8 Questions with Run On Sentence

contributor: Justin Parris – May 8, 2009

Run On Sentence, a.k.a Dustin Hamman, is one of the most prominent songwriters currently in Portland. He is on Hush Records and has played/toured with many of Portland’s best songwriters and musicians.

1. First off, what brought you to Portland and where were you before settling here?

Well, I was living in Missouri and moved to Portland in 2001. My friend Mike Apinyakul (aka Shoeshine Blue) had moved here and had a free sofa for sleeping on. We had grand ideas of starting bands and record labels and things together so I moved here… when I got here, after overstaying my welcome on the sofa, we mostly we mopped floors and drank beer out of paper cups.

2. What were your first projects when you came to Portland and what was the process or journey that’s taken you to where you’re at now?

Mike and I played together some but mostly I was just playing as Dustin Hamman. We started a small collective “label” called Cornwhiskey Records and released a sampler album. The John Wayne Samurais were on there (Shawn Mclain from that band would later become part of Shoeshine Blue) and so was Nervous Rex (aka. Rex Marshall, aka “Mattress”)… Mike and I would scope out open mics and find these guys and ask them to join us… it was a lot of fun!
I later collaborated with Ali Ippolito on some songs and we recorded a few tracks with Mike and Shawn as “A Song for Spinner” (I forced the name on them).

Right after we recorded those songs I moved to Florida for 3 months to get away from a bad relationship and clear my head. Down there I realized that I had not been myself for most of my life. I stopped trying to sound like other people and just opened up and sang as hard as I could. I picked up some Latin rhythms in the nightclubs in Tampa and when I’d had just about all the debauchery and ignorance I could handle, I joined Americorps and moved back to Portland to become Run On Sentence.

3. You’re on Hush Records with people that play with you like Nick Jaina and Loch Lomond. Did you know any of the Hush artists before becoming or did you meet them after and what are the differences, for you, being signed to a label and not being signed?

Laura Gibson, I’d met at John Vecchiarelli’s open mic before she was even on Hush. I met Nick and Ritchie (Loch Lomond) a year or two later… I’d met Nick through Ali before, but it wasn’t until we started sharing a bass player that he remembered who I was. Then I asked him to come out to this show in the country and he came because he’d been advised to welcome new opportunities by a higher power (a fortune cookie?). Then I asked him to produce my record and he did and we ended up becoming friends and doing some touring together.
Somewhere in the middle I got to spend more time with Ritchie, whom I’d been going to see live since as long as I remember living in Portland. I’d first met him in passing when I’d congratulate him on good shows but eventually I got to know him a little more and I invited him to my birthday party. We had a hootenanny in my living room and shortly thereafter, Nick and I were on tour as part of Loch Lomond (a very short lived version of the band).

As far as being on a label, it’s not that much different really. When I first met with Chad he said something like, “I just want to help you do what you’re already doing”. I had talked to a couple of really small labels who presented these lofty ideas of catapulting their artists into stardom and it kinda grossed me out. Chad’s an honest guy with a lot of experience and so far, he has indeed been a tremendous help and a supportive friend.

4. You’ve been known to play all by your lonesome as well as with a carnival array of other performers. During your creative process do you write songs with an intention to include other parts or do the other parts grow from the music later?

There are wildflowers dying all around me as I write this and there are brand new ones poking their heads up in between… last month, as the balsam root and lupine began to flower, the poppies were just breaking the soil, and now their heads are bright and brilliant… there is a timing to it, but it’s woven together in ways that I cannot fully understand. I am so often distracted by what is in bloom, that I could not tell you when the next life began to grow underground or when the grassy shoots began to flower.

5. So Run On Sentence is obviously you, are there any permanent members, certain people that you always record with, or do you just throw up smoke signals and see who comes over to collaborate?

That’s also hard to say… Locally, there are quite a few folks who will show up if they’re around. It’s hard to get people out on the road though. Wylum Joersz and John Vecchiarelli were the original members besides myself. They both still play with us but they also have their own things going… Wylum doesn’t tour with us but John sometimes does. John Whaley is pretty permanent but also can’t always tour. John Reski plays at most of our local shows and did a few tour dates but he’s a doctor so he can’t really go on the road. Nick Jaina has become a somewhat of a regular as has Scott Magee but they are busy people… Nathan Langston and Jason Leonard will occasionally appear on stage… my favorite shows have usually been with bands who have never all practiced together in the same room.

6. Are there other projects that you’re currently working?

I’ve been singing with Neal Morgan as well as The Pancake Breakfast Singers.
I’m also in an improv project with my friend Travis… we’re called “TikiMouse” and I’m working on a solo thing called Whippoorwill.

7.At the moment Portland has a healthy amount of musicians and bands doing interesting and engaging things. Is there anyone you’re excited about or think people should give a listen?

Well, apart from all the people i’ve mentioned so far, and assuming that everyone in Portland already listens to The Builders and The Butchers, I’d say some of my favorite local bands that come to mind right now are Part Time Pony, Graves, Black Heart Moon, Hello Loneliness, Leonard Mynx, Andy Combs and the Moth, Bark Hide and Horn… I’m sure there are others and there are tons of bands I haven’t seen and therefore have no idea how much i would love them… it’s kind of overwhelming how much talent there is in Portland.

8. Finally, what is Run On Sentence up to these days and what’s going to be happening in the next few months?

We’re playing the Shoeshine Blue/Leonard Mynx CD release party at Mississippi Studios on Sunday May 24th with Nick Jaina. We’re also performing with The Portland Cello Project on June 12th at the Aladdin Theater and on the 13th in Eugene. Mostly I’ve been working in the garden and recording a new album which probably won’t come out until early next year.