April 2003 ! New
Rock Stone

Name: Aug Stone
Age: just turned 27 on April 24
Location: Boston, MA, USA

Describe Rock Stone in five words:
multi-flavoured love-stained twilight bedroom pop

Have you got a band or is it just yourself?
I write all the songs and play almost all the instruments on the recordings. Danny Gold and Tony Norton, who have produced the first couple of singles, usually program the drums and synths. Angela Coraccio plays keyboards with me live and has added some really great parts.

How long have you been making music?
I’ve been playing guitar since I was 10 though I fooled around on some other instruments before that and I’ve been in bands since that time. I’ve always written songs on my own though Cherry Vanilla and When U Look Away are my first solo recordings which I started in 2001. I probably have about 50 songs that I think are worth recording.

Who/what are your influences?
the Jesus & Mary Chain, Joy Division/New Order, the Stone Roses, Saint Etienne, Jean-Luc Godard, Echo & the Bunnymen, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Amis, Evelyn Waugh, Depeche Mode, Monty Python, James, Nick Cave, Herge, Suede, Spiritualized.

What are you listening to at the moment?
I just heard the new Ian McCulloch single which I love. Ride ( I recently saw two of Mark Gardener’s solo shows which were fantastic!). My “World’s End” e.p., Throwing Muses, Club 8, Depeche Mode, and a “Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill” cd I picked up after listening to Ian’s version of “September Song” again.

You are going to Sweden soon. Are you looking forward to it, have you been there before?
I am so excited about this trip to Sweden! I’ve never been there before, I was in Norway once and it was beautiful. I’ve heard incredible things about Sweden, how nice everyone is. And everyone I’ve talked to so far has been incredibly friendly and helpful. Karl and Joel from the Razorblades and Lemonades club have set up 2 shows so far and I’m looking to get a few more. Hanna Fahl has played Cherry Vanilla a few times on national radio and people seem to really like it. I’m sure we’ll have a blast.

Will you be doing any shows in the UK in the future?
I’m planning on moving to London for a few months in the fall. I’ve always wanted to live there and I know if I don’t do it soon I never will. London is my favourite city in the world and I’ve had such a great time the few times I’ve been there. I want to play as much as I can while I’m there and I’ve been talking to people about setting up some shows. Hopefully I’ll get to do a few with Fosca.

Tell us about your new e.p.
I’m really proud of the new e.p. which will be the “World’s End” e.p. The songs “World’s End” and “Star Slide” are the first I produced on my own, though Danny Gold (from Polystar) helped edit them and produced the other two songs on the e.p. . I wrote the song “World’s End” walking back from the post office one day this winter. When I got home I had to rush off to work so I quick grabbed my acoustic guitar and played the chords into a dictaphone so I could sing the lyrics over it while I drove to work. The second song, “Always Kisses”, is going to be the title track to the full-length album though this recording is the synth-pop version. “Blue Green” is actually a song by my old band, Rockets burst from the Streetlamps, that I always wanted to sing. So I did my own version and made it sound a lot more like New Order. “Star Slide” is a song I sat down and started writing after leaving my ex-girlfriend a phone message for the first time in months. Then she called me back while I was writing it so I finished it after we had a really great conversation. So it’s really sad but one of my favourites.

What’s the future for Rock Stone?
In May and June I’m going to record the Always Kisses album. Aubrey Anderson from the Skating Club is going to produce it and Fitts from the Elevator Drops is going to play drums on it. Aubrey and I did a song for a comp. this winter which came out great so I’m really psyched about working with him. And Fitts is just an incredible drummer. I’ve started demoing songs for the album after that already too. I have an e.p. called “Girl Talk” that is 6 songs with girl’s names in the titles (i.e. “Sarah’s Records”) that I want to record this fall while I’m in London. I also have an instrumental project called Detektiv that I’d like to release something by when it’s ready. It’s more in the style of what I did with the Rockets. And I also have a “goth” band called Aug’s Gone Goth!?! that I’m writing songs for. Lots of people have told me that I’m a closet goth so I came up with this idea. The album is gonna be called “Pornaugraphy” and feature songs such as “All Dressed Up and No Place to Die” and “Savings Bondage”.

Any other comments: Thanks Patricia, that was fun!

Thanks Aug!!!