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DC rock band Honor By August recently released their new album Monuments To Progress. GroundSounds caught up with HBA’s Michael Pearsall to discuss the new album, sharing the stage with bands like Bon Jovi and Switchfoot, and more!
GS: For those new to your band, describe your sound and your goals.
HBA: We’re a four-piece rock band. Two guitars, drums and bass with three vocals. We aspire to write great songs that people can connect with and sing along to. Making music and performing it is our passion and we hope to be able to make a career out of what we’re passionate about.
You’ll be on tour this summer with Tony Lucca. What are you most excited about for this tour?
We’re excited to play for many new faces that have never seen or heard Honor By August before. Tony is an amazing artist and a friend and we are grateful for the opportunity to open up for him. Hopefully people will enjoy what we have to offer to the tour.
You recently released your new album Monuments To Progress. Tell us about the writing process and what listeners can expect from the album.
This has been the most collaborative effort to date for Honor By August. We all had a hand in the writing process and believe this is not only our strongest material to date but also the best representation of the band. There is a greater range of dynamics on this record than anything we’ve previously done but it also captures a lot of the energy we bring to a live show. We hope the album makes old fans proud of where we’ve come and helps us acquire new fans along the way.
Your single “Last Chance” is a compelling song with a memorable hook. What was the inspiration and story behind this song?
The inspiration was really to just write a great song. It was co-written with our friend Garen Gueyikian (Kill The Alarm) and turned into the single for the album. It’s a song about recognizing where you’re at in your life may not be where you want to be, but you have a chance to turn it all around. Life presents us with opportunities that we can either seize or let pass us by. “Last Chance” is a song about seizing that opportunity and perhaps with a little help, turning your life around.
I really like your album cover…simple, yet thought-provoking. Describe what it symbolizes to you.
The cover art symbolizes the growth of society. Human evolution. The duality of nature verses what humans create. You can work very hard at building up your world but nature will also take its course.
You’ve shared the stage with some big names, including Imagine Dragons, Bon Jovi, Switchfoot, and Third Eye Blind. If you had to pick one—which one was your favorite or most memorable experience?
Hard to say. All have been memorable for different reasons. Bon Jovi was an experience unlike any other. Opening for a band that we’ve looked up to since we were kids in front of 20,000 people is something we will never forget. Switchfoot showed us how to be true professionals and put on an amazing rock show for adoring fans, while remaining completely humble, cool guys in the process. Imagine Dragons actually opened for us a little over a year ago and they were fantastic. Their meteoric but well-deserved rise to stardom gives us hope for the future.
What did you learn from sharing the stage with bands like these?
The lessons are countless but perhaps the best of all is to be truly appreciative of the moment and gracious when success comes our way.
Now that you’ve announced a tour and the album has been released, what’s next for you?
We’ve been busy traveling the country visiting radio stations for the first time in our career in support of our single “Last Chance.” It’s been great meeting all the people at the different stations and getting to play some acoustic tunes for them. We’re looking forward though to getting back out on tour and playing our full on rock show for the fans.
Do you have plans to shoot a music video? If so, which song?
We are planning on shooting a music video for “Last Chance” sometime this summer.
What is one fun fact or interesting fact about you that nobody knows?
Brian’s birthday is on Christmas.
Where can readers go for tour schedules and to stay updated with you?
Please visit www.honorbyaugust.com for any and all information about Honor By August. You can connect with us on all of our social networks from our website.
