Just Joshing You

Taken from their Wikipedia page:

Drummer Mike Marsh and guitarist Klaus Ketelhohn formed the band in the summer of 1994 with a rotating cast of bass players until Marsh met Chris Drueke at a party in October 1995. Drueke jointed the band and The Agency had its first solid line-up and began playing South Florida clubs like Cheers, ClubQ, and Fubar.

In 1997, the band recorded its first album, Rock to the Apocalypse which resulted in an increase in popularity. In 1999, they completed their first national tour with the Grey A.M. Over the course of the tour, the band sound tightened and improved. Returning home at the end of the tour, they recruited Chris Carrabba (Vacant Andys/Dashboard Confessional) to play second guitar. In November 1999, they began recording Engines for Fiddler Records at a cost of $2500. Although the album was recorded at a frenzied pace, it sought to capture much of the band’s energy and live sound.

Carrabba’s schedule with his other band Further Seems Forever began to conflict with the Agency, so Carrabba left and Joe Williams joined as his replacement. After about six months and an east coast tour, Williams left and was replaced by John Owens (Vacant Andys/Seville). Due to family tragedy and poor tours, the Agency broke up in 2001. Marsh joined Dashboard Confessional and Marsh, Owens and Drueke went on to form Seville with Dan Bonebrake. Seville lasted in various forms until 2003.

The Agency reformed in April 2003 to perform a reunion show. Marsh, Drueke and Ketelhohn realized that they still had a strong desire to play and write music together and consequently began recording Turn in late 2004. The writing, recording, and mixing process was delayed due to Marsh’s schedule with Dashboard Confessional, but the album was eventually released on Marsh’s Perch Records label.

That doesn’t do them justice though… The singer on most of these songs is in fact the drummer. And he sounds just as good live as he does on recording. Everyone shares in vocal duties, sure, but to see such an amazing drummer ALSO singing (amazingly), is just great to me. The band is generally just a 3 piece as well, with an occasional 4th guy here and there.

And onto the albums:

First (other than the Milkshed split), was Rock to the Apocalypse. RttA is poppy and very….weird mix of songs. Some are downright amazing (Adrenaline, Lay it Down, Say Something), and some are just…I don’t even know what to call them (Fat Guy, Big Bag). They still play a handful of these songs at their live shows, and I still listen to this album.

I’ve decided to include a download link, because I’m almost certain that this is out of print and you can’t get it anywhere anymore. So here is The Agency - Rock to the Apocalypse

Second was the fucking major success, Engines. Start to finish, this album is absolutely perfect. There’s a very, very slight hint of that old weirdness, but overall, it’s just pure, solid, perfect indie rock and roll. Seriously. I can’t say anything more about this album. It just won’t do it justice. Here are some tracks:

The Agency - “Zero”

The Agency - “Engines”

Last, and most recent (2007), is Turn. After 7 years, The Agency was releasing another album. I was torn. Would it live up to the pedestal I had put them on from listening to Engines so much? Could they really pull off another great album, especially after so much time apart? I hesitantly got the album and attended the “reunion show” (which they seem to do about once a year, usually around December). The first track, Walking Disaster, caught me completely. “Yes!” I thought, “This can be just as good as they’ve always been!” Listening further into the CD, it became apparent that The Agency had not lost a step, and this too was a purely awesome, poppy, rock and roll album. Standout tracks are Walking Disaster, Flood, and Chasing.

Some tracks:

The Agency - "Walking Disaster"

The Agency - "Chasing"

The Agency - "Flood"

Love this band.

The Agency’s Myspace Page
The Agency’s Official Website