Album Notes

maybe august:

Keith Carolan-bass
Paul Hughes- drums
Michael Robertson-gtr, vocals
Scott Robertson-gtr vocals
Rosco Selley- harmonica, vocals

‘based on actual events’ was engineered & produced by Gregg Leonard & Geoff Michael at
Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor, MI




With three songwriters, three vocalists, & dozens of influences, maybe august can not be pigeonholed. We are all veteran musicians; we are not rock, pop, folk, blues or whatever musicians—we are simply musicians who all share the love of a well written song. In today’s music business, having a variety & blend of genres on a recording project is probably not a good marketing tactic, but it is what we are; & though our live shows are known for improv jamming, this CD is ALL about the songs.

Each of these ten songs has a personality of it’s own. As we were developing these tunes, we made the decision to let them take whatever direction they seemed to want. If it meant trying a horn section, we tried it. If a song cried out for a Hammond B-3, we hired a B-3 player. Need a female vocalist? Get one. We wanted these songs to reach their full potential. In the studio, Geoff & Gregg (Greoff?, Geogg?) behind the console helped us fill out sounds when it was needed & pull back when a song needed to breathe.

We love the SOUND of this record. Extra time & care was taken to capture the most satisfying tones we could get out of our voices & instruments.

Finally, we believe that a good song has to have good lyrics (um, unless it’s an instrumental). Lyric writing is not something we rush through so we can get to the chorus again. Some of these songs were years in the writing.

Hope ya dig it………………

Naked:
Some folks hear it as a party song, but it's actually a deep philosophical reflection on arbitrarily imposed ideas of fashion that tell us (especially young women) we are not pretty enough as we are.
I blame advertising & Brittney.
(OK...... to be honest, it's also a party song.) - RS

Amanda Lynn:
This song is not exactly autobiographical but it does come from some personal experience. It’s basically about coming of age in a small town with more libido than brains. – MR

Alison:
A sad song about the second girl to break my heart…but named after one of the girls I’m hoping will be third. – MR

Sale On Salvation:
This is just a little ditty ‘bout my antipathy of the exploitation of God for profit. Each verse has a different protagonist, each with their own shortcomings. I think you can make more accurate judgments about people when you base them on their words and actions. Hence they do some things in this song that I find morally reprehensible. I’m sorry if you don’t get it. – MR

Greener:
Rarely do we regognize the most significantmoments in our lives as they are happening.more often they pass by us like so many strangers in a crowd. –SR

Lies:
This afternoon my favorite news program read the name and a brief history of yet another 20 year old boy who just lost his life in Iraq, and about his family who lost a son and brother and grandson and friend. I wondered if anyone has ever read the stories of the thousands of young people who have died in Iraq to President Bush. God be with them and their families. The real One, not the One the president believes in. - MR

The Light:
This song resulted from a late night after gig conversation with my friend John Anderson. I was bitching about the general shittiness of the world situation or something, & John's reaction was "right, um, but what are you doing to help anything?"
Ouch.
My old band Blues Controversy helped birth this song- thanks to you all. - RS


Wait A Minute:
This is a song I first heard probably in the mid 70's?? Seldom Scene was on one of those live concert shows that were so cool back in the day. I'd never heard of the band or the song, but Wait A Minute REALLY stuck in my head. I looked all over for a recording, but this was way before the internet, & I could never find it. Years passed, I became a musician, & everywhere I went I would look for Seldom Scene recordings in record stores. Finally, around 1990 I found a copy of the album Old Train, with Wait A minute on it, at SchoolKids Records in Ann Arbor. The song was as good as I remembered it. More years passed & I hooked up with Scott & Mike & played them the song & we've been doing it live ever since as a trio.

To make it short (too late,) great song..... I hope we do it justice. – RS

The Spilling Cup:
The lyrics of this song were written deliberately to be interpreted much more broadly than what they mean to me specifically. It was inspired by someone I love very much. Someone who I aspire to teach and have also come to learn a great deal from myself. The waiting is the hardest part. But it’s worth it…you’ll see. – MR

Cold:
This song is sort of the other side of The Light - it can be very hard on the people closest to you when you do let the bad times beat you down. - RS