We Are Augustines Speak To Stereoboard About Their Forthcoming Debut Album (Interview)
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Written by Rob Sleigh
Next month, Brooklyn-based indie-rock trio We Are Augustines will release new single ‘Book of James’ – the first to be taken from their debut album ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’, which is due out early next year. The band’s singer and guitarist Billy McCarthy recently described the song as a “eulogy” for his brother James, who tragically took his own life following a struggle with mental illness and homelessness.
Although the official release of ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ is still a few months away on this side of the pond, it’s already beginning to show signs of being one of the albums of 2012. During We Are Augustines’ current UK tour supporting Glasvegas, we caught up with Billy to find out more about the album and about his new-found love of Coronation Street…
You’re currently on tour here in the UK with Glasvegas. How have you been feeling about your latest visit?
Every time we've ever been here it's been great for so many different reasons. I find that the energy at shows is really present here in the UK. We also enjoy getting out into the crowd after the shows and learning about where people are coming from. Wales, Scotland, the coast etc. These were once places that only existed on a map. Now we get to perform and get to know folks personally. It’s basically a dream come true.
This isn’t the first time that you’ve visited the UK this year. What do you enjoy most about coming over here?
I’m really into England's history and really random stuff. For example, I’ve been digging the show Coronation Street, Jools Holland, English mustard. And of course, tea.
How have our crowds taken to the music of We Are Augustines so far?
I'd say we've really been lucky, because it's just consistently a lot of warmth. I don’t want to question it too much, it's just going really well.
Your debut album ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ is due out here early next year. What can people
expect from the album when it arrives?
From the beginning of the writing of the record until now, it really has been the central focus in our life. It's pretty unbelievable one can really dedicate their life to a record, even unintentionally, but we truly lived it. It is the sound of what our lives were going through at the time we recorded it, which was quite a bit.
You’ve previously mentioned that many of the songs on ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ are written
from a deeply personal perspective. How difficult was it for you to write about such private
subjects and how did you feel about airing these feelings once the songs were finished?
Frankly, I did not anticipate the events that happened. I also did not ever imagine doing this much press for the record. Looking back on it, I realize that my personal life went from being a pretty normal musician's life, to absolutely falling to pieces, then a long road to the place where we are speaking with you now. I would never want to go through something like that again, but I am twice the man I was before this record and I'm very proud to come out of all of this healthy, positive and with a record under our arm.
Despite the deep subject matter of the songs, would you describe ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ as a
positive record and what would you expect people to make of it?
It is a positive record because we badly needed to believe in something again. But before I could do that, Eric [Sanderson, bassist] and I needed to refocus ourselves on being good people and independent artists with no other goal than to focus on art as something dear to us. No band, no tours, no industry. Just two people that wanted to make something that they believed in. And make a life that they could believe in.
You’ve previously spoken in detail about one track in particular, the new single ‘Book
of James’. You’ve briefly mentioned modern society’s view towards mental illness and
homelessness, which have both affected you personally. Does the album have any kind of aim
towards raising awareness of these issues?
It truly didn't in the beginning. I began to speak about it a couple years ago. When I researched the subject, I was really shocked and saddened by the statistics. I have a very soft heart and I think I’ve seen about all I can see without saying something. If you are homeless, you are a human being, you deserve food and shelter. If you are mentally ill, you deserve treatment and compassion. I don’t expect the world to change, but after the events that happened through this album cycle, I am now compelled to speak out. I've never felt right about passing these people in the street. It breaks my heart for very personal reasons, so as the album has been completed, I feel like this is a topic and an opportunity to just go ahead and be outwardly honest about it, instead of feeling it as I have my whole life.
What else do you think needs to be done in order to change people’s views on these
topics?
Honestly, because of the themes that we touched on in this record, and the confusion as to what to actually do with the record after we finally finished it, I had more questions than answers. So I tried something really different. I quit working at pubs and began to work with disabled people with a non-profit organization in New York City, as well as the elderly. I saw a very flawed system in my country. From the State hospitals to the food banks to the streets. It’s quite grim. There are organizations available, but one of the catches when you're mentally ill in the United States, is that you are in fact able to speak for yourself and sign off on your own affairs - what homeless person has a legal guardian? This in turn begins a pattern of self-medicating on the street because the services are so overwhelmed and substandard. This often includes petty crimes, which sadly ends up in incarceration or much worst. So what you have is people that are certifiably mentally ill being held as criminals without adequate legal representation, serving time as if they were normal functioning adults, when the system and our society has failed them miserably. The statistics are staggering and the numbers need not confuse something so basic as this - every person you see on the street is not an addict, thief or a drug addict first and foremost. They are most certainly a son, a daughter, a mother, brother or father, who is in dire circumstances. I am a family member of people like this. And I am speaking out only to humanize these human beings from the unfortunate impasse we find ourselves in as a society. We have no idea what to do but pass by and look away from them.
We Are Augustines arose from the ashes of your previous band Pela. What was it like to go
from being part of a full band in Pela to the more modest line-up that exists now?
Baby steps, I think. I was intimidated at first, but now completely invigorated and inspired by the possibilities.
After that band broke up, what factors led to the decision for the two of you to continue
making music as We Are Augustines?
Really that we weren't finished yet. We felt like our career was cut short and it just wasn't right. So here we are.
I’ve read that Pela built up a strong reputation as a high-energy live act. How do your new
songs translate in a live environment and how does that compare to what you were doing
previously in Pela?
I'd say perhaps it’s just not as drunk. It’s much deeper and entirely more eloquent. Also we have put a massive amount of energy into intention and purpose, which has made this all the more gratifying.
What do you enjoy most of all about playing live and being on the road?
People, countryside… The very honest moments one has with themselves while driving late night through the flatlands listening to their thoughts.
Where did the name We Are Augustines come from?
My brother and I share the same birthday and Eric's is the next day in August.
How did you first end up getting into music, and who and what has influenced you along the
way?
I was a little kid. Life was really confusing. Music has never let me down from the moment I started playing it. I found at a young age a very profound feeling was coming out of me when I played. It’s funny you see children performing violin concertos and they evoke something quite universal and moving and at such young ages. I don’t think we fully understand our capacity and potential as human beings, but hearing music allows the impossible to take place and inspires us with imagination, even for a fleeting moment. This is its power and beauty of music to me.
Do We Are Augustines share all of the same inspirations or do you bring different interests to
the group?
Rob [Allen, drummer] is English, I'm from the West Coast and Eric is from New York. We are vastly different guys, but we all agree on music for the most part.
When can we expect some headlining dates from We Are Augustines here in the UK?
November 7th in London. And we'll be back to promote the record early next year. See you all very soon. Ol' Blighty rocks!
The single ‘Book of James’ is released on 7th November – watch the video below.
The album ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ is due out 5th March 2012.
We Are Augustines are currently on tour in the UK with Glasvegas – see below for remaining dates and tickets.
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Although the official release of ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ is still a few months away on this side of the pond, it’s already beginning to show signs of being one of the albums of 2012. During We Are Augustines’ current UK tour supporting Glasvegas, we caught up with Billy to find out more about the album and about his new-found love of Coronation Street… 
