You may have seen flyers on Central Avenue, or their name in lights at the Hi-Tone. Perhaps a hip friend in the Memphis music scene told you about them. If you're just being introduced to them now, Augustine is a local band with goals to make it big in Memphis and beyond.
Dirk Kitterlin, a junior music business major at The University of Memphis, has been playing bass in Augustine for a little over a year.
Rounding out the rock quintet are Preston Nash on drums, Jeff Schmidtke on guitar, Jake Vest, guitar and background vocals, and guitarist and vocalist Toby Vest.
In between day jobs and school, the band manages to practice around 10 hours per week, perfecting their eclectic mix of rock with influences from bands like Radiohead, Interpol and U2, just to name a few. Kitterlin could be speaking on behalf of the entire band when he referred to Augustine as his first priority.
"The band is the number one thing that I'm most dedicated to making happen in my life," Kitterlin said.
Augustine has independently released two ep's, and they were recently working on their first full-length album at Easley-McCain studio. The legendary studio, where artists such as Jack White, Modest Mouse, Jeff Buckley and Pavement once recorded, burned earlier this month, and not all recordings were salvaged.
Luckily for Augustine, their songs remained intact, and the band now plans to put the finishing touches on the album at Vest's home studio. The loss of Easley-McCain is something the band still has to process.
"We all understood the gravity of being in that studio," Kitterlin said. "To make music without that atmosphere will be an adjustment."
When not busy with recording and school, Kitterlin is a museum clerk at Stax. Originally from Monroe, La., Kitterlin was a fan of Stax recordings before he moved to Memphis. Since he began working at Stax, Kitterlin has learned more about the independent label that launched the careers of such artists as Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding and Booker T. & the MG's.
Music encompasses a majority of Kitterlin's, and the rest of Augustine's, life. Kitterlin says that this actually helps his schedule seem less hectic.
"Being a music business major makes being in a band less stressful. My extracurricular deals with school and vice versa, so I'm dealing with music on both ends," Kitterlin said.
Considering Augustine's work ethic, they are poised to keep rising within the Memphis music scene. They have already played the Hi-Tone several times, and have now played a few shows at the Young Avenue Deli. Booking the Deli was a goal of the band's for quite some time.
"Now that we've reached that goal, I would hope to sellout the Deli, with two shows in one night," said Kitterlin.
Augustine's goals outside of Memphis are to go on tour this summer with prospective shows in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Atlanta. After putting the final touches on their album, Augustine is hopeful that they will be able to book more shows and play for more people.
"The entire band's goal is to quit our day jobs, and be completely self-sufficient as a touring band," Kitterlin said. "I know we won't sell a million albums. We don't want to sell a million albums. We just want to play."
Augustine has a few local shows lined up, beginning at the Complex on Monday, April 4th at 9 p.m. For more information on upcoming shows, read the flyers on campus, look for their name in lights, or check out their Web site .
