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DATE: JANUARY 16, 1998
FROM: MELISSA SPRAUL/TRESA REDBURN
COOL FOR AUGUST'S
'GRAND WORLD' SPAWNS
THIRD SINGLE AND VIDEO
"The room started to close in on me and this vision of being in a prison just materialized. The walls were bare--it was almost like the blinds on the windows turned into horizontal jail bars."
So says COOL FOR AUGUST frontman GORDON VAUGHN about the band's newly released third single, "Walk Away," a mix of impassioned vocals, bracing guitars and haunting vocal harmonies.
"Walk Away" is a tale of isolation and desperation, and the search for hope in the midst of it all. Its release follows the success of the band's first two tracks from their Warner Bros album GRAND WORLD: "Don't Wanna Be Here" went Top 15 on Billboard's rock tracks chart, while the follow-up "Trials" charted at #19 on Album Network's "Active Rock" charts.
"I was sitting in my room and there was nothing but a blanket and pillow in it," continues VAUGHN. "The situation the band was in was very, very dismal. We hadn't eaten all day--we were really worried about whether we were going to eat the next day or not. It was a miserable situation that sparked the song."
Sample verse: "They say that I live like a dog, but I think I'm living/A kitchen full of nothing but there'll be something soon/I can see a light above me, could it be my angel/Could it be my luck to keep this struggle on."
To capture the true nature of the song, COOL FOR AUGUST--vocalist VAUGHN, guitarist TREVOR KUSTIAK, bassist ANDREW SHIVES and drummer SHANE HILLS--joined forces with acclaimed video director Nigel Dick (The Offspring, Social Distortion, matchbox 20). "Nigel really set out to capture the bleak imagery of the song in a Midnight Cowboy way," notes VAUGHN. "He tried to delve into my emotional state when I wrote the song and really portray those feelings of loneliness."
Shot at a remote gas station in the middle of Rosewood, CA at the Southern edge of the Mojave desert, the "Walk Away" video evokes those feelings of desperation, as well as the underlying message of hope evident throughout the lyrics.
VAUGHN notes: "I always knew I could just walk away and go home and get a job and live...but I was in pursuit of making this dream happen. The reason I give that kind of hope in the lyrics is to not only give myself a remedy but also lend some inspiration to others in a similar situation."
Meanwhile, of the GRAND WORLD album, San Francisco monthly Rock Love said: "Cool For August, cool for September, cool for June. It doesn't matter what month they picked, this quintet would still be cool. Gordon Vaughn's powerful and emotive vocals, in the tradition of Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), are the perfect complementary topper to the mixture of strong rock numbers and moodier, slower pieces that pepper the Grand World."
In other COOL FOR AUGUST news, a near-riot broke out at the band's recent show in Memphis, TN. What began as members of the all-ages audience throwing drinks at each other turned into a bath of debris which showered the band and their equipment. An announcement from the local DJ brought about more rowdiness, including several audience members who tried to get onstage. After playing five songs without their monitors (which were shut down due to drinks being thrown onstage), the band were forced to leave the stage. "It was total chaos," notes VAUGHN, "but fun in a sick way."
Undaunted, COOL FOR AUGUST plan on hitting the road again later this month, opening for matchbox 20. Tour dates are as follows...
DATE CITY VENUE Thurs, January 29 Pensacola, FL Bayfront Auditorium Fri, January 30 Gainesville, FL Ctr for Performing Arts Sat, January 31 Tampa, FL TPAC Mon, February 2 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theatre Tues, February 3 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Sunrise Theatre Wed, February 4 Orlando, FL Bob Carr PAC Fri, February 6 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium Sat, February 7 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Mon, February 9 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium Tues, February 10 Memphis, TN Orpheum Theatre Wed, February 11 Knoxville, TN Civic Auditorium Fri, February 13 Pelham, AL Pelham Civic Complex Sat, February 14 Atlanta, GA 99X Show Sun, February 15 New Orleans, LA Saenger Theatre Tues, February 17 Little Rock, AK TBA Back to my CFA page
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