JuSnide

Honor by August is four piece band from Washington, DC.  They played at my school about two months ago and agreed to this interview.  They are extremely funny and nice guys.  Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/honorbyaugust

First off, what are the names of all the members in the band and what do they play?
Michael Pearsall - Lead Vocals, Guitar  Evan Field - Lead Guitar, Vocals  Chris Rafetto - Bass, Vocals  Brian Shanley - Drums

How long ago did you guys start Honor by August?  And how did it all begin?
Honor By August formed when Brian joined the band in the spring of 2005.  Evan and I had been playing together for about a year with our original bass player Joe Wenger and drummer Eddie Fleming under a different name.  Eddie left the band in early 2005 and we found Brian on Craigslist.  We were all living in the DC Area and began performing as Honor By August and recorded our first album “Drowning Out The Television” in the summer of 2005 with producer Ted Comerford.  A little over a year later our original bass player left the band at which point John Athayde joined us for a couple years before he was replaced by Chris.  It’s been a little over a year and a half now since he joined and Honor By August is stronger than ever before.

Where did you get the name Honor by August?
We wanted a name that sounded good, was memorable and meant something to us.  The word August is not the month (though we pronounce it that way) but rather the adjective august, meaning inspiring awe or admiration.  So the idea is that you earn honor by doing something admirable or awe inspiring.

What is your favorite song to perform live?
Everyone in the band may have different answers for this question and the answer may also depend on when you ask the question because at times, certain songs become more enjoyable for one reason or another.  But I think as a group we all really enjoy playing “Good Enough” because of Evan’s awesome intro and ripping guitar work.  We also like Johnny (Pass Me Another One) because its quite different from the rest of our songs and allows me to just sing and work the room a little bit more.  Probably one of the best live moments though of any show comes in “The Quiet Sky” when the whole crowd sings along with us at the end.

What rituals do you do right before you go on stage?
Everyone has their own little things they do but collectively we do a vocal warmup and just remind each other  to rock out and have fun.  We’re not too big on rituals.

Where do you pull your inspiration from to write your songs?
Every song is different but they are all based in some real experience, whether its one that I’ve had personally or one had by someone else, or some true emotion that the song is conveying.  I have to believe the words that I’m singing so I try to sing about things that are meaningful to me.  The songs are kind of out there in the atmosphere waiting for us to piece them together and we always do what we can to be true to the initial inspiration of each song.  Whatever serves the song best is something we always say when we talk about our approach to songwriting.

What are your plans for the next few months?
We are finishing up one new song in the recording studio called “I Stand”.  We have a major label showcase in NYC at the Mercury Lounge on Jan.7 and then we headline the 930 Club in DC on Jan. 8th.  After those 2 big shows it will most likely be touring as usual and we’ll be shooting another music video as well. 

Has anything really embarrassing ever happened while performing?
Thankfully I can answer no to this question.  The worst thing that’s happened is we’ve blown out the power a couple times on stage and all the sound cuts out, or at least the PA system goes down.  But when we at least have our amps still working, we just jam until the problem gets resolved.

What is one of the craziest stories from touring?
On our most recent run of dates out in California, back in October, a fan approached us at the Viper Room and said he had driven from Las Vegas to see us.  He had seen our music video for the song “Found” at his gym in Vegas and loved it so he downloaded all our music and when he saw we were playing in Los Angeles, decided to make the drive out to the show.  While there he said that if we were going to be coming through Vegas on our way home we should stop in at his restaurant and he would take care of us.  So when we got to Vegas a few days later it turns out that he was one of the head waiters at one of the nicest restaurants in the MGM Grand.  He treated us like kings to an amazing meal and drinks and it didn’t cost us a dime.  Definitely one of the coolest things to happen to us; a true rockstar moment.  We then went on to party with him all through the night resulting in a deservedly crazy night in Vegas.

And finally, anything else you want to share with your fans?
If you are a fan of our music, please come see us live.  If you’ve seen us live, come again and bring a friend.  The best thing you can do for us is tell more people about Honor By August and help us spread the word.  We look forward to seeing you out there.