Austin John is an American Rhythm & Blues/Rock n’ Roll singer and guitarist living in Nashville, TN. He was born and raised on dairy farm in Upstate New York. Always captivated by music, he picked up a guitar at 14 and has never looked back. He was drawn to Rock n’ Roll and Blues music almost immediately. Austin studied tapes of artists such as Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker and Hollywood Fats. After a few years of playing he formed his own group called the Austin John Band.
The Austin John Band performed frequently in the Syracuse, NY area and featured an array of fabulous musicians from Central NY. Thanks to close friend and mentor Colin Aberdeen, a well known musical treasure in the area, the band began building a following. Colin helped Austin put the band together and turned local clubs onto Austin’s music. Eventually, Austin joined forces with Dawna Zahn, the amazing powerhouse singer of local band Silver Queen Casket Company, which he joined in late 2013.
In September of 2014, Austin and Dawna moved to Nashville to continue pursuing their music career. In the Spring of 2015, they formed the band The Hi-Jivers with Hank Miles (upright bass) and Aaron Mlasko (drums). The band has since performed at clubs and festivals throughout the United States and Europe, including Rockin’ Race (Spain), Rhythm Riot (UK), Rockabilly Rave (UK), NYS Blues Festival, Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender, Nashville Boogie and Motoblot (Chicago). They have been featured in Blue Suede News Magazine, Vintage Rock Magazine and Vintage Guitar Magazine. The Hi-Jivers are currently working on a new album to be released in 2021.
In November 2020, Austin released a solo EP called “Diggin’ In” that was recorded in his home studio on Rock n’ Roll Ranch Records. This EP includes 4 tracks that are dedicated to his infatuation with blues music, including Chicago Blues, Delta Blues and Jump Blues. Austin plans on releasing a full-length album in 2021 featuring many of his favorite musicians in Nashville and beyond. Stay tuned!
Fun-Guy Records and Reverend Horton Heat are pleased to announce the release of the album “Roots of the Rev.” (Volume One) by Reverend Horton Heat. It will be released on vinyl, on all of the main streaming platforms and bandcamp.com.
“Roots of the Rev. (Volume One)” is an album of cover songs that have a connection to the band. Many of the songs are by artists who we knew personally – like Willie Nelson and Ronnie Dawson. Some songs are just a part of the history of Reverend Horton Heat. Each song’s relationship to the band is explained in detail in the liner notes.
The decidedly lo-fi album was recorded with a very live feel and mixed in monophonic – a few overdubs, but mainly us live in the room together. The use of ancient microphones and mixers, the use of old tape (yes, some digital too – hard to completely avoid these days), tape delay and the use of musicians who understand the rockabilly and early rock and roll styles.
The bulk of the album was recorded by Jim Heath at Fun-Guy Studios in Dallas. Four songs were recorded at Dale Watson’s Wat-Sun studio in Memphis. On all of the songs, Jim Heath and Jimbo Wallace were in the same room playing live together. Fun.
This was truly a labor of love and it took a while to get together but we think that our fans will find it a fun and rollicking musical adventure. A little look into the history of Reverend Horton Heat and a time gone-by. Or now, present times? Lo-fi but high energy!
Pre-release of autographed copies (150) is set for February 22, 2023. Look for the pre-release on reverendhortonheat.com/store. The full release is set for March 1, 2023.
