by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
What: ASG and Year Long Disaster
When: January 8th @ 8 pm
Where: Landshark Café
ASG has grown up a lot as a band since they first started. The initials, in case you’re wondering, stand for the Amplification of Self-Gratification, which is also the title of their first album. Musically, they’ve gotten more polished and skilled, as is evidenced by their newest album, Win Us Over.
EU spoke to ASG front man Jason Shi about the band’s past and present.
“I think that the band has grown up a lot since our first album…We finally have more of a sense of direction than when we first started,” says Shi.
In fact, it’s difficult for the self-critical Shi to even listen to their early stuff, because he can hear “all the mistakes.” Despite their lack of perfect technical mastery on the first album, the spirit of the music got them tied to a label within a year.
In the first album, he says he had more of a tendency to yell, because they had the idea that they wanted to be hardcore. As they’ve gotten more comfortable with playing, they’ve calmed down some, into the stoner-esque hard rock they are today. Their sound is a blend of southern rock, metal and punk rock with just a little grunge. It’s music that rocks out, but is still chill, with killer guitars. Of the current sound, Shi says that “there’s a little bit more melody,” on the band’s latest cut than there was in the early days.
ASG formed in 2001, recording their first album the following year. They signed on with Volcom and went on tour to promote their album. They played the ‘04 Warped Tour and have done several national tours. Many of their tracks have made it to TV as background music for MTV shows, such as Viva La Bam. You’ll also find them as background on skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing videos. They’ve released an album every other year since they started, although the first two albums feature many of the same songs.
ASG is out of North Carolina, in a music scene that has grown considerably since the band first hit the stage.
“When we first started, as far as places to play or other bands coming through town, we weren’t getting new music…There was one little hole-in-the-wall…It was a hardcore Southern kind of place, so that’s what people did…Now, six years later, there’s five or six places to play and we’ve got national…[tours] coming through.”
The band was originally intended to be instrumental, as none of the band members really wanted to sing lead. They searched for a singer but eventually gave up and guitarist Jason Shi bravely took up the microphone.
“We never really liked the idea of a lead singer, but it kind of evolved over time…I was very reluctant…I enjoy it now, more than I used to.”
They’re a seasoned band now, as far as touring is concerned, but Shi recalls when their label had them hit the road to promote their album.
“We all quit our jobs…we hadn’t really toured legitimately, just locally…aw man, we were like fish out of water…but we learned…and since then we’ve never really stopped [touring]…since then it’s six months in a van every year.”
While the CDs of ASG are pretty rockin’ we’ve heard that their live performances aren’t to be missed. They’ve been a band that toured almost from the beginning of their career and they invest a lot of themselves in their performance. They’ve picked up a second guitar, so you’ll get dual guitar action in the form of Jason Shi and their second guitarist, Jonah Citty.
You can catch them live at the Landshark Café, along with Year Long Disaster on January 8th at 8 pm. If you want to take a listen to ASG before you go, take a look at their MySpace page at myspace.com/asgmusic.
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