Audio Fatigue

Audio Fatigue began life in 2001 as a studio project headed by guitarist/vocalist Sean Patrick and multi-instrumentalist Robert Casey. "I was introduced to Sean through a mutual friend," says Casey. " His CD collection had the albums mine was missing and vice versa. He brought his guitar over and we began writing STARTING BACKWARDS onto a boombox. I don't think either of us expected to be doing this 5 years later."
With much of what would become STARTING BACKWARDS written, the duo made the decision to perform the material live, no small feat considering the complexity of the arrangements. Casey remembers, "I was playing guitar and keyboards while Sean played guitar and covered the bass. We had all this electronic gadgetry as our back up band." This would get the band through a show but a crucial element was missing - enter Willi J.

"I grew up with Willi in Northern California," Casey recalls. "We learned to play music together as a rhythm section, J on bass and I played the drums. We developed that connection that good rhythm sections need to really push a band." Willi moved to Portland just 3 days before the band's first gig at the Mount Tabor Pub. "It took no no time at all to convince Sean that J should be in the line up. With Willi as our John Paul Jones, I could get behind the drums where I belonged and Sean could focus on the guitar. Over night we were a real band with a gig." The group has not looked back since. Casey explains, "Willi brought his own ideas about what we had done as well as bringing LORD STUART'S JIG (one of the album's stand out tracks and a tribute to the late Stuart Adamson), so we all felt we contributed and were necessary to the band's existence." Indeed the band seems to posses that quality that all great bands have - it takes all of its parts to make the magic happen. "When we first heard MACHINES THAT FLY on the radio, the champagne was overflowing and we all felt we had taken a giant step together," Casey remembers fondly.

After receiving positive reviews of STARTING BACKWARDS and the band's live shows, AF has been inspired to push the envelope further. The material from their forthcoming album is edgier but more accessible. Bringing together each member's influences, AF has created a sound somewhere between the power of modern rock innovators like U2 and Radiohead and the atmospheric colors of classic rockers such as Pink Floyd. Casey continues, "We are all very excited about the new material. It will take us places STARTING BACKWARDS just can't go. The songs are more concise but grittier and that is a quality we lacked before. We haven't abandoned the elements that made us interesting. I still use samples and Willi is playing 8 string basses, midi pedals and synthesizers. The cyber band will never completely die, but Sean's lyrics and melodies are getting us to an emotional plane that audiences are responding to like never before."
You can find Audio Fatigue's self produced debut album STARTING BACKWARDS at Music Millennium, CDBABY.COM and Towerrecords.com. Their new album will be released mid 2006 and they will be playing extensively throughout the year.