11 August, 2006
The Outlook Review
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NORTH SHORE OUTLOOK
Female Musicians Join Forces to Create a Band Called August
By JENNIFER MALONEY Staff Reporter
Aug 03 2006
Beverley Elliot and Rae Armour consider themselves late bloomers. The women, who admit to being somewhere between the ages of 45 and 60, met 15 years ago in Vancouver's musical circuit, playing cover tunes at dingy bars sometimes six nights a week.
Individually both had carved out semi-professional careers in the competitive industry, but it took nearly two decades before they decided to join forces and create August.
A few years back the duo were sitting on blankets at the Vancouver Folk Festival with a mutual friend and artist, Meg Tennant, soaking in the independent music.
Despite careers, motherhood and mortgage payments, none of the women had lost their passion for creating song. They had, however, lost some motivation. All were unsure of where they were heading musically, then Armour had an epiphany.
"Why don't we sing together?"
Elliot had always believed people were stronger in numbers. It created more opportunities. So they made the merger.
"Now there's three of us looking for work rather than one," Elliot muses.
Together their voices created harmony in their individual songs. Their lyrics became a balance of universal themes reflecting on everything from menopause or weight-loss issues to finding the "right path."
Comfortable with the direction their music was taking, they found it difficult to come up with a band name that would express their mature, yet light-hearted style. It took two years of scouring through dictionary definitions before they came across a not-so-unusual noun: august.
"It actually stands for a woman who knows who she is and has strength of character," says Armour.
"Things ripen and mature in August," adds Elliot. "And we're women of a certain age."
With age the women have learned to celebrate life's challenges. They've experienced spiritual awakenings, heart breaks and love and learned to how to dance through it all. This wisdom has also affected how they write music.
"There was a time when I couldn't even write a song unless I was in the emotional gutter," says Armour. "Now I can write a song about body odour."
August performs August 12 on the Fountain Stage at Ambleside Landing as part of the Harmony Arts Festival. The show starts at 9 p.m. For more info visit: august-music.blogspot.com.
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