A Gathering of None are a quintet comprised of musicians from all over the north, southeast, and southwest United States. AGON began as a one-man project, with TB (formerly of horror punk underground icons Blitzkid) recording the 2013 EP Purging Empty Promises entirely on his own, performing all instruments as well as vocals. Their second release, the full length Nothing Left to Lose, in 2015 saw the addition of long time collaborator Chris White on drums and Justin Travis Osburn on guitar. A Gathering of None made their live debut in 2016, adding guitarist Jeff Grunn and bassist Ken Belcher to round out the lineup. This lineup returned to the studio to record AGON’s second full length release, 2018’s One Last Grasp at Hope (out now). The band consist of TB on guitars/lead vocals, Justin and Jeff on backing vocals/guitar, Ken on bass guitars and Chris on backing vocals/drums.
AGON draw influence from a variety of musical styles including melodic punk, 90’s grunge and alternative, posthardcore, stoner rock, and progressive metal. Despite the breadth and diversity of backgrounds and influences, the band exists as five people all with the same goal in mind, to bring something nostalgic yet entirely modern and multifaceted to the heavy rock genre. If you like groove laden songs with heavy guitars, inhumanly proficient drums, prog rock bass lines, hooks a plenty, and more vocal harmonies than you can count, then you have just found your new favorite band. Check out One Last Grasp at Hope below!
We managed to catch up with TB as he talked about the band’s latest release and more!
How has the release of One Last Grasp at Hope gone down so far?
TB: I think the preparation and sheer amount of time we put into the latest release(nearly 3 years!) has paid off. What we are seeing is a number of new fans and faces being turned on to our music. As a relatively new band that’s huge. We took our time to make a really solid album from beginning to end, so people are recognizing that and it’s selling well and we are getting lots of positive responses.
What is your favourite track from the release?
TB: I would have to say that “What For” is my favorite because it’s the first song we fleshed out and all
collaborated on together once it was roughly done. Aside from that one, “Break My Stride” and Justin’s contribution, “Reaching Out”. I like them all for different reasons but those are my top three.
Can you tell us something about the release no one else knows?
TB: While we were in the studio tracking vocals on my last day there, my voice was starting to slightly fatigue. Justin, who is not only one of our guitarists but was also recording and mixing the album, had
suggested we go get some Barenjager at the liquor store. For those who are unfamiliar, it’s fermented honey and is actually very smooth and soothing to the throat. I had a couple shots of that, and kept up with my water and tea and was good to go! Haha
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
TB: I’d love to collaborate with Northern Skulls and The White Swan because they both write heavy, emotional music that hits like a ton of bricks but is beautiful at the same time.
What’s the alternative scene like in Franklin?
TB: There isn’ t one really, but in Providence, Worcester and Boston there are all kinds of bands from every genre imaginable. They are all close by, so that makes it easy to network with other bands.
What do you get up to in your spare time when you’re not working on music?
TB: Like most independent musicians, I have a day job. Other than that I like to cook, read comic graphic. novels, crime and suspense books, and I am a big pro wrestling nerd/fan. I enjoy working out too, though my physique may not reflect it haha!
Have you got any tours or festivals line up in 2018?
TB: We have a small 7 day tour in July of the upper east coast and midwest. That’s all we have planned
at the moment. We try to do stuff only every so often because we are all several states away from
each other so we like to make any live dates special and not very often due to that fact and the sheer amount of planning and scheduling it takes.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
TB: As odd as it may sound, it was Hank Williams
Jr. in 1989 at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, VA.