Augusta Koch | photo by Rachel Del Sordo for WXPN
Checking In With… Augusta Koch of Gladie
In times of crisis, it’s more important than ever to check in on your friends and loved ones. Here at XPN, we’re Checking In With our extended musical family to see how they’re holding up during the Coronavirus quarantine…and what music has kept them grounded. Today, John Vettese chats with Augusta Koch of Gladie.
Augusta Koch is the singer and songwriter of the Philly indie pop outfit Gladie, which she co-founded a couple years ago with Matt Schimelfenig of Three Man Cannon. She previously was the frontperson of Philly trio Cayetana, who played their final show in August of 2019. As Coronavirus spread around the globe this winter, Gladie was on a headlining U.S. tour in support of their debut album Safe Sins, which came out last month on Lame-O Records. They had to call it off just over a week in, as the spread of Coronavirus caused shows to be cancelled and venues to close.
On their way home, Koch and Schimelfenig stopped at their recording studio in the Poconos to retrieve some essential gear, and have been holing up at home in Port Richmond ever since. Koch says she’s spent a lot of time playing Animal Crossing, but came up for air so Gladie could take part in Jeff Rosenstock’s livestream party on Saturday. “It was really fun. It felt like we were hanging out with people. I got to watch his whole set while eating a BLT, that was really cool. I realized it’s a lot of fun watching shows from your couch!”
Below, listen to Augusta’s full Checking In chat with John Vettese, and peruse her music picks.
Favorite Song of All Time: “San Bernardino” by The Mountain Goats
“I had to go Mountain Goats, because they’re my favorite band. It’s so hard to pick a favorite Mountain Goats song, but ‘San Bernardino’ is such a beautiful song. There’s beautiful strings in it, classic John Darnielle lyrics are amazing. I had a really nice moment when they played at Union Transfer in late July, and Cayetana played our last show two weeks later at Union Transfer. I went by myself, I ended up running into Max Stern and Jon Loudon from Restorations, and they played this song, which they never play because it’s super old. And we had just lost a close friend of ours a few weeks before, and I cried hysterically the whole time. I felt like it was kismet that he played that song. I’ve seen him so many times and he never plays it, and now it’s really my favorite song because it felt really special.”
Song that Raises Your Spirits: “Daisy” by The Sidekicks
“The Sidekicks are a band that I love so much, they’re good friends of mine. I met them a decade ago when they’d play shows at my best friend’s house, called Ava House in South Philly. ‘Daisy’ brings me back to a really fun time of meeting all these people who are like family to me. And they’re such a good band, I don’t know why they’re not the biggest band in the world. It’s just a feel-good track, and it makes me happy. It makes me remember Golden Tea House, and seeing The Sidekicks in a basement in South Philly, and getting a huge hug from Jake Cooley of Golden Tea House. Really happy memories.”
Song You’re Most Proud of Working On: “Pray” by Gladie
“I’m proud of this song, because I’ve never written a song without guitar before. I wrote it with keyboard, and it was the first time I ever did that, so it feels a lot more vulnerable. And when we play it live, I don’t play an instrument, so I feel kind of like an awkward pop star. Not really, but I feel like it was a good progress for me as far as doing something a little different.”