ASG is an American

stoner metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

band signed to

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

, originating from

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. It is a four-piece band, with Jason Shi on vocals and guitar, Andy Ellis on bass, Scott Key on drums and Jonah Citty on guitar. The band has acquired an underground following, as a number of its songs have been featured in skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding videos.

Band

ASG started with the name All Systems Go in 2001, but shortened to the acronym ASG after a brief copyright issue with another band of the same name. Through the years the band has claimed in jest that 'ASG' has several alternate meanings, including "amplification of self gratification", "all systems gone", "anarchist school for girls" among others. ASG recorded and self released their debut album/demo in 2002 (later released by Volcom in 2005). Soon after in 2003 they signed with Volcom Entertainment In 2003, they released their first full-length with Volcom Entertainment, "The Amplification of Self-Gratification", and immediately began a tour to promote it, playing portions of the 2003 and 2004

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. After the '04 Vans Warped Tour, ASG went to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to record their 2nd Volcom release, '' Feeling Good is Good Enough'', produced by Matt Hyde. Shortly after completing '' Feeling Good is Good Enough'', second guitarist, Jonah Citty (formerly of the band Ergot), was added to help recreate the album's sounds live.Hatch, Shannon (2005-08-25).
Fresh off the Warped Tour, local rockers ASG 'Feeling Good' about upcoming new CD
, ''

Star-News ''Star-News'' is an American, English language daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area (known as the Lower Cape Fear). It is North Carolina's oldest newspaper in continuous publication. It was owned by Halifax Me ...

'', p. 10. John Staton of ''

'' called the album one of the ten best of 2005. In 2008 ASG released their fourth album, ''

Win Us Over ''Win Us Over'' is the fourth album by hard rock band ASG. The album was released on September 11, 2007. Track listing *All songs written and arranged by ASG. #"Right Death Before" (3:05) #"Dream Song" (3:50) #"Low End Insight" (4:20) #"Glow ...

'', which was again produced by

Matt Hyde Matt Hyde (born June 19, 1964) is an American producer, engineer, mixer and musician. From 1982 to 1985 he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. While still at Berklee in 1984, he obtained an internship at Pyramid Recording Studio in Bost ...

and features vocal guest,

Blag Dahlia Paul Cafaro (born May 8, 1966), known professionally as Blag Dahlia, is an American singer and record producer, best known as the vocalist for punk band Dwarves.Ritchie, Ryan (2007)Locals Only – Blood, Guts and Literacy: Blag Dahlia steps out ...

, on the track "Palm Springs". In June 2009, ASG released a split E.P. with Black Tusk entitled, "Low Country", that was recorded live at the Jam Room in Columbia, SC and was produced by Phillip Cope of

Kylesa Kylesa is an American heavy metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with heavy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former member ...

. The artwork for "Low Country" was done by

John Dyer Baizley John Dyer Baizley is an American musician and painter most notable for being the vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Savannah, Georgia heavy metal band Baroness. He has also achieved critical praise for his artworks, some of which have been incorpor ...

from

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...

. Tracks from ASG's albums have been played on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

shows, including

Viva La Bam ''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...

Rob & Big ''Rob & Big'' is an American reality television series following the lives of professional skateboarder, actor, and producer Rob Dyrdek and his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. It premiered on November 4, 2006, and co ...

, Living Lahaina,

Homewrecker A homewrecker (sometimes styled as home wrecker or home-wrecker) is a person, object or activity that causes or comes close to causing the breakup of a marriage (or similar partnership). The homewrecker is said to have taken one of the spouses ...

Bam's Unholy Union Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality ...

Road Rules/Real World Challenge A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

, Remaking Vince Neil and as background music in numerous surfing and snowboarding videos. Their song "The Dull Blade" from the album ''

'' was included in the soundtrack of the popular skateboarding video game

Skate 2 ''Skate 2'' is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title ''Skate It''. It is the sequel to 2007's ...

and "Dream Song" (also from the album ''

''), is included in the soundtrack for the video game

Splatterhouse is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco. It was the first in a series of games released in home console and personal computer formats. This cult classic would later spawn the parody '' Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti'', the ...

, that was released in the Fall 2010. ASG has toured with bands such as

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, Weedeater,

The Dwarves The Dwarves are an American punk rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois and based in San Francisco, California as of 2009.Gentile, John (2009)Interview: Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, ''The A.V. Club'', April 13, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2010 ...

, Saviours,

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

Graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Orange Goblin Orange Goblin is a heavy metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. History Orange Goblin was originally f ...

High on Fire High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Per ...

, and Torche. The band plays a mixture of punk rock,

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. ASG played the 2007 Volcom Tour with Valient Thorr and Riverboat Gamblers. In September 2008, the band was part of that year's

Volcom Volcom is a lifestyle brand that designs, markets, and distributes boardsports-oriented products. Volcom is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, U.S. The brand is known for its trademark ''stone'' logo, its slogan ''True to This'', and the '' ...

Tour along with

Valient Thorr Valient Thorr is an American southern rock/ heavy metal band from Greenville, North Carolina. The name of the band is based on the urban legend of Valiant Thor, an Alien which came from Venus to Earth, Valiant Thor. Valient explained, "That'll ...

and Year Long Disaster. They were replacing both The Misfits and

Airbourne Airbourne or Air Borne may refer to: * Air Bourne, a finishing move and the nickname of professional wrestler Evan Bourne * Airbourne (air show), an air show in Eastbourne, United Kingdom * Airbourne (band) Airbourne are an Australian hard r ...

who had pulled out of the tour. In 2009, ASG opened for

CKY CKY may refer to: * CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...

on their summer tour alongside Sweden's

. Vocalist-guitarist Jason Shi is the main songwriter for the band. ASG has credited influences such as

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

, Torche,

Zeke Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to: People * Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete * Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Ame ...

, and

Ween Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...

. In a review of the album ''Win Us Over'',

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the band's sound combines "the best qualities of

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, D ...

and Queens of the Stone Age". In 2009 ASG released a split CD with Savannah, GA band Black Tusk. It was recorded by Phillip Cope of

at the Jam Room in Columbia S.C. John Baizley of

did the album's artwork. This split was self released by ASG and also by the Hyperrealist record label. In 2010 ASG released a split 7' vinyl with West Virginia's

Karma to Burn Karma to Burn, commonly abbreviated as K2B, is a Palm Desert Scene, desert rock/stoner rock band from Morgantown, West Virginia. The band are noted for their uncompromising, mostly instrumental sound. Their name comes from a sleevenote on Bob D ...

as part of Volcom Entertainment's vinyl club series. ASG included the song 'All Over Creation' and

included 'Twenty in TwentyTen.' In 2010, the band was confirmed as being part of the soundtrack for

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

' 2010 remake of

. In late 2011, ASG signed with

out of Philadelphia, PA. According to the band's Facebook page, they entered the studio to record their Relapse debut, ''

Blood Drive Blood Drive may refer to: Donation *Blood drive, campaigns and special events to solicit blood donations Games *Blood Drive (video game), ''Blood Drive'' (video game), a 2010 vehicular combat video game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 *''Corpse Pa ...

'', with producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet) in August 2012. It was released on May 28, 2013, soon followed by videos for “Day’s Work” and “Scrappy’s Trip” (premiered by VEVO and Stereogum respectively).

Discography

*'' ASG'' (2002) *''The Amplification of Self-Gratification'' (2003) *'' Feeling Good Is Good Enough'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) *''Low Country'' (split with Black Tusk) (2009) *''

'' (2013) *''Survive Sunrise'' (2018) *''Pyramid Wheels (EP)'' (2022)

Band members

* Jason Shi - vocals, guitars * Jonah Citty - guitars * Andy Ellis - bass * Scott Key - drums * Blake Riot - guitars

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ASG Rock music groups from North Carolina American stoner rock musical groups