brad says hello

This final installment of “Rare, Live, & Unreleased” lands on December 31st. I couldn’t think of a better track to share for the new year than the original single version of “January Song.” Written about my own new years experience in 2005, the song was first recorded at home and given away via the official website a year later in 2006. It was later re-recorded and this studio version was released as a limited edition digital single in 2007/08. Finally, a further realized version appeared on the album “Life As A Song,” with additional drums, keys, and a variety of extra audible nuggets. I sincerely hope you enjoy the tracks featured in this collection as it gives a small glimpse into the last ten years of my career and growth as a recording artist/songwriter. Happy New Year & All the best!

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/january-song-single-version

FULL ALBUM PURCHASE: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

This cover of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me” was recorded at home in the summer of 2011 as a demo while testing out some new recording equipment. It was merely an experimental recording but I ended up having a lot of fun recording it. One of the fun things about recording a cover song is that you have an opportunity to take a song you didn’t write and make it your own. People will either love you or hate you for that. Either way, enjoy : )

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/stand-by-me-ben-e-king-cover

ALBUM PREORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

Another demo from the unreleased “Snapshots” album. “I Don’t Believe In Myself” is probably one of my favorite unreleased tracks, probably because it’s the most honest I’ve been with myself in a lyric. It’s sad, delicate, and practically depressing. But, the truth is it’s hard making a living out of something you love, it can be VERY depressing at times. People telling you what you are doing wrong, how you should change, not selling enough music, not being able to pay the bills. It’s a challenge to say the least. I have reached a crossroad many time that’s caused me to question what I am doing and whether or not I can do it anymore. Of course, contrary to the song title, I do believe in myself - otherwise I wouldn’t have gone this far. The irony is that even with doubt as a songwriter I find myself writing a song about it, I couldn’t escape it if I wanted to.

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/i-dont-believe-in-myself-demo

ALBUM PREORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

The very first Five Times August album was a collection of home recordings called “Say,” released in late 2001. The title track was slow and quiet, almost too quiet to perform live. However, when first written and recorded it was faster and had an entirely different chord arrangement. This version of the song appeared on a demo CD I used to book local coffee shop gigs in my home town. It was also featured as a bonus track on a limited and short-lived 2004 release. “Say” (the album) was out of print between 2004 and 2008, but reissued in 2009 as a two disc limited edition set. Disc 1 features the original home recordings, and Disc 2 features newer recordings of each song from the album.

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/say-first-recorded-version

ALBUM PREORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

This is about as far back as you can go in the Five Times August audio archives. Before the MTV stuff happened, before touring the country nine times over, before Myspace, YouTube, Facebook… I was this kid. 17 years old, fresh out of high school, all I wanted to do was play and record my songs. Well, hear was to be the first of many in the years to come. It’s not amazing, I sound young and inexperienced. However, I’m often asked by younger aspiring songwriters about how I got started. I think recordings like this are important because everyone starts somewhere and I hope that if you admire the music I’ve released in recent years this will inspire you to keep going. Keep writing, playing, singing, recording, you will get better and better every single time.

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/on-and-on-2001-home-demo

ALBUM PREORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

This alternate live performance of “Hover” was recorded for an unreleased “Live at Sun” E.P. The recording took place before the Sweetwater Sound concert version (posted previously) and differs in that the instrumentation is more acoustic based and a cello appears in place of the keys. 

We drove down to Memphis from Nashville for the sessions, which lasted from 6p.m. to 2a.m., and then immediately drove back to Nash afterward. It was definitely a long exhausting day. A week later I had been notified that Sun Studio’s hard drive crashed and our sessions had been lost. They were able to recover the drive, though, so we eventually got our tracks. Unfortunately by the time they were mixed, out of the six songs recorded, I was only happy with three. Ultimately the E.P. idea was scrapped and unreleased.

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/hover-live-at-sun-09

PREORDER ALBUM: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

This original home demo for “Better With You” has some how become the unofficial-official version for casual FTA fans over the years. Technically not rare, in fact, this particular demo has leaked throughout the internet more than any other Five Times August song, even full band album tracks. This is usually the first download new fans find. Despite it’s popularity in the file sharing community, this demo has never been officially released on any album to date. Recorded October 2003, it is finally included on “Rare, Live, & Unreleased” a mere eight years later!

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/better-with-you-original-home-demo

ALBUM PREORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

This cover of Fleetwood Mac’s classic “Landslide” was recorded live at Sweetwater Sound Theater in 2009. It’s unfortunate that I’m asked more often than not why I decided to cover The Dixie Chicks, who also covered this song in 2002. I didn’t, I covered Fleetwood Mac!

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/landslide-fleetwood-mac-cover

ALBUM PRE-ORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased

This was a half finished song I had been working on for the unreleased “Snapshots” album. I had been experimenting with my guitar playing and alternate tunings, trying to get more complex with my finger-style technique, most likely under the influence of Lindsey Buckingham. I was writing a lot of dark songs around this time, most notably the single “Fix Me,” which was one of the few that got finished and released. It would have been great to follow up the mainly cheery and upbeat “Life As A Song” album with a dark and quiet introverted album. It seemed to be heading that way! If you listen carefully you can hear my foot tapping the floor in this recording, I like that.

TRACK DOWNLOAD: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/track/i-dont-know-demo

ALBUM PRE-ORDER: http://fivetimesaugust.bandcamp.com/album/rare-live-unreleased