Augie March were recently in Adelaide for their first ever
headlining gig in that city, and I had the extreme pleasure of talking
to Adam Donovan. It went a little something like this:
Augie March are a band that like to stretch the boundaries
and defy genres: lo-fi, post rock, spacious, art noise, alliteration, a
willingness to experiment and let the music grow into itself. Then there
are the marvellous vocal abilities of Glenn Richards and the equally impressive
backing vocals of David Williams. Add into that equation antiquated instruments
that can be, dare I say it, unreliable - these are the sum parts that make
the whole of Augie March. This is a band you see on stage wearing flannel
shirts and *shock horror* facial hair and yet you can sit in front of the
stage and not have to beware of crowd surfers or a rowdy mosh. This is
a band which prompted such hometown patriotism from a reviewer that they
felt compelled to claim that Augie March could only have come from Melbourne.
Much as they love Melbourne, this simply is not true, but these are the
idiosyncrasies and differences that we thrive on. But I digress....
Augie March were born in rural Victoria four years
ago when singer/guitarist Glenn Richards approached some other local musicians
to bring to life some songs he had written. These other musicians were
Adam Donovan on guitar, Edmond Ammendola on bass and David Williams on
drums, each individual bringing their own influences and styles to the
group. Recent tour music includes such diversity as Billy Bragg & Wilco's
Mermaid Avenue and Sydney jazz band The Necks. Also brought into the group
were each individual's special talents, dirty jokes being a common denominator,
and dishwashing an apparent speciality of David's.
Augie March forged their own path in the music industry,
making mistakes yet persevering, with their first EP, Thanks for the
Memes, released in 1997. The band confesses that they were eager to
get a recording out, so the EP was basically recorded live with amp volumes
set high. Despite being new to the game and having received little to no
significant advice from other bands, this EP is not something that the
band should be ashamed of and has been a wonderful stepping stone for the
band, even having been claimed that it is a "Good document of a young band".
The band then approached the recording of the second EP, Waltz (released
1999), in an entirely different manner, taking their time, bringing in
a wider array of instruments (mandolin, dobro, foot tambourine, piano and
banjo) and yet also finding more space in their music. It is also evident
on this EP that Glenn came of age with regard to his vocal abilities, and
with many forays into the upper register come the inevitable Jeff Buckley
comparisons,
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which are not undeserving for the whole band with their songs
being expressive without compromising their musical nature, as opposed
to artists who are expressive but not necessarily musical.
With these groundings, it came as no surprise for fans when
the band obtained the national support slot to Grant Lee Buffalo at his
request, and then stitched up the support slot to Something For Kate's
recent Mechanical Sharks tour as early as January this year. "Paul Dempsey
is our biggest PR..... He plugs us in a lot of their interviews," states
Adam. Touring is not the big excitement that people may think, with all
day spent in anticipation, often while sitting in their hotels, of the
one hour that they are on stage. One highlight of any Augie March set is
the rather minimal lighting. They eschew the traditional lighting rigs,
claiming they are "too harsh" and instead opt for 3-4 generally artfully
placed lamps (I say generally because on their recent support of Alien
Dave in Adelaide, David had the misfortune to lose both the lamp nearest
to him resting on top of an amp, and one of his drums also toppled over).
But there have even been problems with the lamps or their operators; at
one gig there was a fader switch available for the lamps with the lighting
guy "getting carried away and he started to flash the lights" recounts
Adam, producing almost a strobe effect.
Increased support from the nation's youth radio network, Triple
J, has meant that the band's recordings have now become available in stores
that would be considered by most people to be mainstream, instead of solely
available from independent stores. This support from Triple J has culminated
in high rotation for the current single, 'Asleep in Perfection', and recent
appearances on both the Breakfast Show with Adam Spencer and a Live At
The Wireless set. The lack of airplay on commercial radio stations does
not really bother the band overly, knowing that commercial stations have
a different agenda than that of getting new music over the airwaves. And
seriously, would you want to lump them in with the Human Natures and Mariah
Careys of the world?
Currently on a semi-national tour, travelling to new states
then returning to Melbourne, then going to more wondrous places, once finished
the band will head into the studio, around December-January, which will
probably stretch to February-March to record their first full length CD,
including some materials that fans have been privileged to experience live
in recent sets. I, for one, cannot wait for that release. This is a band
that I would urge all lovers of music to catch on the rise, for I think,
and hope, that they will go a long way.
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