For this week’s CLN Music Monday, we are excited to be interviewing up-and-coming artist, Austin English. You won’t find his music in one specific genre so if you’re someone that likes a little of everything, his music might be right up your alley. Read the full interview below!
CLN: Can you give our audience a brief introduction to yourself and/or your band?
Austin: I started playing guitar in middle school. I went to a really small school at the time and it was offered as an elective by a teacher that played. A few years later we started a band for a talent show in high school. Someone there saw us and hired us for our local festival. We had our first paying gig in high school. I was hooked from that point on.
In your own words, describe what it’s like being in the music industry? What you like, dislike, how you navigate it, etc.
I equate being in the music industry to being a backseat driver. Sometimes the driver listens and goes the way you tell them, and sometimes you’re just along for the ride. I love the travel, meeting people, playing new places for the first time, and the genuine reactions from people at our shows. There are a few things I dislike about it but they are all on the business side and boring to talk about lol. It’s been a tough industry to navigate especially in the last year. I tend to just keep my head down and try to move forward though, try to tune out the distractions, and try to make sure someone around me has their thumb on the pulse of the current scene we are involved with.
CLN: Can you tell us a little bit more about your music style?
Austin: I’ve never worried about my style or genre; country, rock, whatever. I listen to too many genres and have so many influences that I can’t pin us down to one. At the end of the day, I just try to write and record songs that I can be proud of. And I hope everyone else digs them, but at the end of the day, I’m the one that has to sing them for several years.
CLN: Are you currently working on any new music or have done so recently?
Austin: Yes! We have moved the entire business side of things to Nashville recently. We are recording music up there continuously now and I’m very excited about it. So we will have a steady stream of songs coming your way very soo
CLN: What does your process look like for creating new music?
Austin: If I’m writing a song or if I’m recording a song someone else wrote, its usually a long process to get me convinced that we should record it. I have a lot of ears on a song and try to get as much feedback as possible before pulling the trigger on it. Then we record the very best version that we can at that time. Sometimes you go back and redo something you thought of after the fact. At the end of the day though, our whole process is about putting our best foot forward.
CLN: What is your favorite thing about what you do?
Austin: Surprising people with music that they didn’t expect. Like our cover of “Everlong” we recorded and put out. A lot of people don’t expect us to play Foo Fighters.
CLN: What are you most looking forward to this year?
Austin: Our tour in June. We are hitting the Texas panhandle, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho across 3 weeks.
CLN: Do you have any closing thoughts that you’d like our audience to know?
Austin: Yes I do. If you like an artist or band, be sure your following all of us in social media, Spotify, etc. Most people don’t know that 90% of the business side of our industry is run by metrics, followers, and analytical data. It’s absolutely free to do and it can make or break a record deal, booking a show, securing a playlist spot, and so on. We need your digital support too. Check me out on Facebook at Austin English Music.
A huge thanks to Austin English for taking the time for our interview today. We can’t wait to follow his journey! If you have an up and coming artist you’d like to do a feature on, make sure to let us know!
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