Volume 1, Issue 5 |
| AUSTYN |
| Jazz Pianist Mina Cho |
We’ve all heard of the extremely talented Soul singers who aren’t African-American. There’s
Michael Bolton, Hall & Oates, Tina Marie, Lisa Stansfield, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, and the
list goes on and on. Well, meet the new face of “Blue-eyed Soul,” Austyn. The Midwest crooner
caught our attention from the first note, and with such great musical composition behind him,
Austyn is guaranteed to make you put your “Hands Up.”
IAE: Where are you from and who are some of your biggest musical influences?
AUS: I’m from Jackson Ohio which is a small town in the Southern part of the state. Growing up I was
always into all the classic Motown songs by people like the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Supremes, and
Stevie Wonder. Aerosmith and KISS were both important early influences too. Right now, my main influences
vocally would be Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Paul Stanley from KISS,Charlie Wilson, and a guy that not too
many people know about named Glenn Hughes whose a great blue eyed soul singer. In terms of my writing, I’m
influenced by people like Robin Thicke, Seal, Sam Sparro, and Joss Stone...basically anyone with a unique
twist on R&B.
IAE: Describe your music to us?
AUS: My music is R&B/Soul with a lot of POP mixed in. I try to write melodies that are catchy and lyrics that
are easily relatable. Certain songs are really simple and straight forward lyrically and some have a lot more
depth. Most of my stuff thats available right now isn’t too deep but in the near future i’ll be releasing several
social commentary type songs that touch on things that may be a bit more controversial and are definitely
more substantial lyrically.
IAE: What is your most recent album or single release, and how hard has it been for you to
promote yourself without a record label’s help?
AUS: My latest single is called “Our Love” which is kind of a 60s Motown/2010 POP fusion type of song. I
think of it as sounding like something Earth,Wind, and Fire or someone like that would release if they did a new
album right now...it has that vintage style to it but its still pretty current sounding production wise.
I also just re-released a song called “Hands Up” which is more of a POP song.
Its difficult to sell music without the kind of mass promotion a label can provide. Fans of R&B typically seem to
stick with the mainstream...there’s not a hugely successful underground or indie scene within the genre like
there is for hip hop and rock. It takes a lot of creativity and persistence to get people to even listen to music
from an unsigned act, let alone download a copy when they can stream it for free 24/7 online. Luckily my sales
so far have been good but it definitely takes a lot of time to promote the music without any labels or PR firms
behind it.
IAE: How do you book performances and where can fans of your music see you perform live?
AUS: I’m in the process of lining up shows for this coming Summer. For now I’m just working on booking
shows at festivals throughout Ohio and the surrounding states. Later on in the year and into next year I’ll start
doing the typical club dates and whatever other opportunities come my way throughout the states.
IAE: Where can people buy your music and keep up with you?
AUS: All of my singles are currently available on Amazon.com, iTunes, Napster, eMusic, and Rhapsody;
just search for Austyn on any of those sites. I just recently launched my site, Austynmusic.com, which has all
the information and music I have available as well as links to the social media pages like MySpace, Facebook,
and Twitter.
IAE: What is your ultimate goal with your music career?
AUS: I really just want to entertain myself and other people with the music I make. Whether someone
listens to my music in the background while they drive to work or connects with it in a more serious way I’m
happy. Ultimately I plan to support myself throughout my entire life by releasing music and performing.
Michael Bolton, Hall & Oates, Tina Marie, Lisa Stansfield, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, and the
list goes on and on. Well, meet the new face of “Blue-eyed Soul,” Austyn. The Midwest crooner
caught our attention from the first note, and with such great musical composition behind him,
Austyn is guaranteed to make you put your “Hands Up.”
IAE: Where are you from and who are some of your biggest musical influences?
AUS: I’m from Jackson Ohio which is a small town in the Southern part of the state. Growing up I was
always into all the classic Motown songs by people like the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Supremes, and
Stevie Wonder. Aerosmith and KISS were both important early influences too. Right now, my main influences
vocally would be Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Paul Stanley from KISS,Charlie Wilson, and a guy that not too
many people know about named Glenn Hughes whose a great blue eyed soul singer. In terms of my writing, I’m
influenced by people like Robin Thicke, Seal, Sam Sparro, and Joss Stone...basically anyone with a unique
twist on R&B.
IAE: Describe your music to us?
AUS: My music is R&B/Soul with a lot of POP mixed in. I try to write melodies that are catchy and lyrics that
are easily relatable. Certain songs are really simple and straight forward lyrically and some have a lot more
depth. Most of my stuff thats available right now isn’t too deep but in the near future i’ll be releasing several
social commentary type songs that touch on things that may be a bit more controversial and are definitely
more substantial lyrically.
IAE: What is your most recent album or single release, and how hard has it been for you to
promote yourself without a record label’s help?
AUS: My latest single is called “Our Love” which is kind of a 60s Motown/2010 POP fusion type of song. I
think of it as sounding like something Earth,Wind, and Fire or someone like that would release if they did a new
album right now...it has that vintage style to it but its still pretty current sounding production wise.
I also just re-released a song called “Hands Up” which is more of a POP song.
Its difficult to sell music without the kind of mass promotion a label can provide. Fans of R&B typically seem to
stick with the mainstream...there’s not a hugely successful underground or indie scene within the genre like
there is for hip hop and rock. It takes a lot of creativity and persistence to get people to even listen to music
from an unsigned act, let alone download a copy when they can stream it for free 24/7 online. Luckily my sales
so far have been good but it definitely takes a lot of time to promote the music without any labels or PR firms
behind it.
IAE: How do you book performances and where can fans of your music see you perform live?
AUS: I’m in the process of lining up shows for this coming Summer. For now I’m just working on booking
shows at festivals throughout Ohio and the surrounding states. Later on in the year and into next year I’ll start
doing the typical club dates and whatever other opportunities come my way throughout the states.
IAE: Where can people buy your music and keep up with you?
AUS: All of my singles are currently available on Amazon.com, iTunes, Napster, eMusic, and Rhapsody;
just search for Austyn on any of those sites. I just recently launched my site, Austynmusic.com, which has all
the information and music I have available as well as links to the social media pages like MySpace, Facebook,
and Twitter.
IAE: What is your ultimate goal with your music career?
AUS: I really just want to entertain myself and other people with the music I make. Whether someone
listens to my music in the background while they drive to work or connects with it in a more serious way I’m
happy. Ultimately I plan to support myself throughout my entire life by releasing music and performing.
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