{"id":848,"date":"2013-12-28T12:16:09","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T17:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonlyloveproject.org\/?p=848"},"modified":"2018-10-08T20:59:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T00:59:24","slug":"love-can-open-doors-knock-down-walls-penetrate-the-enemy-feed-the-hungry-heal-the-sick-louis-st-august","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonlyloveproject.org\/?p=848","title":{"rendered":"“Love can open doors, knock down walls, penetrate the enemy, feed the hungry, heal the sick” – Louis St. August"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Louis<\/a><\/p>\n

On December 13, 2013, the Only Love Project\u2019s Bill Murphy (BM) called Louis St. August (LSA), vocalist for the legendary Boston-area melodic-rock band MASS.<\/p>\n

The transcript of our conversation is printed below. Enjoy.<\/p>\n

And thanks again, Louis!<\/p>\n

LSA: Hello?<\/p>\n

BM: Is this Louis?<\/p>\n

LSA: Yes, it is.<\/p>\n

BM: Louis, this is Bill Murphy calling.<\/p>\n

LSA: Hey Bill, how are you?<\/p>\n

BM: Doing great. How are you?<\/p>\n

LSA: I\u2019m good, thanks. How is it over there in, where are you living – Ohio?<\/p>\n

BM: Michigan, Grand Rapids.<\/p>\n

LSA: Michigan, Michigan.<\/p>\n

BM: Yep.<\/p>\n

LSA: So you must be experiencing the cold weather as we are here in Boston.<\/p>\n

BM: [laughs] I don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve had in Boston, but I know what we\u2019ve had throughout the Midwest here. It hasn\u2019t been pretty. You guys having the same kind of crappy weather?<\/p>\n

LSA: We are. It\u2019s been little flurries, it\u2019s been very cold, in the 20s, and we\u2019re expecting a little snowstorm tomorrow, 8-10 inches, or 8-12 they\u2019re predicting.<\/p>\n

BM: Wow.<\/p>\n

LSA: Yeah, everybody\u2019s going to run out to the stores and buy that milk and bread because the end of the world is coming. [laughs]<\/p>\n

\"Louis<\/a>BM: [laughs] Well, I appreciate your time tonight. I\u2019ve been a fan for well over two decades, since the mid \u201880s.<\/p>\n

LSA: Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, we\u2019ve chatted quite a bit on Facebook, and if I recall maybe back in MySpace days.<\/p>\n

BM: Yes. Yep.<\/p>\n

LSA: I think, if I remember correctly. I try to remember everybody, but it\u2019s kinda hard.<\/p>\n

BM: [laughs] Well, I appreciate it. I approached you for an interview for The Only Love Project because of your posts on Facebook<\/a>. Everything about you seems so positive. Same for your band. So, I thought you\u2019d be a great candidate to share that with people.<\/p>\n

LSA: Thank you.<\/p>\n

BM: The first question is, Briefly tell us about your background. What would you like others to know about you?<\/p>\n

LSA: Well, I guess this: I\u2019m an only child born in the Sixties to a loving Catholic family. At a very early age, around four, I knew music was going to be a very big part of my life, and it has. That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n

BM: [laughs] So between the age of four and now, you left out a big chunk. You guys [the band MASS] have released seven albums.<\/p>\n

LSA: Oh gosh, you wanna talk about MASS?<\/p>\n

BM: [Laughs] Not yet. We\u2019ll save that. Next question: Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?<\/p>\n

\"Louis<\/a>LSA: Definitely. Yes. I do. I think that all humans are spiritual in some capacity, and that\u2019s what separates us from being a cow or some other animal. Although most animals behave more loving than some humans. But, yes, definitely.<\/p>\n

BM: Next question: Many religious traditions speak of the power and value of love. For example, the Dhammapada says, \u201cOnly love dispels hate.\u201d The Bible says, \u201cA new commandment I give you, that you love one another.\u201d What, if anything, do those words mean to you?<\/p>\n

LSA: I think, Buddha\u2019s teaching, I think it\u2019s very simple. I think what he\u2019s saying there is just, only love can conquer evil. And the commandment, Jesus is saying, he\u2019d just like us to love each other as he loved us. He loved us so much he laid down his life for us. That\u2019s what God is all about: love.<\/p>\n

BM: Have you ever been tested on that, by the way?<\/p>\n

LSA: No. No I haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

BM: That kind of love doesn\u2019t come along very often. Totally self sacrificial.<\/p>\n

LSA: I agree. I agree.<\/p>\n

BM: What role can love play in the world today?<\/p>\n

\"Louis<\/a>LSA: Well, in the world today, I think love can open doors, I think it can knock down walls, it can penetrate the enemy, it can feed the hungry, it can heal the sick. You know, it can heal broken hearts. I think John Lennon said it best, \u201cAll you need is love. Love is all you need.\u201d It\u2019s kind of a philosophy that I go by, and I kind of look on the brightest side of life, that\u2019s why you\u2019ll see on some of my posts, positive, I always try to look for the good things and keep away from some of the negativity of the world.<\/p>\n

BM: What stops people from being more loving and compassionate?<\/p>\n

LSA: In my opinion, some of it may just be ignorance to what, how someone else may feel. Or selfishness. For others it could be just their upbringing, their surroundings, their environment. There are so many reasons, I\u2019ll never understand.<\/p>\n

BM: [laughs] Do you have recommendations regarding how someone might cultivate a spirit of love over the long term, but also put love into action right now, so that they can make a positive difference right away?<\/p>\n

LSA: I just believe the best way is by leading by example. The way you would like to be treated. Love others the way you would like to be loved. Teach this to your children, and in return, they\u2019ll teach it to theirs, and so on, and so on.<\/p>\n

BM: Who do you look up to most when you think of the power of love?<\/p>\n

LSA: Personally, I look up to my mother. I think she was a loving, caring person, and she gave a lot of that to me. I learned a lot from her. Spiritually, it would be Jesus. Those are my two.<\/p>\n

BM: Given what you said about parents, do you think it\u2019s critical that parents teach their children to be the example you talked about?<\/p>\n

\"Family_X-mass_2012\"<\/a>LSA: Yes, absolutely. I believe so. I think that children see from a very early age how we act towards each other, me and my wife, how we act, and that\u2019s how they\u2019re gonna grow up, that\u2019s how they\u2019re gonna act when they get married, how they\u2019re gonna treat their spouses, how they\u2019re gonna treat their friends, how they\u2019re gonna treat their family. Crosby, Stills, & Nash\u2019s song \u201cTeach Your Children\u201d is correct. Teach the kids, and they\u2019ll pass it on.<\/p>\n

BM: Couple of questions, then, about the music industry itself. How do you stay positive being in the music business, with all of its ups and downs, ins and outs?<\/p>\n

\"NewBirth\"<\/a>LSA: I just look at it and say no matter what God or Jesus has planned for me, I\u2019m just happy with what I\u2019ve accomplished. I haven\u2019t accomplished many things, but what I have, I\u2019m grateful and I\u2019m thankful for what I\u2019ve got. I\u2019ve been able to do seven albums. I\u2019ve been able to play with the same guys for so many years and to write songs that I think are pretty good, and I\u2019ve gotten to meet a lot of nice people and play a lot of nice shows. And I\u2019ve been asked to do other musical things with other people, and I feel blessed and just honored to be asked by some of these people. And I think it\u2019s definitely God. He brings some of these people into my life for a reason, and it is the reason I\u2019ve gone this far or haven\u2019t gone far enough, it\u2019s his plan. It\u2019s really his plan, and I\u2019m just thankful, and that\u2019s how I stay positive. Sure, sometimes I get down, like we all do, but I pick myself up and move on to something else, and it brings joy to me.<\/p>\n

\"TakeYouHome\"<\/a>BM: When you think back on all of the songs you\u2019ve written, is there one or two that you think really stand out as a good example of positivity or love? Or, to look at it another way, What song are you most proud of with MASS?<\/p>\n

LSA: That\u2019s a good question, because you know what, I love them all. Everybody asks, \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite record, what\u2019s your favorite album?\u201d They all have a little bit of me in that album. A lot of my lyrics are autobiographical, so something would happen in my life or something that happened in the band\u2019s life, or something around us, so every time I think about New Birth<\/a> [first album, 1985]. I think about us in that \u201985 recording that, and everything that happened. But as far as a song, one particular song, it\u2019s tough. Positive song, maybe \u201cDo You Love Me\u201d [from New Birth. official video at bottom of interview]. A lot of people enjoy that song. On Voices in the Night<\/a> [third album, 1989] it\u2019s probably \u201cA Chance to Love\u201d or \u201cCall Out Your Name.\u201d On the new album [Sea of Black<\/a>, 2010], I think a lot of people like \u201cTill We Meet Again.\u201d I think they can relate to that, to that song, I think it\u2019s kind of a positive message, that we\u2019ll meet again. You may have lost a loved one here, but I feel that you\u2019ll be reconnected one day. So I\u2019d say those three or four songs. You know, when I hang up with you, I\u2019ll probably think of two, three more, and think, \u201cGee, why didn\u2019t I say that one?\u201d<\/p>\n

BM: [laughs]<\/p>\n

\"CrackOfDawn\"<\/a>LSA: When you\u2019ve written 100 songs over the course of a career, a lot of people know those kind of 12 songs that are on those seven albums, but we also have many, many songs that we\u2019ve written that are on demo that have never made it to the record, that just kind of got pushed to the wayside, because we just didn\u2019t pick it, or we got sick of playing it. Maybe we didn\u2019t make the right decision.<\/p>\n

BM: [laughs]<\/p>\n

\"SeaOfBlack\"<\/a>LSA: That\u2019s what happens, you know, we\u2019ll write a song and it sounds great, we\u2019ll like that song, and then we\u2019ll write a new song, and we\u2019ll like the new song better than that one, but who\u2019s to say that that one\u2019s better than the other one? So it\u2019s tough.<\/p>\n

BM: Well, here\u2019s the last question: Do you have anything you\u2019d like to add that I haven\u2019t asked?<\/p>\n

LSA: Just thank you. Thank you for taking your time out and inviting me to do the interview for The Only Love Project. I think it\u2019s great. You sent me the link and I read a little bit. I think it\u2019s great. Keep up the great work. If people want to check out our music or check out more about Mass, obviously, they can check out the website. It\u2019s MassRocks<\/a>. hope to see you some day, and your wife. You\u2019re gonna have your poor wife working on this, typing away. So I wanna say hello to her and thank her for me. And maybe one day we can go out for a drink, before we shrivel up and die here. [laughs]<\/p>\n

\"VoicesInTheNight\"<\/a>BM: [laughs] In one of our conversations on Facebook, I believe you said you guys are going to be working on another album, releasing it in 2014?<\/p>\n

LSA: Yes, we\u2019re hoping for 2014. It just seems, we have about five or six tunes, we get together and we write a few more tunes, and it just seems like something, if something comes up, we get offered a show, or somebody has to do something in the studio, and it gets prolonged. But yes, our goal is to write it this winter, and get a new album out by 2014.<\/p>\n

BM: Good.<\/p>\n

LSA: We really wanted to get it out last year, but we just couldn\u2019t. So we\u2019ll start fresh after the Christmas holiday.<\/p>\n

BM: Have a merry Christmas, Louis. I appreciate your time.<\/p>\n

LSA: Merry Christmas to you, Mr. Murphy. Bill, we\u2019ll talk to you soon. Thank you.<\/p>\n

Below is the official video clip for “Do You Love Me,” released in the mid 1980s.<\/p>\n