Honor by August
Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Info: $15; 930.com
Honor by August has been gathering fans in the few brief years the four-man ensemble has performed throughout the area. It returns Friday to the 9:30 Club, where it first opened for Hanson after winning a battle of the bands competition. Guitarist and vocalist Michael Pearsall recalled the thrill of that accomplishment.
“That was a crazy experience. We got to the club in the afternoon and already there was a line of people. The club was packed even before we hit the stage, and the crowd went wild. Two months later, we opened for Bon Jovi at the Verizon Center when it was still called the MCI Center. My drummer at the time was from New Jersey, and he was beside himself. Since none of us had ever performed before a crowd like that of at least 20,000 people, we all were in awe.”
Since those auspicious events, HBA has accumulated kudos for its EPs and two albums, “Drowning Out the Television” (2007) and “Found” (2009). Reviewers cite the appeal of the group’s vocals, the melodies and the zest its members display live.
Their appearances on stage with Hootie & the Blowfish, the Pat McGee Band, Virginia Coalition and other familiar rock musicians have drawn new admirers in performances up and down the East Coast. Confirmation that they are doing everything right came when they won the Grand Prize in Billboard’s World Song Contest with “Only in Photographs,” one of the many thoughtful songs Pearsall has penned.
“Instead of playing cover songs, I’ve always loved writing and singing my own songs to get things inside my head out into the world, things I couldn’t say in any other way,” he said. “My songs are based on personal experiences or emotions I’ve felt. I share them through an unfolding story or an expressed emotion because I think it’s important to make them accessible to as many people as possible. The process begins with a song I write and then evolves with contributions from the other members to the final stage.”
All members of HBA live in Northern Virginia. Pearsall and guitarist Evan Field met at Georgetown University, where Pearsall was studying business and Field majored in Chinese. Their bass player, Chris Rafetto, came from Raleigh, N.C., and percussionist Brian Shanley studied music at James Madison University.
Through Field’s wife, who works for the United Nations, they became aware of Nothing But Nets, a global campaign to help combat malaria. They chose it as their charity because of the great benefit achieved for each $10 donation.
“Some of our fans don’t have much money to spare, but this is an affordable way for people to make a difference and bring an end to one of the largest killers of children in Africa,” Pearsall said. “Our show at the 9:30 Club launches our challenge to raise awareness and $10,000 to combat malaria.”
He points out that this is in keeping with the group’s name, which refers not to the month of August but to the word august, meaning admirable. Hence, HBA stands for gaining honor by doing something admirable.
The addition several months ago of a bus now enables band members to travel and perform cross country. This will lead to more gigs in California and points west. However, they’ll be back in town for a Wolf Trap show in the summer.
“Our audiences have a really great time and come up afterward to compliment us about our energy,” Pearsall said. “HBA is a great live band. Because all four of us love performing on stage, this transfers to the audience.”
