My Name is August

Hi, my name is Michael August. I know this is where I'm supposed to tell you all about this project and the music in some fancy and formulaic fashion, but I’m having trouble writing something conventional at the moment. So I hope this will do for now.

I’ve been writing music for about as long as I can remember. I guess it all started way back in the halls of my parent’s music school. They tell me that even as a child I could be found roaming around from one room to another banging on every piano and miscellaneous instrument I could get my hands on. I guess not much has changed. As it goes, I don’t think anyone really chooses music as a career path. I think it more or less chooses you.

I’ll do you a favor and fast-forward through puberty and the adolescent teen years, spare you the horny details and get to the point. All right, about five years ago, while performing in the local coffee house scene, I came in contact with Eric Schwank, another songwriter who shared the same insatiable urge for writing music. Not just any music, but good, honest, straight from the heart, music. The connection was immediate along with a shared vision and great friendship that soon followed. After five years, a couple different bands, and thousands of cups of coffee, here we stand and I believe we finally got it right.

We began recording in mid-December 2007, a little Christmas CD for family and friends, which would soon become the groundwork for our first official release. Eric and I spent countless hours, deliberating, arguing, and seeking compromise on what would make these songs the best they could be. I’m proud to say that through all the chaos and confusion we’ve achieved just that. After all, as Eric would say, “It’s the imperfections that make something great.” This album is a collection of songs that mean the world to us. In sum, they reveal the human condition as seen through the reflection of our own lives, relationships, and spirituality, as well as our addiction to writing honest music and sharing it.

But what does it sound like!? Well, if you knew me, you’d already know my strong affinity towards the classic and intelligent pop music of Billy Joel and Elton John. And I admit that I’m a bit jealous of John Mayer for screwing with the “formula” and getting it perfect every time. You may also know that I was inspired to begin writing simply after listening to my first Counting Crows album. (In fact, I’m listening to the Crows latest album at this very moment) If you knew Eric then you’d already know his infatuation with the lyrics of Nick Cave; You’d know his appreciation for the beautifully raw songwriting of Ryan Adams; And possibly that he picked up the guitar for the first time after hearing the Edge play for U2. In the end, I can’t say that we sound like any one of these great artists specifically, but at least you’ll understand where we started.

As I’m looking back over the lengthy-ness of this bio, I’m thinking that I may have over-indulged a bit. So I’ll wrap it up by sending a big thanks to all of you from Eric and myself. Thanks for reading, thanks for caring and most of all, thanks for listening.

Cheers,

Michael August