Five Times August is, in many ways, the poster act for the "DIY" model of independent musicians. Over the past couple of years, Brad Skistimas (who performs as Five Times August because his last name is difficult to pronounce) has managed to navigate the music business without a record label in ways few truly independent artists have. Skistimas, unlike other acts signed to "marketing companies" instead of labels, is truly unsigned - just he and his wife run the daily business of his career. Of course, Brad will say his fans are very much apart of the team.

That fan support is evident from his successes. Five Times August is among the top unsigned acts on all of Myspace and sold over 100,000 downloads, a feat that is quite difficult to do without label support. In addition to support from fans, television has taken quite a liking to Brad. His songs have received well over a dozen TV show placements, including MTV's Laguna Beach, The Real World and The Hills.  All that work has set the stage for the release of his new record last month, that coincided with a national television performance on the CBS Early Show. 

Just prior to appearing on CBS, Brad stopped into Sun to play for an intimate gathering of fans. In this clip, Brad plays the "The Good Life" from his latest cd Brighter Side.  Some have compared his singing style to Jason Mraz and his guitar playing to Tim Reynolds. Check out the video and tell us what you think...