Five Times August 'Brighter Side' album

On March 18, Five Times August (aka 24-year old Dallas native Brad Skistimas) will release his sophomore album 'Brighter Side.' Written entirely by Skistimas, 'Brighter Side' brims with melodies that are pure acoustic singer/songwriter at the core. The first single "The Good Life" is a masterpiece of guitar-driven rock propelled by infectious hooks, tight arrangements and Skistimas' yearning, elastic voice which recalls Paul Westerberg's classic ache.

Five Times August has developed a massive national grassroots following through constant touring. In 2007, he toured over 8 months performing in 43 states. Completely self-booked, Brad greeted many of his 62,000+ My Space fans along the way. Plans are in the works for an extensive 2008 tour schedule.

While ‘Brighter Side’ will no doubt cause labels to take notice, Five Times August remains committed to independence: "I've had offers that many other unsigned acts would probably snag in a minute, but I'm doing so well on my own. Working independently is amazing and gratifying, and I'm very lucky to be leading the way for this new way of doing things."

Five Times August’s debut album 'The Independent' earned the songster a level of success rarely achieved by indie artists. Some highlights include:

•Five Times August placed every song on 'The Independent' on national television networks- over 30 placements including MTV, Oxygen, Lifetime, CW, and Fox Reality. In addition, “Sentimental Spell” from ‘Brighter Side’ will be featured as the outro of the Real World season finale on January 9, 2008.

•He sold 13,000 CDs and over 100,000 track downloads for 'The Independent'.

•Over 11 million plays on MySpace. Five Times August also held the #1 Unsigned Acoustic & Pop Artist and the #3 Unsigned Artist Worldwide spots on MySpace.

biography
Five Times August, a name with a reputation as one of the most important commodities in the music industry’s new business model for up and coming artists. The completely unsigned solo project of 24 year old Dallas, Texas native Brad Skistimas returns with the new album “Brighter Side.” After selling over 100,000 digital downloads without a record label, having every single song from the last album placed on various popular television programs, and becoming the first unsigned act sold in Wal-Mart stores nationwide, one can only wonder what Five Times August will accomplish next.

With “Brighter Side,” Skistimas has crafted an album of balance. Relatable catchy pop tunes without the overly produced sound that invades today’s Top 40 market. The music is real and each song is its own. In the midst of an industry looking for one novelty hit after another, “Brighter Side” proves to have quality and charm. It’s not just another album with two polished hit songs and ten okay fillers. This album throws away the standard formula of co-writer after co-writer, heavily produced studio tricks, and keeping to a genre specific theme.

At the core you will find, simply, a songwriter with an acoustic guitar. Skistimas blends these acoustic pop arrangements with flavorful hints of roots, country, rock and even punk at times. The mellow “Who You Are” will appeal to fans of Norah Jones or Ryan Adams, while the rebelious rocker “Overrated” might pull in fans of Fall Out Boy or Green Day. The nineties-esque “One Way Road” reminisces that of Matchbox 20 or Hootie and the Blowfish while the blue-collar anthem “The Lighting” reflects the heavy electric guitars of Oasis. From start to finish the album takes you on a journey equivalent to a mix tape featuring a compilation of artists.

And it’s no wonder “Brighter Side” has a sound all it’s own, considering the team that helped Brad put it all together. Recorded in Dallas at Bass Propulsion Laboratories, it was produced by the studio’s owners, brothers Todd and Toby Pipes (Deep Blue Something, Drowning Pool, Flickerstick). At the recommendation of the Pipes Bros, Skistimas recruited local studio musicians for most of the instrumentation, but also took it upon himself to invite former Vertical Horizon drummer Ed Toth to provide a solid backbeat for the record.

“Since Five Times August is a solo project I have the freedom to bring in a variety of players to fit each album.” Skistimas says. “It’s great because those different inputs provide a level of comfort in knowing my sound will never get repetitive from one record to the next. It’s like forming a new band each time around.”

In addition to recording at BPL Studios, Skistimas had the album mixed by Grammy Award Winner Andy Zulla (Rod Stewart, Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson).

Five Times August wrapped up an extensive college tour in 2007, traveling 8 months out of the year, visiting 43 of the 50 states, and plans to start the whole thing up again in 2008 to support the release of “Brighter Side.” This time around FTA will be releasing the album with the help of Croshal Entertainment Group, a virtual label based out of LA.

“I figured if I accomplished what I did with my last album by mainly word of mouth and almost no promotion behind it there’s no telling what can happen if I actually give myself a marketing fund this time around!” Skistimas proclaims. “The great thing about working with CEG is that I’m still unsigned and in control of my own image and music, but will still get the attention that many major label releases receive.”

While Skistimas continues to break barriers as an unsigned artist, the music industry should prepare itself for a new breed of music and marketing upon the release of Five Times August’s upcoming release. “Brighter Side” will be in stores nationwide in March 2008.

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