Bio


	Bio

And then there was one...

Following the untimely demise of the decade-old southern-New Hampshire metal act, Jaden, singer/songwriter Robert Lemieux exhumes himself from the ashes of his former band to pursue his musical dream, this time, alone. He assumes the pseudonym AUGEAN STABLE which is a mythological term meaning "a condition or place marked by great accumulation of filth and corruption" (Merriam Webster's Vocabulary Builder). Such a highly fitting pen name for a man who weaves religious and social cynicism, forsaken innocence, beauty perveyed, and self-absorbing melancholia with a bit of classical music and industry-punk metal into a tapestry of thought and sound that is both liberating and captivating. His often disturbing lyrical themes, mind-blowing manipulation and integration of multiple musical genres at a time, and unpredictable stage persona makes one wonder how this man teeters on that fine line between genius and schizophrenia.

He was born Robert Joseph Lemieux on February 18 in Manchester, New Hampshire at the tail end of the Blizzard of 1977. This was the first, but it would not be the last time he would feel the biting chill of the bitter world. As a sprout, Robert had been dropped off regularly at Sunday School for his lessons in self-denial and hypocrisy and then bounced around from one ill-minded baby-sitter to the next. This torment would go on for years numbing the young Robert until a powerful force came in to his life giving him the reason and authority to feel once more; that force was music.

Robert got his first guitar, a Yamaha Acoustic, at the age of six and has been playing ever since. After only two months of formal lessons, Robert's parents stopped paying for his lessons because he chose to learn Blues and Metal rather than the Elvis and country tunes they had expected. This would not hold Robert back. Forced to teach himself, he got his fix for the sound by listening to his older brother and sisters' Led Zeppelin and AC/DC 8-tracks as well Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Alice Cooper. The only "good" Robert ever got from attending his parents' church were hearing the choir and organist blaze in full glory. He would not forget this magnificent sound, as it would play an important part in his musical future. After months of asking, Robert's parents eventually gave in to buying him an electric guitar for his thirteenth birthday. He was even able to indefinitely borrow an old beat up amplifier from one of his friends. It wasn't long before he was forming bands amongst his school yard friends.

In his eighth grade year, Robert met guitarist Jim Davis whom turned him on to bands like Megadeth and Metallica. Having already been listening to bands like The Misfits and Mercyful Fate, Robert took a liking to his new friend's musical taste and immediately formed the band JADEN. Together, Rob and Jim with a constantly changing line-up would lash out and recoil for a decade of hit and runs on local talent shows, battle of the bands, parties, and concerts at various community centers. Such stage antics included coming out on stage tied to a cross while wearing a priest collar and a diaper on his head. Having the plug pulled due to rioting was not uncommon for a JADEN performance. They released a three song demo along with a punk-style spoof of the 1963 "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels entitled "Black Rage" which quickly became a success amongst their classmates.

With everything seeming to go in JADEN's way, the saying 'everything that goes up must come down' abruptly became a reality to Robert and the boys. Being too young to play bars, the growth of JADEN had quickly became stumped and soon all of its members lost interest. They disbanded while in the midst of recording what was to be their first full-length CD. Petty feuds and distrust kept Robert Lemieux and Jim Davis from speaking together for years. Eventually, they patched up some holes between them but unfortunately it was not enough to keep them from collaborating within a positive frame of mind ever again. The partnership thus diffused.

In December of 1998, Robert Lemieux set out on his own and a year later has produced the five song self-titled mini-album AUGEAN STABLE. The songs on this demo include masterful blends of haunting classical music and heavy punk-driven metal with more modern sounds of industrial and dance music. Copies of this demo will be arriving on the doorsteps of radio stations all across America and around the globe in the early months of 2000. Keep your eyes and ears open for this release and if you feel the ground beneath you shake and begin to split open with a sound that could only come from Hell, it is not the end of the world, only the birth of AUGEAN STABLE

-Urghes Trewly, Phantom Fabrications