zeile august: Bio

zeile august

The american ballad as ethereal lounge. Played and sung by Portland, Maine singer and songwriter Zeile August with Fred Morin on the upright bass.

Zeile August Dougher - singer/songwriter/boss

Fred "McTon" Morin - Bass Player and Enlightened being.

Fred grew up in the frozen hinterlands of Northern Maine. At the tender age of 21, he ventured forth from the forest primeval with bass in tow to parts unknown, winding up in the Land of Portland, with its music scene, coffee shops, and art galleries. Upon his arrival, he serendipitously stumbled upon the angelic exhortations of one Zeile August Dougher, and has been playing music with her ever since.

zeile august

The solace that i found in my early Vinyl collection was just the tipping point in a life that was in transformation. Songs inspired me above anything else. So, i taught myself three chords on an old Martin guitar left behind and i fell in love with the American ballad and the autobiographical nature of the form. The rendering down of story and motion linked all things for me; my guitar reaching for sounds that reflect how it feels. It was a few years of hobo-ing around Europe and the Pacific Northwest with guitar in- tow until i wrote, sang and performed in a trio as “Zeile” in Portland, Oregon. We played Berbatti’s Pan, a few of the Mcmennimin Brothers places and had a small Seattle production company interested in doing a film and a record with us- for personal reasons i moved back to New England and landed in a small ecclectic community of musicians in Salem, Mass. I was co-creator and musical hostess of the weekly “Acid Cabaret” hosting some of Berkeley’s youngest alongside salted pro’s; i played as an opener for Mark Nelson and shared open mics(one of them hosted by friend Russ Lawton) with Susan Tedeschi and Mary Lou lord. Moving to Portland, Maine and finally finding home, I began about a five year journey with “Ditchweed Road”. I co-lead, co-wrote, sang, and played acoustic guitar playing the club circuit in Portland. We recorded a studio album with Huck Bennert and had a song produced by Charlie Gaylord for “Greetings from Area Code 207, Vol, 3”. Ditchweed Road dissolved-so, i built a studio in the attic of our 1890 Workingman Victorian on Munjoy Hill. An 8-track and I wrote “Orion’s Belt” later recording it with longtime band-mate and friend Fred Morin on Upright bass and heading to “The Halo” where Jonathan Wyman recorded and mixed (June- 2008) followed by (with Jon also producing) “Lucie’s Hobo Package” (November-2009). Both recorded and mixed in under 5 days from live takes, these records translate the bones of how i feel and what a decade and a half primed me for. (Mastered by Adam Ayan at Gateway). I formed “Orion’s Belt Records” to release them with plans to record again when it gets cold.Happy summer, thanks for reading and listening. Enjoy. Zeile.