Augie March

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This article is about the Australian rock band. For the book by Saul Bellow, see The Adventures of Augie March.
Augie March
Augie March on stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival on 5 October 2007
Augie March on stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival on 5 October 2007
Background information
Origin Melbourne, Australia
Genre(s) Indie Rock
Alternative pop
Pop Rock
Baroque Pop
Years active 1996–present
Label(s) Ra Records
Sony BMG
Website Official website
Members
Glenn Richards
David Williams
Adam Donovan
Edmondo Ammendola
Kiernan Box
Former members
Rob Dawson

Augie March is an Australian rock band. The group was formed in 1996, in Melbourne, Victoria, by singer/songwriter/guitarist Glenn Richards, drummer David Williams, guitarist Adam Donovan and bassist Edmondo Ammendola. Three of the band members hail from Shepparton in regional Victoria, the town famous for the processed fruit company SPC.

The group chose the name "Augie March" in reference to the book The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow, attributing the choice to the way in which Bellow's descriptive and poetic language dwarfed Richards' own songwriting style.

Contents

[edit] History

Augie March on stage at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena
Augie March on stage at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena

In 1998, the band was signed to Ra Records where, over the following year, it released two EPs. The latter, Waltz, gained the group moderate national attention, as well as a new record deal with BMG. Meanwhile, the band had expanded to include keyboardist Rob Dawson and was working on its first full length album.

Sunset Studies was released in late 2000 and was met by a rapidly growing fan-base in Australia, and good reviews, which typically commented on Richards' unique lyrical style. For this album they won the 2001 Engineer of the Year 2001 ARIA Award. The album spawned five singles, including the moderately successful "Asleep in Perfection" and "There Is No Such Place." Sadly however, on January 2, 2001, keyboardist Rob Dawson was killed in a car accident.

After some time apart, the band reformed with the addition of a new keyboardist, Kiernan Box. Augie March's second full length album Strange Bird was released in 2002, eventually being released in the US on the SpinArt label in 2004.

Augie March's latest album Moo, You Bloody Choir was originally due for release in September 2005 but was pushed to March 2006. An international release is likely to be delayed further. This decision has been made by the record company, Sony BMG, rather than the band itself. In early 2007, it was announced that the US distribution of the album, was to be handled by Jive/Zomba with a release date to be announced at a later date.

During this delay, singer Glenn Richards released a solo EP in November 2005 titled Closed Off, Cold & Bitter - Life As a Can of Beer under the name G.A. Richards and the Dark Satanic Mills Brothers. The EP is only available through Augie March's website and at Augie March shows.

On March 11, 2006, Moo, You Bloody Choir was released and debuted at #10 on the ARIA charts. The first single from the album, "One Crowded Hour", was released in April 2006.

In the same month, Moo, You Bloody Choir was announced by youth radio station Triple J as the year's first nominee for the prestigious J Award.

Later that year, Augie March was nominated for four ARIA Awards:

  • Album of the Year for Moo, You Bloody Choir
  • Single of the Year for "One Crowded Hour"
  • Best Group
  • Best Rock album. [1]

In November Augie March released its second single from Moo, You Bloody Choir "The Cold Acre". The singles were released gradually; the second single was released eight months after "One Crowded Hour".

On January 26, 2007, "One Crowded Hour" was voted #1 on Australian radio station Triple J's annual Hottest 100 countdown for 2006 - the most voted public song poll in the world. On March 7, 2007 the band won the 2006 Australian Music Prize.

Augie March played as support act for the reformed Crowded House Australian tour in late 2007.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

  • Heartbeat and Sails; b/w (BMG Australia, 2000)
  • The Hole in Your Roof (single edit); b/w 300 Nights; Tasman Awakens (Demo); Lazy Pines (BMG Australia, 2000) - #56 Australia
  • There Is No Such Place; promo (BMG Australia, 2001)
  • Here Comes the Night; b/w Heartbeat and Sails (Alternate Mix); Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun) (Live); Reptile (live Church cover); Nagambie River Wine Song - (BMG Australia, 2001) - #72 Australia
  • The Vineyard; b/w Difficult Stuff (demo); Addle Brains (demo); Sunday Morning Records (demo); Driving On Paradise (demo) - (BMG Australia, 2002) - #31, ARIA Singles Charts (BMG Australia, 2003) - #75 Australia
  • Little Wonder; b/w Strange Visitors; Tulip (live); Future Seal (live) (BMG Australia, 2003) - #75 Australia
  • One Crowded Hour: (single mix); b/w There Is No Such Place (acoustic); Passed Out In Clarkefiled (acoustic); Asleep in Perfection (acoustic); Clockwork (Acoustic)(Sony BMG, 2006 - #29, ARIA Singles Chart
  • The Cold Acre (Sony BMG, 2006)

[edit] Other Appearances

  • Push Predictions (Juggernaut Boy)
  • Corroboration (Minister For Planets) by Augie March, Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter
  • The Power and the Passion, Songs of Midnight Oil (Beds are Burning)
  • Cannot Buy My Soul, Songs of Kev Carmody (Droving Woman)
  • Write Your Adventures Down, Tribute to The Go Betweens (The House Jack Kerouac Built, People Say) vocals by Glenn Richards
  • Live at The Chapel DVD vol 2 (There is No Such Place, The Cold Acre)
  • Standing on the Outside, Songs of Cold Chisel (Janelle)

[edit] DVDs

    • Drones & Vapid Ditties

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Augie March
Glenn Richards · Adam Donovan · David Williams · Edmondo Ammendola · Kiernan Box · Rob Dawson (former)
Albums
Singles
"Heartbeat and Sails" · "The Hole in Your Roof" · "There Is No Such Place" · "Here Comes the Night" · "The Vineyard" · "Little Wonder" · "One Crowded Hour" · "The Cold Acre"