Augie March started in and around Collingwood, Melbourne in late 1995. Three members were originally from Shepparton in central Victoria - Adam Donovan and Dave Williams grew up sharing a back fence, while Glenn Richards lived on the edge of that town. Edmondo Ammendola was studying music with Adam and Dave in Collingwood and was quickly recruited into their fledgling band. Their very first gig was for a friend’s art exhibition at a gallery. Before long, they recorded some of Glenn’s original songs, started playing in pubs and attracting the rapt attention of fans and music industry types.
Over the following thirteen years or so - after picking up Kiernan Box along the way - their unique, much-loved music took them on an eventful journey across the planet from Darwin to Brixton to Greenville and back, with a fair share of triumph and tragedy along the way.
They are regularly touted as one of Australia’s ‘greatest’ or ‘finest’ bands; albums and songs make ‘best ever’ lists. Their songs get played at weddings, and at funerals. Children have been named after them, and the characters in their songs.
Their music is impossible to categorise; they have traditional elements at times then get wildly avant garde at others. They are that rarest of bands that have both critical and commercial success - at times their songs have been on almost every radio format in the country - with gold and platinum albums to their credit, yet they remain perennial outsiders.
In 2009, after a period of commercial success, the band - for a variety of reasons - ceased enjoying being Augie March, and decided to take an indefinite break. That break ended up lasting five years.
