Epic Dust - Grand Finale!!!


After almost two years of working on the great enigmatic extravaganza that is Epic Dust, (Darin's episodic film project of stylized westerns) we held our grand finale night of celebration and film viewing Friday night June 8.

you can trace its conception and growth through my blog!

The night was a roaring success and many a rowdy soul shed a tear or two that night.
This has been a truly communal and collaborative project full of the most whirling assortment of fun times, field romps, and adventures.


i was so very proud of my husband that night.
getting ready for this big night, he worked tirelessly day in and day out. the film shoots were the fun part.
it was the endless hours of editing, the music mastering, the phone calls, the computer crises, the dvd creating, the photoshopping, the researching and exporting and recording and projector-checking and all the other weird little details that come with being a totally independent filmmaker.
the tasks he had to finalize in the last week seemed humanly impossible.
and yet he pulled it all together with pizzazz and energy and love. 
cause he is a dreamer and a wizard and an artist.

nick and jamie were always his best comrades. epic dust heroes!

zack pangborn created the dvd cover / poster that would encapsulate this grand project.
(photo courtesy of katie garwood, em's cousin) 

darin is a wise man. he believes that digital media is not enough, that downloading tracks or episodes online does not bring a community together. so we put together real cds and dvds and posters like the good old 90's....something you can take with you, hold in your hand, watch, remember, and keep.



and there were also plenty of moments that you simply had to experience in the flesh.
the crowd was crazy this night. the doors opened at 8 and every seat immediately filled. this old-timey upstairs historic room was hot and wild with anticipation, a tiny juney breeze came in through the open window (that's where i sat!) and everyone was loud and ready to laugh.


jorden and joey were our live musicians for the theatrical performance.

a ragtag acting troop: jamie and chloe take the stage. they WERE HILARIOUS....

...as was mikie, who came all the way up from LA to participate in the "traveling medicine man show" and be here for epic dust night. 


the actual screening of the films went so well. people really seemed to love them. darin talked a little about the whole process and what is has meant for him, and told some of his inspirations: Borges' The Universal History of Infamy and "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts" by de Quincey. the best part was when he talked about Billy the Kid a little bit and told about some scenes that never made it into the movie. I was tearing up, as shots from the films crossed the big screen behind him and he spoke of a rebel and the complexities of life and i saw my friends and loved ones creating art in moments captured in time. 

then, darin and joey's band Dark River, with Em at the mike, sang the most haunting rendition of one of my favorite songs, "Billy" by Bob Dylan from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, my favorite soundtrack ever.



(video courtesy of katie garwood)


after the films there was a wild sense of celebration. people were congratulating darin (and me, and the actors) like you wouldn't believe. we were giving out the dvd to the big kickstarter contributors and i had made a photo album of epic dust memories that made nick cry. 




doniella and carolann and suzanne all came up from the city.
i was so overwhelmed with people to greet and chat with that i barely got to see them that night but i had a beautiful day with them the next day for my shower (coming soon!)

i love epic dust nights cause everybody has an excuse to get a little gussied up.
bridget had the prettiest velvet and muslin prairie dress, and em wore one of my calico sundresses.

amber came with mikie from LA! she looked so adorable in her Gunne skirt and black corset top.

Jen and Monique hanging out after the show.... don't you think Monique's pale rose burlesque dress took the cake?!


sibling love.

darin and suzanne:

chelsea, perched elfin-like.

i hung out till almost 1 a.m! rather a late night for me these days.
everyone else stayed even later, drinking and dancing to savage garden and nsync and basking in the glow of great friends and homegrown artistic inspiration.



 if you are curious about epic dust or want to view the episodes, you can head over to epicdust.com. also, we are going to try to put some dvds and soundtrack cds up for sale on that website soon, and possibly even here at my blog, so check back!

Comments

ashley said…
Such a fun night! Loved the films and the energy- so did my little niece that I brought along. It was getting a little late for her, so I had to jet out of there, but I really with I got to hang late with you, since I had to work on your shower day too! Boo. You were radiant in that red dress, and I love love love Adies little peachy number too. Such beautiful and talented family and friends. Congrats again, doubly!
Heather said…
Wow Heather that is so cool I will head over to epic dust to check it out. Looks like a wonderful success!! What a blessing to have friends to celebrate with ~thanks for sharing with us xx Heather
red moon arrow said…
what a treat to see you this past weekend! I absolutely LOVED your little baby necklace all wrapped up in it's bundle of goodness. Thanks for sharing it's story about the artist. Epic Dust was so awesome and my friends that came from Sacramento really enjoyed it. In fact my friend's boyfriend got all teary eyed when Emily sang that beautiful song. It blows my mind every time I visit home, to see how much amazing creative and unique talent is nestled into such a cute little gold rush town as placerville. My heart is already homesick. looking forward to another great visit in the near future. See you soon!!!
Missa said…
What an amazing night! Epic indeed :) What a huge accomplishment for Darin and all y'all who worked so hard on the project, congrats congrats! The sense of community you folks have going there is so inspiring and the excitement of the evening really shines through in your post, very cool.
Cel said…
Wow, I can't believe it's been two years and that things are finally done and complete. Seems like yesterday when you were asking for help to get things started. You can bet I'd happily buy up DVD copies if they were available, I'll have to keep my eyes pealed so I don't miss out on that.
Milla said…
Ooh! I wanna definitely get mah copy. And If ya'll ever make it up here, I'd love to do somekinda showing of it. We need more movie nights. Darin is such an inspiration to me right now, what a dynamic guy. For the last few years after graduation, I've been so bummed about movies and now I'm starting to get a little bit into them again and definitely look to this kind of awesome indie-filmmakin' for inspiration. Congrats to our here and his tireless crew!
Amy Beatty said…
I can't wait to get our copy in the mail and watch the whole thing over and over again. I love that top pic of you and em in your reds. my lovely gals. in fact, everyone was looking extra awesome. I wish, I didn't have to keep on wishing that I was there. But the truth hurts. I wish I could have seen jamie and Mikie!!! I love that katie took that video. You all blow my tiny mind away. I also love zachs art work for it. it has all come together and I don't want it to be over. Darin!! the man with the brilliant vision. I LOVED what you called him - a dreamer, wizard and artist! too true. you two make a dynamic team!

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