham, and we’ve been cultivating our sound, brand, and endeavors by collaborating with local musicians, sharing our original music with the public, and enjoying the company of fantastic artists, dancers, parents, families, kids, business owners, and genuinely amazing people across the board.

More recent additions to the band are Jessica (Jess) Mohr on baritone sax and Nicholas Lira on the alto sax. Jess was Aaron’s dance teacher and realtor for the land buy (https://www.r-i-r.com/), and Nicholas was Gabe’s neighbor and a multi-instrumentalist who performs in multiple different bands, a true professor of music (https://nicolaslira.com/bio). When they came over to jam, they fell in line well, and we feature them whenever we can.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Musically and personality-wise, the three of us meshed so naturally, hence why our first album is called, “The Natural Thing”. Michael is a tune-writing machine and an intuitive improviser, while Aaron boasts a flexible technique and beautiful bass tone that add a layer of intrigue to every song. No one is harder on Gabe’s drumming than Gabe, but that perfectionism mindset leads to precise drumbeats and rhythms that make it so easy to play over.

One thing people should know about being in a band is that there’s so. Much. Practice. And not just regarding our instruments or songs, but also practice with stage transitioning, stage presence, crowd interaction, equipment set up and break down, time management, and booking gigs. Finding time to do all the above on top of our full-time jobs is a herculean task. But every struggle is worth it.

The road to musical stardom, which is an ongoing trek, hasn’t always been the smoothest, but when you have bandmates that empathize with the setbacks and support one another in all aspects of the journey, it doesn’t matter what the road looks like. Our first live performance was a living room concert that lasted a little over half an hour surrounded by friends and family.

Now we’re getting booked to play paid three hour gigs at farms, breweries, social events, restaurants, and bars in front of hundreds of people on a monthly basis. We recorded, mastered, and released an album all on our own, and we’ve befriended other local bands and recruited other musicians to play with us and it has been so indescribably fun.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We identify as artists and creators, but we strongly believe there’s science in art and, likewise, art in science. You can hear it in our ability to listen, experiment, and be open to new ideas and directions when songwriting. We have an analytical pattern-recognizing aspect that helps us chart out new songs quickly and intuitively hear what works and doesn’t work melodiously, harmonically, and rhythmically.

Our sound is an amalgamation of science and creativity; despite having no lyrics, as of yet, the thematic elements we try to express in our original works attempt to convey an expression that is unique and original, mathematically pleasant to the ear, and a representation of our collaborative minds and experiences.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Gabe was an energetic, enthusiastic kid who had a deep lust for life. His older siblings exposed him to all kinds of cool stuff that other kids his age didn’t know about like cult movies, comics, and music. He was a nerd to the nth degree and he never lets his bandmates forget it.

Michael spent most of his childhood passively cruising through life, going with the flow, and absorbing that San Diego vibe. As a marginally above average student with few hobbies and even fewer friends, his blasé attitude was enough to just survive. When he moved to Durham, however, he started to live. Michael started taking a proactive stance on life which led him to amazing opportunities and unforgettable experiences, like co-founding a band.

Aaron was a goofy, slightly shy, smart, long-haired jock kid that liked to joke around, loved to play and see music, and was always down to party. He’s still the same fun-loving dude, but the long hair has moved around, and he’s had a lot more experience with work, love, and life that has tempered his soul. We’re all still growing, starting new adventures, and molding ourselves into people with fulfilled lives.

We might identify as musicians, but at our very core, we’re just people who just like banging and beating on things that make noise. We just make noise together, sometimes people come to listen to our noise.

Contact Info:

Email: latenightlowlights@gmail.com
Website: https://linktr.ee/latenightlowlights
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenightlowlights/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Musician-Band/Late-Night-Lowlights-2149198838468314/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdLZuvMv-btkr2EcA3Cfd6w
SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/album/3oKU8z5NEMXSkkiMDhWmi5
Other: https://latenightlowlights.bandcamp.com/releases - Voyager Magazine