What is Augie March?
1.
Augie March is an awesome Australian band which consists of Glenn Richards (singer/songwriter/guitar ist), David Williams (drummer), Kiernan Box (keyboardist), Adam Donovan (guitarist), and Edmondo Ammendola (bassist). The band began in 1996 and comes from Melbourne, Australia. 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 reflected Richards' own song writing style.
In 1998, the band was signed to Ra Records where, over the following year, they 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 were working on their first full length album.
Sunset Studies was released in 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.
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 were 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 their second single from Moo, You Bloody Choir "The Cold Acre". The singles have been released sparsely apart with the second single being 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.
Albums -
"Sunset Studies" - released in 2000 - BMG Australia
"Strange Bird" - released in 2002 - BMG Australia
"Moo, You Bloody Choir" - released in 2006 - Sony BMG
EPs-
Thanks for the Memes (BMG Australia, 1998)
Waltz (BMG Australia, 1999)
Singles-
"The Mothball" (BMG Australia, 1999)
"Heartbeat and Sails" (BMG Australia, 2000)
"The Hole in Your Roof" (BMG Australia, 2000) - #56 Australia
"There Is No Such Place" (BMG Australia, 2001)
"Here Comes the Night" (BMG Australia, 2001) - #72 Australia
"The Vineyard" (BMG Australia, 2002)
"Little Wonder" (BMG Australia, 2003) - #75 Australia
"One Crowded Hour" (Sony BMG, 2006) - #29 Australia
DVDs -
Drones & Vapid Ditties
Augie March's "One Crowded Hour" would have to be one of my all time favourite songs. They have such an excellent sound and style - i love them!
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