It’s hard to coordinate schedules with Honor By August these days. They’re busy guys. The DC-based band is currently on the road promoting their new album “Monuments To Progress” while playing to audiences all over the country. Next Up: They’ll be spending the summer on tour in support of The Voice’s Season Two finalist Tony Lucca. But before that, Honor By August will playing a big CD release celebration show at the 9:30 Club this Friday (May 24).

Lead singer Michael Pearsall took a few minutes to talk to We Love DC via e-mail about the bands’ recent success on a national level and how that all feels in anticipation of their big hometown show.

Rachel: Tell me about this new album. I’m sure there’s a certain sense of accomplishment having gone the Kickstarter route. How does it feel to have it released?

Michael: It feels incredible to be able to put out an album that was funded by our fans. We were truly humbled by the amount of support we received from people through Kickstarter. Monuments To Progress is a great representation of Honor By August that showcases out diversity. There are moments where we really rock out but there are also moments where we dial it back and hopefully draw the listener in. It’s a complete album that explores the depths of different emotions lyrically and reaches new heights for us sonically. It’s an effort that we’re all very proud of.

R: What was the greatest challenge involved in making the project a reality?

M: Well initially the greatest challenge was the funding, but Kickstarter took care of that. After that, perhaps releasing the album proved to be most difficult. The album was done being recorded many months ago but for various reasons such as label and management changes we didn’t release it until April. I think it’s all turned out for the best though because the path we’re on now appears to be going really well.

R: You’ve been around as a band for a good amount of years now. How would you describe your growth both individually and as a group during that time?

M: I’ve grown a lot as a songwriter over the years. Not only do I think I’ve become a better writer but I’ve also learned to let go a little bit more. Everyone contributed a great deal to the songwriting process on this album both musically and lyrically and I believe as a result its our strongest material to date. Having everyone be a part of each song from its origin was a first for us. The fact that the four of us have been playing together now for over four years made us much tighter in the studio as well. I think we did an extremely efficient job in each stage of the process from writing to recording and it allowed us to get the best possible results on this album.

R: How does it feel to have hometown support while gaining momentum on a national level?

M: It’s truly a blessing. We are so grateful to be returning to the 9:30 Club. It’s our favorite venue in the country and we’re lucky to have it in our backyard. The DC area has been very good to us over the years. We love traveling all over the country, meeting new people and spreading our music to the masses but it always feels good to come home.

R: What are your goals for the band this year? And beyond?

M: Currently our single “Last Chance” is being played by various radio stations across the country as well as on SiriusXM (The Pulse – ch.15) which is one of our big goals for this year.  We’re looking forward to our upcoming tour with Tony Lucca later this summer and then we hope to be doing a nationwide tour this fall. We’d like to see our single continue to climb up the charts and play to an increasing fan base wherever we go. We’re happy to be doing something we love to do with people we love and building a sustainable career in the process. Hopefully this album is a giant stepping stone on a very long and prosperous journey.