A.S.G. >> UNTITLED. 2002

No one knows what A.S.G. is an acronym for, not even the band at this point. Is it short for Alien Sporting Goods? After Some Gack? Act Super Gay? What the hell is it!?! It doesn’t really matter. After all, what’s in a name—especially when you’re a relatively new act devoid of a major, or even minor, record contract? But if this three-man set keeps going the way of the gun, like they have over the course of 2002, they better figure one out quick. Because A.S.G. is about to become as household in the surfing community as FCS, SMP, or FAB.

All hardcore Wrightsville Beach surfers, A.S.G. goes like this: Scott Key on drums, Andy Ellis on bass and backup vocals, and Jason Shy on guitar and lead vocals. A fourth member... who needs one? They’re already one of the East Coast’s most popular punk bands: gracing popular videos like The Dirty South and Alluvium, and touring relentlessly with Volcom. To top it off, they even scored the opening song in Volcom’s new snowboard video, BYH, and they’re rocking The Social (formerly known as the Sapphire Supper Club) during this January’s Orlando Surf Expo. Not to digress, but if you’re reading this in your hotel room at The Peabody, go see them live on Thursday the 9th at 9:00 pm.

In their debut untitled release, they hammer you awake with the non-vocal punk prelude “Yawn” which segues into three more potentially lethal tracks before going instrumental again on “Polaris.” The next track “Breakthrough” is exactly its namesake. Beginning as an emotive ballad before going full Pesci on you, this is the sure-thing hit of the bunch. While obviously harboring their own original thrashy sound, however, A.S.G.’s influences do make themselves evident. The trippy-but-punchy “Species American” allows shades of Kyuss to shine through while the punk-as-fuck “Clocked In” is more like a cross between Jughead’s Revenge and Four Stroke Donkey. And believe it or not, growling a gut-stabbingly angry “The Saga”, leadman Jason Shy even sounds a bit like Napalm Death. That’s right, I said it!

All acronyms aside, A.S.G. has all the ingredients for legitimate rock stardom. They’re young, fresh, motivated...

And Seriously Good. -By Matt Pruett.