If you’re in the Portland, Maine area this weekend and have a pair of ears you should probably check out this incredible lineup playing at One Longfellow Square on Sunday: Jacob Augustine, The Milkman’s Union, and Tallahassee. Not familiar with them? You should be. But if not, read on fellow reader of Dispatch, as I catch a rare glimpse into the ever insightful mind of Jacob Augustine when we discuss his new EP of previously unreleased material, his extensive vault of recordings, and his preference of cheese-steak when dining in the fine city of Philadelphia (No Tony Luke’s? Sacrilege!). Check out our interview below.
DA: This past Sunday you announced via Facebook that you’re going to be releasing a new EP entitled ‘Bikini Island’ this weekend at your One Longfellow Square show. What was the impetus behind releasing this material, and what can we expect from the new EP?
JA: I decided to release this EP on a whim really. I’ve had this material archived for a bit and I got down to mixing it and ended up liking the way it turned out. So I figured I would share it with the people. If I was the listener I would expect some pretty out there epic shit, with some pretty serious lyrics. This album could have stayed on the shelf for years, just because I wasn’t ready to share the words yet, or the sound really.
DA: You mentioned online that you were actually considering not releasing this album at first. What made you hesitant about these recordings to begin with, and how do they differ from your other material?
JA: When I recorded “The Original Love” I locked myself away in a camp for about two and a half weeks with little to no visitors by request. I recorded a lot of material in that time. Some of it ended up becoming “The Original Love” — about half or so. The other quarter of the remaining half is “Bikini Island.” And the other quarter just IS at the moment. Making records is all about flow and timing and cohesiveness. “Bikini Island” is a cohesive work.
DA: Is there any other Jacob Augustine material, ‘in the vaults’ so to speak, that you’ve decided not to release? Do you have any other plans to release more material like this?
JA: I have more music in the vaults than Tupac. It’s not like you can release a new album every month, you have to let your audience take it in a bit. I’m sure I will release more stuff when the time is right. I mean I literally make an EP or more for my family every Christmas. So eventually that too will surface I guess.
DA: You’ve been on tour outside of Maine recently, what have been some of your more memorable experiences playing outside of the state?
JA: I played Philly at the oldest Methodist Church in America. The sound in there was Brilliant. And the people were great. And the rest of the bill was great. And I got a cheese steak from Pat’s King of Steaks. One Whiz Wit.
DA: You’re playing the annual KahBang music festival in Bangor this summer? How does it feel to be playing that festival and are there any bands you’re particularly excited to be playing alongside?
JA: Kahbang is cool. I’m very excited to be sharing the stage with “A Severe Joy” most of all, and the random players who will be making up my band that night.
DA: You’ve played with The Milkman’s Union in the past, and are going to be joined by Tallahassee as well this Sunday; what do you admire, or enjoy most about these bands?
JA: I’m not hip to Tallahassee, nor have I had time to get acquainted with their music yet. But I do look forward to seeing them and meeting them, cause if they’re touring with MMU they must be pretty rad. How’s that for honesty? Ha. What I like the most about The Milkman’s Union is when Henry and Peter fly at me out of nowhere with Wesley Hartley singing a song about surfing on a wheel. And also Henry’s Fastball.
DA: You recently played the Arootsakoostik music festival in New Sweden, how was that experience?
JA: Best show of the year, every year, hands down. Travis Cyr is an amazing human being. If you live in Maine you are doing yourself a disservice by not attending if you do not attend. Travis Cyr is an amazing human being. To put it in a rhyme: “A tisket a tasket a chicken in a biscuit.”
DA: You’ve released quite a bit of material in the past year, with the simultaneous release of three albums on your Bandcamp site in October. Are there any other recording projects in the works you can tell us about at this point?
JA: Next up after this one is another full length. I’m aiming to put it out sometime next spring. All I can say is it is entitled “Violence!” and it’s been building up momentum for close to a year now. There have also been talks with The Milkman’s Union boys about a split.
DA: Will the new EP be available to stream on your Bandcamp site, or just available for purchase at the show?
JA: Both. There will be a very limited amount of hand-made copies at One Longfellow this Sunday, so get there early if you want one everybody.
DA: What can fans expect from your show at One Longfellow Square this Sunday? Will you be performing material from the new EP?
JA: I’ll be playing a bit of new material but nothing off the new EP as I’m playing solo and the new EP is everything but a man and a guitar. If you want to see the EP live you had better get to the Kahbang pre-festival kickoff on August 9th.
DA: Any other final thoughts you’d like to add about the new EP or the show this Sunday?
JA: Come hungry, leave happy?
You can listen to Jacob Augustine’s new EP ‘Bikini Island’ on his Bandcamp site here:
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