Aura Phase
Aura Phase was a three-piece band that came
together in the
fall of 1997 in western
Massachusetts. Its intense but melodic sound was
generated by members
Jake Savage (singer/guitarist), Will Iannuzzi (bass)
and Chris Egan (drummer).
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Left to right: Will, Chris, Jake
Sonic Youth, the Sex Pistols, Jimi Hendrix, the Pixies and King Crimson to Black Sabbath,
the Velvet Underground, the Misfits, Miles Davis, Led Zepplin and Herbie Hancock.
Live performances in the Washington/Baltimore area in 1998 followed the band's
initial appearances in the Bay State.
Jake Savage, born in Washington D.C. in 1978, moved to Massachusetts
in 1997 for college. For many years he had been writing powerful, energetic
songs usually based around roaring guitar riffs that virtually rip through
the listeners.
Jake met Will at college and was immediately impressed
with Will's solid, melodic
bass-work, a skill Will had been honing since
taking up classical guitar at age 6.
Jake and Will shared tastes and
interests in music quickly and inevitably produced
the foundation of a
serious band.
Linking Jake and Will was the tight and creative drum sound
of Chris Egan, who
replaced original drummer Eddie Reil. Chris, schooled at
Berklee College of Music, has
studied with drum greats such as
Rod Morgenstein, Kenwood Dennard and Max Roach.
His experience and versatility
bring out the refreshing, energetic, original sound of
Aura Phase.
Jake's death in the Rift Valley of Africa on May 14, 1999 spelled the end of
Aura Phase, but the sounds are preserved on two
CD albums.