Tompkins had put in four years as a journeyman rocker with Busbee in Hundred Year Sun, a band that had toured out of Tompkins' native Augusta. Sharing space in a musicians' crash pad, they pulled all-night writing sessions, Marc drawing on his rock 'n' roll roots and Rick sharing expertise gleaned from jazz gigging and work with Jellyfish alumni in Umajets. In 1998, Billionaire put out The Goodnight Sky, their own indie release. Very soon after, major-label ears paid heed. Roadwork then began, with the group hitting stages with The Cult and Tonic, and moving upward to headlining status.
Ascension serves notice of Billionaire's arrival.
Indelibly, it's the band's autobiography, so far. And we've all listened to a lot of English bands. Ascension, then, is personal music, but it's more than that. You can take what you see You can see with your own two eyes. Visionary rock, then, is Billionaire's promise.