Beneath Augusta

After spending several summertime nights out on patios discussing how we, Matt and Michael, would go about assembling the new band. Enter Clay Jones. We met Clay (on a patio strangely enough) through mutual friends and discovered that he was a bass player/drummer. We found that he shared similar musical interests and the question was put forth as to whether he wanted to join a band, to which Clay responded "Yes, and I want to play bass."

Feeling somewhat buoyed by the ease of the recruiting experience, we went out in pursuit of a drummer. Enter Todd Knapp. Todd had heard through the grapevine that we were looking for someone and was quick to respond, and though we couldn¹t promise him a luxurious life playing jazz on the Mediterranean coast, he decided to participate regardless.

After a few months of rehearsing and writing we found ourselves onstage at the El Mocambo playing our first show. Whilst enjoying some post show social activity, I was approached by the suitably named Searaig Hopgood. He had just moved to Toronto from Sault Ste. Marie and was an organ/piano/keys player who expressed an interest in joining the group. After conducting several background checks and testing his drinking stamina we concluded that he would fit nicely into the fold. This would be the beginning of Beneath Augusta.

In Feburary of 2004 we set off to England and Scotland for a two-week tour, road testing the new material to an appreciative crowd and securing a distribution deal in the UK with Shellshock. Upon our return the band woodsheded for two months, writing and refining what would become our debut album You Gotta Come Down Sometime (Aporia), recorded with Rudy Rempel at Toronto¹s Chemical Sound. The result is a collection of ten songs that incorporate many aspects of the band¹s evolving sound. Though somewhat melancholic at times, the music still retains glimmers of optimism. The sound has been described as being textural, melodic music with a driving sense of urgency.

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