BAND HISTORY
Once upon a time, there were three boys who lived in Shepparton,
by the names of Adam Donovan, Glenn Richards, and David Williams. In fact,
Adam and David were separated by no more than a back fence, and have continued
this trend by now sharing a house in Melbourne. However, that's not the
whole story.
Augie March began in February 1996 when Adam, Glenn and Dave
met up at the Punters Club in Melbourne. Glenn had just begun writing lyrics,
and they decided to create a band. After they asked Edmond join, they even
had a bass guitarist. The name Augie March, a Saul Bellows character, was
suggested and accepted. The first songs they performed were actually the
first songs that Glenn wrote. Soon, they had a record company, having signed
with Ra Records (You Am I, Mark of Cain). Eventually, after working with
Victor Van Vugt (Beth Orton, Nick Cave), they even had a debut EP, Thanks
For The Memes, released in January 1998, with Century Son finding some
airplay and being made into a video clip. Future Seal, the last track from
that EP, has become a crowd favourite, still requested at every gig, though
played rarely.
Later in 1998, they began recording their second EP, Waltz,
with Richard Pleasance. Meanwhile, Grant Lee Phillips heard a pre-release
version, and immediately invited the guys to tour with them around Australia.
Waltz was released February 1999, and is gradually making its way into
many homes and CD players. The first track, Asleep In Perfection, has had
extensive airplay on Triple J, and the fans are gathering. Augie March
spent most of 1999 touring - they supported Something For Kate on
their recent tour (with Paul Dempsey one of their foremost fans), as well
as doing their own thang in a tour down the East Coast, not to mention
support for acts including Died Pretty, The Whitlams, and Alex Lloyd, and
tour spots at the Big Day Out and Meredith Festival.
The first half of 2000 has been spent mainly recording the
new album, which is titled Sunset Studies (also one of the songs which
appears on the album). In July, the new single, The Hole In Your
Roof, was launched with great success in Sydney and Melbourne.
The album was released late 2000 to critical acclaim and
as an increasing number of discerning listeners picked up on the beauty
which is Augie, the band found their shows selling out, and themselves
in demand by the media and punters. As they went a-touring again in the
second half of 2000 in Sydney and Melbourne particularly, Rob Dawson became
the fifth member of the band. Rob 'Awesome' Dawson, a long-time friend
of Glenn's, had worked sporadically with the band since their first EP
Thanks For The Memes (remember the scuba piano?) and contributed to a large
portion of Sunset Studies, including a major role on There Is No Such Place,
which quickly became a fan favourite with its deceptive simplicity and
slowly flowing piano arpeggios underlaying Glenn's sweet and melancholy
vocals.
However, even as Augie found itself on a roll with a series
of festival and pub gigs, tragedy struck at the beginning of 2001.
Rob was killed in an accident just after New Year's. The band chose the
'climbing back on the horse' option, and after a short break, quickly resumed
their touring, with gigs at the Big Day Out and the Victorian Arts Centre.
'There Is No Such Place' was since announced as the next single of the
album; the video clip is a visual tribute to Rob, with footage taken from
band and fan footage of Rob taken at various gigs, and the single will
also be dedicated to Rob.
The band are currently touring around Australia with a tight
and polished set, having sold out shows in Queensland, Victoria and Perth
(where an extra show has been added due to demand) already. It remains
to be seen what is next...
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