Top

BIO

Assuage is the culmination of where it’s individual elements stand in understanding life. It was spawned in experiences and incidents occurring all over the world, but really grew legs in the shadows of the Colorado Rockies. It was named and purposed by Chau, fretted over and nurtured by Kevin, given fresh vitality by Chris and now survives off of our synergistic energies.

All members of the band had been happily exploring and creating music independently before ever being aware of each others existence. Then one fateful summer Kevin and Chau had a happenstance encounter. They talked music and Chau promptly showed Kevin one of her piano compositions, asking him to collaborate on it with her. Kevin quickly realized that Chau was not the usual. Although not properly band mates until Assuage was formed later, Kevin and Chau continued to share and work on musical and miscellaneous ideas together throughout the years.

Sometime later, Kevin was invited to play bass in local hardcore band Where Memories Fade, which was co-founded and kept in time by a young, sprightly Chris. WMF had been around for a few years before and Kevin was shown video of a live performance by singer and mutual friend Coby. The band had just lost their bassist so Kevin offered to try out; debauchery ensued. Incidentally, a WMF show is where Chau and Chris first met after Chau decided to stop by and see what Kevin had been up to musically. After the dissolution of WMF Chris continued on with other WMF members to form After the Murder. Kevin and Coby continued to collabor-ape on different projects. Everybody still met up to jam and party on the side.

Within the year Coby and Kevin moved to San Diego and for about 2 years there was no real news to speak of. Chris continued to play in a variety of projects and general jam sessions. In the down time Kevin scoured the coast for inspiration, concocting melodies and musical ideas along the way. Upon returning to Colorado Kevin and Chau began to collaborate again. Having composed a relatively large sum of music in his wanderings Kevin reconnected with an older, but still surprisingly sprightly, Chris and the two of them started getting together intermittently to shred and practice the compositions (but mostly just to shred).

Upon graduating from school Chris moved from one side of town right past Kevin to the other side of town, equally far away, but still the shredding intensified. They decided to start hunting for other “band members” to continue what had already been started. Their search was met with little success. After becoming a backing band for endless noodling guitar jams, accusations of sounding emo, come-and-go musical acquaintances, and the recent departure of their short-time bassist, Kevin pleaded with Chau to fill the then two-piece band’s collective bottom end with her third piece. Luckily Chau brought ten fingers to the table.

Since then the band has been honing its crapft and working on its debut EP, bringing us to the present. All members dancing with themselves no longer, bottom ends firmly in tact and tight as ever, and with shred reaching nearly face-melting temperatures, Assuage is poised to make the splash of an Olympic diver and ready to conquer the charts with their trademark style of blending-the-best-of-all-genres-then-stringing-them-together-thus-making-them-totally-un-listenable-to-and-equally-unmarketable. Folks, Assuage has arrived and they are showing no signs of slowing down… how could they? They weren’t moving anywhere to begin with.

Meet the team

  • Chris

    Battery and Sonic Assualt

    I began playing drums back in 2004, when I started exploring my kit and taking lessons. I've been influenced by hip hop and rock n roll since I was a kid, but in my teenage years I was highly influenced by heavy metal. From an early age I began playing in a couple of hardcore and death metal outfits from 2004-2007, becoming exposed to the live music scene in Denver. Upon moving to Boulder for school I developed a deep connection with jazz, and after hearing some jazz-influenced metal music I discovered the reach that jazz had into modern styles such as hip hop and drum n bass. Since then I have been delving into different areas of percussion and rhythm, constantly exploring the fusion of different styles and genres.

  • Chau

    Tones and Soulful Groans

    Music, science, math, animals, and art have always played a big role in my life. At an early age the first instrument that ever reached my arms was the violin and that was the start of my musical journey. From that moment on I have always been inspired and intrigued by music. It was always so intimate to play with others because it was a form of communication beyond words. The violin led me to learn how to sing and play the piano. It also initiated an inspiration for me to compose music during my adolescent years. I am sincerely an avid supporter for creativity and a better understanding of the world. I am thankful that music has become integrated into my life as it will always have something to teach me, be around to comfort me as I age, and bring people together.

  • Kevin

    Strings and Various Things

    Music and Art have been in my mind since I have possessed a mind. Life simply has not existed separate of them. Piano lessons were my introduction to the form and figure of music. Punk rock and hardcore changed the game- words meant something, actions were an honest representation of your soul, and dedication was the only requirement to participate. Drums were in, bass and guitar followed shortly after. Heavy metal furthered my aural explorations and sustained my musical ambitions, rounding out the solid backbone of my musings and consuming my life in flames ever since. All the while Rock n' Roll, Classical, and Soul music jockeyed for limited listening time. Jazz, World, and Electronica have since rooted themselves to me as well. Currently the pursuit of intoxicating original music, language, and arrangements of physical mediums is where I seek (and sometimes find) joy. It is where personal understanding of the world around me is glimpsed, but never completely attained. For my part, Assuage isn't just a band or an art project, but a vehicle for perception and a way to transmit what I think I have learned back to the endless void which someday will engulf us all. Nature is understanding evolving towards perfection, we are trying to keep pace. Sound is the amorphous zen-perfect representation of a dynamic world, syntax made to be broken. I thank my parents for immersing me in music and my band mates for sharing in it.