(Photo Credit: GFS Studios)
When would you say you first got into writing music?
Elementary school, I would make up my own parody songs to different songs that I liked. For example I had a song called “Shave Your Legs,” a fun play off of Destiny’s Child “Say My Name”. I would either write or type my lyrics out, memorize them and then sing them to my friends and family. I still have all of those song lyrics.
What's your mission as an artist? (What do you want people to take away from listening to your music)
To me music is everything, without it life would be a mistake. It’s what gets me through the day. It’s therapeutic, inspiring and sometimes spiritual for me. I love going to concerts and seeing bands and artists I look up to. Being able to just see them and see that they’re real and sing along to my favorite song with them and thousands of people in that small moment all together. It’s just one of the best feelings in the world, and that’s what I want to do for others.
If I can make music that someone can relate to that helps them get through the day. Make a song that makes them want to get up and dance and sing their heart out, or just being able to create that same feeling that I get for someone else when they hear my music or see me live. That’s what my mission is as an artist.
Is there an artist that inspires you?
I wouldn’t say there is one single artist that inspires my music, but a plethora of artists. I’m a collector of all kinds of music from the past to present and all genres. I like to add those blended genres I enjoy to my music to try and create my own unique sound.
Can you share a bit about your creative process when sitting down to write a new song? Do you normally sit down and write an entire song in one sitting or is it spread out?
My creative process is definitely spread out. I might write an entire verse in one sitting if the inspiration and creative flow is there but I’ve never written an entire song.
Getting started on a new song I feel like is different every time, but for the most part before I start writing anything down I usually have to have music first.
This new single “TRIPPIN” was actually a song I wrote over 10 years ago and I wanted to completely change the production. The song is about a scary acid trip that I had, and I really wanted to capture that in the production. I wanted it to sound scary and trippy, and this is by far the most experimental and heaviest song I’ve ever released. I took all my visions and ideas to my producer Brendan Carper (LOVESBLIND, Five AM) and luckily he is the best and he made all of that come to life and I’m so grateful for him.
My last single “LXXKN 4 THE L!TE” was also a song I had made originally as a freestyle I did back in 2020 over the song “Miss You” by Blink 182. That beat for that song is really sad and gloomy and I wanted to change that and make it more upbeat and happy with pop-punk and hip-hop flares. Again, I went to Brendan with my ideas and he helped me bring that one to life as well.
Sometimes I have the idea for a beat and mood I want it to be, or sometimes I’ll have a song that inspires me and there’s elements of that song I want to use for a new beat. I’ll bring these ideas to Brendan and he works his magic and makes me something amazing and then usually the words and inspiration starts to come after that.
However, sometimes I do get writer's block and I can tell that I’m trying way too hard to write a song and sometimes trying to force it. When that happens I usually stop working on the song for a while just to get it out of my head because I start getting frustrated. Sometimes the best thing for me to do is to step away from it. Sometimes I go and work on a new song and come back to it later with a fresh mind. Sometimes something will happen when I’m least expecting it and I’ll get some kind of inspiration. It could be anything, something I heard on the radio, or something someone said, just a little light bulb will go off in my head and I’ll be like “that’s it! That’s what I need!” Then the creative flow starts happening again and I’ll either write it down in my notes on my phone or record myself real quick singing or humming it so I don’t forget it later. Then eventually I finish the song and I’m glad I waited and went back to it so I could write something to my full potential and not something rushed or forced.
What is your pre-show ritual? Do you do anything special before you go on as a ‘good luck’ charm?
I’m usually pretty anxious, so I definitely smoke to try and calm my nerves. After I chill out a bit then I usually take a moment to hype myself back up before I go on stage, maybe take a shot and then once I get going it’s a breeze from there.
For someone who is starting out, what would your best piece of advice could you give them?
Don’t stop believing in yourself, you're dope asf. Be patient and trust the process. Market yourself as much as possible, you want people to see you and hear you.
Say you were on a safari and your playlist only consists of 3 songs, what would they be?
Exodus - Bob Marley
Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day
Love and Happiness - Al Green
Where can we find you?
Anywhere you can stream or play music just look up August Gonzalez, but here are a few links.
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Mp8Wcj4ibAQswJdv7NeXi
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/artist/august-gonzalez/1494283176
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvxsWhF1rwEvRCXd-X2fzEg
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/artists/B083NXFWNT/august-gonzalez
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/augustgonzalezmusic
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/augustgonzalezmusic
Twitter - https://twitter.com/augustgonzalezm
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@augustgonzalezmusic
Bandcamp - https://augustgonzalez.bandcamp.com/
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