AUTUMN RISING

1996-2000 / 2010-present

Jerry Dirr - drums
Stephen Howard - bass
Robert Steven Billups - guitar, vocals, other

Hometown - Louisville, Kentucky / Cincinnati, Ohio

Featuring current members of Phratry Records’ Knife The Symphony, Autumn Rising began playing together in the Summer of 1996. By January of 1997, the band self-recorded and released their first 7” single. Fast forward to the year 2000 and Autumn Rising had written, recorded and self-released an additional two EPs and a full-length album worth of material garnering positive reviews from publications such as HeartattaCk Fanzine (RIP) and Alternative Press Magazine.

In the early days, the live shows were exhausting. Sets were short and played at light speed with improvisational moments. The recordings were an extension of the live atmosphere—the momentum and the energy usually predetermined, but the band was always writing last-minute parts before pressing the record button. All of Autumn Rising’s releases were self-recorded by the band. It was not only an alternative to expensive studio-time, it was a further expression of the band’s character. Take the same songs, record them with decent microphones and launch them out of a big mixing board and you would not have had the same band. Besides, perfection is boring.

Autumn Rising played with groups like A Minor Forest (Thrill Jockey), Jesus Lizard (Touch & Go) and others. They often invited bands from across the country to come play their hometown—Cincinnati, Ohio—and introduced the small, local audiences to bands like The VSS (GSL), The Sorts (SloDime) and one of their favorites—Chicago’s, Sweep the Leg Johnny (Southern/Divot/Thick).

Autumn Rising never locked-in to a particular sound or genre. Their direction was never calculated. In the Summer of 2000 the band simply decided to stop only to reconnect and reform in a leisurely fashion in 2010, taking it one day at a time. In an effort to keep the music alive, Phratry Records picked up the Autumn Rising discography in 2004. While there is a concerted effort to limit the number of live shows, new songs and new recordings are currently in the works.

PTR XX 2 Song EP (Coming Soon)

Other Releases
Dusk (Self Release, 2003)
Dawn (Self Release, 1999)
Rejected Art, A Compilation of Unity / Various Artists (1999)
The Kraken (Self Release, 1997)
”...the corpse visions of our patient” (Self Release, 1997)