Biography
There are at least two known bands called Asiago.
1. Asiago from Trondheim, Norway, is an alternative rock band with inspiration from both 90s and 00s rock. The band consist of six members in their twenties and thirties:
Kristian Skauge: vocals
Audun Røstad: guitars
Erlend Naalsund: guitars
Haakon Brox: bass
Nikolai Sødahl: keyboards
John-Ivar Rotnes: drums
Discography so far: One album, A Daring Smoothie (2010), and one single, Hjerteknuser (2011) (Kaizers Orchestra cover). One EP, Going Somewhere? release in 2012, an upcoming EP will be released in 2015.
2. Asiago from Dos Palos, CA describe themselves like this:
Asiago…is it a cheese? …Indeed it is, also, its a city in northern Italy where this delicious cheese originates. And…….. It's also a band!!!
In the small Central California "town" of Dos Palos(two sticks) resides the "pop-punk" quintet ASIAGO.
The name isn't about cheese.. or bagels…or Italy… or any of that…Its just a name. In 2005 A girl named Jen had a dream that she played bass in a rock band…and the bands name was Asiago..and then… boom, pow! Dreams become reality and now its 2010 and Asiago has been going strong for the past five years and gaining momentum every step of the way.
Asiago is a very different group of people then most bands, they are all from the same town and are extremely close, like a family. I think that it reflects in the music, they take their songs and performances very seriously and commit a lot of real raw emotion to the sound.
They are fronted vocally by a girl named Shely Jelen. Shely started pursuing singing at a very young age. Her voice is well trained and strong, very engaging, which is a good thing, considering that in all of asiago songs she can be heard clearly over the rampaging punk rock chants and anthems of the back up singers…which brings us to the two guitar players of asiago, Lee Shaeffer and Nathan Vega. Lee is an ex-bass player, turned guitar player (traitor), he still cant play with a pick, but he offers broad tonal range to Asiago's sound, lots of high leady parts, and dirty grungy rhythms , which blends really well with Nathans Style, whos guitar playing is very direct, he writes quick, catchy leads, and his rhythm parts are extremely percussive, lots of ska breaks and well timed punk rock triplets.
Underneath all of this, is the real backbone of the band, its bassist and founder, Jen. Her bass playing is that of a perfectionist, no matter what chaos partakes a show, Jen holds it down, SOLID. Damn good for a girl? No…. Damn good for a bass player.
The newest member of this band is drummer Ryan Truhett, who has gone above and beyond his call of duty in terms of commitment and dedication.His hard work saved this band in a time where things got very hectic… you have 4 months worth of shows booked…you have no drummer….what do you do….WHAT DO YOU DO? …you hit up Ryan and he saves the band, good to go. His style blends perfect with the rest of Asiago, and then some, he brings a ton of energy…very quick hands…very solid.
Over the last 4 years Asiago has gone over many obstacles, and through many changes, and along the way they have also had some really great high points as a band. In the Summer of 2008, the song "Word for Word", off of Asiago's 2nd four song EP, was put into regular rotation on local Radio stations. This was a point in time where the band started gaining a lot of recognition. That same summer, Asiago won the Ernie Ball Battle of the bands, in their area and got play the Ernie Ball stage at the Van's Warped Tour in Fresno, Ca.
Playing warped tour, meeting and talking to all the touring bands, was a springboard for Asiago in terms of traveling to shows and "spreading out". By the time their next Ep was released, the band was keeping a minimal of four shows a month, usually more. In the summer of 09' the band began breaking into the San Francisco, Bay Area scene. Just a few months ago they were named "Band of The Year" at a battle of the bands hosted by a popular San Francisco music venue.
2010 looks to be the busiest year yet for the band, in February they began working with Quote Your Pulse Records, a small (but growing stronger by the day!) Indie record label.
in early May they are releasing a brand new 8 song EP on Quote Your Pulse Records. This will be Asiago's biggest release to date. As far as summer 10' goes, Asiago has BIG PLANS for a BIG TOUR. And cant wait to bring their music into YOUR music scene. If you know a venue, festival, or just a good party thats looking for a band this summer, contact asiago!
Asiago, in Spanish you would spell it Asi Hago, but pronounce it the same (try saying it in a Cheech Marin voice). It's a Spanish slang term meaning "Thats how I do it" ….or "Thats how I roll". That pretty much sums up Asiago's sound. It's not directly locked into one genre. Its just exciting, powerful music. Sometimes happy, or crazy, sometimes sad or angry. Asiago is just a band that wants to keep it real. They don't try to fit into a scene. They just play the music they love to play, in hopes that someone out there loves to listen to it.
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