Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "watch-you-bleed"

Today, I am thrilled to be introducing you to a talented musician I met through Twitter. Alexandra Le Monnier's band hails from Hertfordshire, a place I used to live and work not too long ago.

When I first came across Alex, she was in a rock band called Le Monnier. She has recently started a new band August Gone, so I wanted to interview her about that. The debut single, Watch You Bleed, is great, and you can get a FREE mp3 copy on Soundcloud! Here's the link: http://soundcloud.com/augustgone/watc...




Here's the interview!

I first came across your music when you were in the rock band Le Monnier. I have both Le Monnier albums and have enjoyed listening to them. I know that the band has split recently. Will the two albums still be available to purchase? If so, where can people buy those?

The ‘Le Monnier’ albums are still available. If anyone is interested in a hard copy please get in touch with me via http://www.facebook.com/lemonnierband.

Le Monnier have not so much split, it was more that Le Monnier was renamed as it morphed into the new project ‘August Gone’. I had been meaning to change the band name for sometime now, as I had never been comfortable with using my surname. As the founding member and main writer I did not see the problem at the bands decision to use it. However when we ran into problems at gigs with people remembering it, spelling it and especially pronouncing it, I thought it was definitely something that needed to be changed, and the time was now. The sound has not changed so much, just fine-tuned, concentrating on rock rather than metal.



Tell us a bit about how August Gone got together

‘August Gone’ got together surprise, surprise just at the end of August, beginning of September. Aaron and Kayli having both been in the previous band ‘Le Monnier’, they were both up for the name change and got a real buzz from the new name. ‘Watch You Bleed’ is the first track Kayli is featured on taking over from her brother Josh Williams. We had lots of fun in the studio. Aaron got to have a good experiment with his guitars and they sound absolutely massive in the mix. ‘August Gone’ is much more than the renaming of ‘Le Monnier’ to us. The new name has given us a new outlook and a fresh start.


August Gone's first single Watch You Bleed (which is a fantastic rock song, by the way), is available to download free via the band's Facebook page. Are you working on an album and if so, do you have an idea when it will be released?

‘Watch You Bleed’ is one of the two singles we are releasing before Christmas. We really wanted an emotive passionate rock song to kick off this new journey. The response has been great and we plan to push it very far. The second single - an acoustic track called ‘Where I Stand’ shows off our unplugged side. This is also going to be available as a free download and a lyric video shall be released with it. We are currently working on material for an EP, but it could turn into an album, you never know. We are planning the EP release for Spring 2013. We are currently working with a great producer at our local rehearsal/recording studio. The track ‘Watch You Bleed’ really shows off our capabilities with the better production, bringing out that LIVE ENERGY to our sound.

That sounds great. I like the lyric video you have done for Watch You Bleed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4vL...



Do you have any upcoming tours planned?

Once the album is released we are looking at setting up a tour, I believe the popularity of guitar music, particularly rock music is on the rise again, especially in the UK. So hopefully this will allow us to connect with more people soon.


People like to compare bands to other bands when reviewing their albums. What famous band would you like August Gone to be compared to?

We would be delighted to be compared to any female fronted band, especially bands such as Halestorm, Paramore, Skunk Anansie or Fly Leaf. We have been told that we have a great sound that is both modern and has elements of the great rock artists of the past as well.


Who were your musical heroes when you were growing up?

The very first were what my parents listened to, so Queen, Tracy Chapman, Otis Redding, Whitney Houston and the Beatles. My first major music crush was Nirvana, I know nearly everyone says Nirvana, but it really was for me. I heard a couple of songs – I think it was Lithium and Something In the Way, off a compilation tape that my sister’s boyfriend had given her and I was just hooked.





At age 13 I begged my Dad for two albums ‘Nevermind’ and ‘Incesticide’ and I was over the moon when he said yes and got them for me. The band that really got me excited and wanting to start a band was Alice In Chains.




I first heard of them by watching the Cameron Crowe film ‘Singles’. I love everything about this band and just wanted to do exactly what they were doing but in my own way.





I love Alice in Chains, too :)

If you could play a gig at any venue, anywhere in the world, where would you like to play?

Madison Square Garden, New York. Or any country that still loves guitar rock music!


If August Gone could tour with another band, who would you choose and why?

In Seattle, bands like Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana would be on the same bill. I would like that type of thing to happen to us, where a few bands just get together and tour their asses off to the same people that love all that music. At this point of time I would love to support a band like Skunk Anansie or Fly Leaf.



What kind of music do you like listening to these days and do you have any favourite bands?

I just recently saw Halestorm and they were just WOW, I was in awe of her voice, absolutely amazing! I love strong female vocalists that really know how to convict emotion. In my CD player now I currently have the new albums from Heather Nova, Pink and No Doubt. I am also in love with Lit’s new album along with Rival Sons and Stone Sour.

Ah, Stone Sour, I'll be seeing them on tour with Papa Roach in December :)


Do you write the band's songs alone or with others?

In all projects I have always been the main songwriter, I like to bring lots of ideas to the table and explore them with the band. I think with the ‘August Gone’ material I have managed to tweak what I had in mind for ‘Le Monnier’ and I have got it dialled in now.


It's always hard to go through transitions, but sometimes it's good to start fresh with good ideas and have an experience that causes strong emotions. What has happened over the past few months comes through in the music and that cannot ever be bought or learnt.


My lyrics have always come from my life stories or my thoughts. I really love sitting down with my acoustic bass in my lounge and writing songs, the vocal melody and bass line usually happen first and words come later but not always. I learnt piano first and then bass, and guess it just wasn’t enough to just sit and play, I had to start using my voice so it would weave in and out to make a song. I joined a choir shortly after in order to improve my singing.



As an indie musician, do you have any tips for anyone who might be thinking of producing their own music? Have you found that any particular website/social networking platform works better than others for promoting music?

Network platforms are forever advancing and not always in your favour, such as facebook controlling how many fans you reach, to hit a larger percentage of your fans you now have to pay to post. I think having your own mailing list via ‘mail chimp’ or ‘blogspot’ is a good way to be direct with your fans. My biggest advice to other bands is to not cut corners on your product i.e. recordings and music videos, try it doing it yourself but don’t do everything yourself just to save money. Give yourself some room to concentrate on what you do best, which is enjoy the ‘MUSIC’ and leave any egos at the door. A band is like an intense version of a family, treating it solely as a business can damage the soul of a group of friends playing music together. It’s good to be resourceful and choose what’s important to spend your hard earned money on but remember to be smart and have fun.

What instruments do you play, and are there any that you don't play that you'd like to learn?

I played double bass at school, they gave me an instrument on loan to join the orchestra which was good but not exactly very me. My first instrument was piano, copying what my older sister did and going to lessons with her. My bass guitar has been my side companion since I was 14 years old, which my parents lovingly got me as my Christmas present. Apart from buying a piano and double bass one day I am not compelled to try anything else right now. I am just a self-confessed air drummer, Kayli has a right good giggle when I air drum listening to her tracks.


As I'm interviewing you on Goodreads, it's only right that I should ask you a bit about your reading habits. Do you like to read? If so, who are your favourite authors?

I love reading, my other half actually gets quite annoyed at how incoherent I become when engrossed in my kindle. I love fantasy and romance fiction. Biographies are okay as long as they are funny, Ozzy Osbourne was laugh out loud brilliant. My favourite authors are Laurell K. Hamilton and Kelley Armstrongas I have read both their entire collection/series.


Do you prefer print books or eBooks?

I like both, but decided to invest in a kindle when I started running out of shelf space. I rent at the moment and I was just too lazy to visit B&Q and risk losing my deposit by doing a bodge job of fitting more furniture. There is also the benefit factor that some e-books are a lot cheaper and there is the eco friendly side to it. The only problem with e-books is that it does piss me off in planes when asked to switch it off, then you think God I need to go back to paperback!

Ha, ha! I hate that too!

Where's the best place for people to keep up to date with your news?

The best place to find out what I am up to is on twitter:

http://twitter.com/LeMonnier_Alex

My music catalogue page is:

http://soundcloud.com/alexandra-le-mo...



For my band ‘AUGUST GONE’ please visit:

Website: www.augustgone.com

Bandpage: http://augustgone.bandpage.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/augustgone

Blog: http://augustgone.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/augustgone

Youtube: www.youtube.com/augustgoneband

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/augustgone



Thank you, Alex! I wish you and August Gone every success with your music

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Don't forget to download your free copy of 'Watch You Bleed', August Gone's excellent debut single, and make sure you follow Alex and the band on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all the latest news!