Brown

Hey Austin, what it is?

Share with us a little background information about yourself, where you're from, musical experience, non-musical experience etc.

Well…my name is Austin, I was born in Houston, and I live in Dallas. I’ve been to every continent (minus Antarctica) multiple times, traveling with my father who is in the oil business. I went to middle school in Venezuela, where I learned how to speak Spanish fluently and consequently play guitar. When I came back to the US, I started a horrible nu-metal band with my best friend Zach Jobin. After countless lineup changes, weekend parties at my parents house, and a few detentions we put a package together that worked.
A Faith Called Chaos was signed to Volcom Entertainment during my senior year of high school, and we went on our first nation-wide tour that following summer: The Vans Warped Tour. While on tour, we were invited to continue touring in Europe opening up for Rise Against, which would have been an incredible opportunity, although my parents had other plans in mind. Because I was destined to be the first person in my direct family tree to graduate college, I had to cut the party short and come back home after the tour so I could enroll at the University of Texas at Arlington. School was dreadful. While other students anxiously awaited the professor’s lesson of the day, I was fantasizing about being back on stage in front of thousands of roaring youngsters rocking and rolling. Eventually, A Faith Called Chaos, disbanded as most bands do who get signed too early. Our bass player had kids, our singer started collecting lizards, our lead guitarist got married, and Zach and I just got bored with the sound. So…I started creating my own music. It took me about a year to put “Nova Dreamer” together. I wrote about 25 songs for the record and threw away 15 of them. I performed and recorded everything on the record in my home studio. I solicited the services of the magician, John Congleton, when I was ready to finalize the record. About 8 months ago I put a band together and started playing shows; the rest has been history. ...That about brings us up to date.

You have a very eclectic style, very Beck-ish on tracks like "Galactic Virgin" and "Way Too Cool", Talking Head-ish on "Rhythm of Texas", and STP-ish on "Take Time". Where do you draw your influences from?

I am a huge fan of Beck, the Talking Heads, and Stone Temple Pilots, although the majority of what I listen to is old 60s / 70s blues rock like Ten Years After and Spirit. If I thought I could play nothing but the blues in today’s music market and still survive, I probably would. But at the same time I respect people like Beck, who can re-invent themselves with each new record, and really with each new song. So, I’ve tried to follow the same model. I understand the need to have a packaged sound, one that is easily absorbed into a general radio format. However, I treat each new song like an independent project and try to do whatever is best for the song.

What is the concept behind your album "Nova Dreamer"?
Technically, a “Nova Dreamer” is an apparatus that helps people condition themselves into a state of Lucid Dreaming. For those unlucky people who don’t know what lucid dreaming is…it is simply the act of becoming cognizant of the fact that you are dreaming, which in turn gives you the power to control the dream reality that you are experiencing while you’re asleep. I’ve always been fascinated with this concept, and so my intention was to fashion my album into a tool that could help listeners achieve a state of lucid dreaming or at least put them in a better position to achieve a lucid state.

You don't press up CD's like most artists, but propagate jump drives with your music, what gave you that idea? It is no secret that CD sales are plunging. Not only are CD sales falling but sales of music recordings in general are lower now then they have ever been in the history of recorded music. A Faith Called Chaos always made more money from selling t-shirts, than we did from selling CD's. Historically the same has been for most major label acts as well. So…I asked myself why would someone want a t-shirt over a CD? And the answer I came up with was that people can re-use a shirt over and over, day after day. It fulfills a basic human need. My theory was that if I deliver my music in a way that adds value to the user’s life, he/she wouldn’t mind paying for music, knowing that they were getting something useful along with it.

The first time I saw you, it was opening for Eagles of Death Metal. For a fledgling band, that is a great gig to get, how did that come about? I noticed you weren't using the house mic, what was that thing?

Funny story. I have been playing shows at The Door since I was 16. Joel and Russell have always been great about helping young local bands grow. The first show I ever played at the door was on a Wednesday on the side stage. Ever since then, whenever a show with a touring act comes through (that I think my sound would be appropriate with) I email Joel, almost as a joke and say something like “Hey buddy, wink wink, put us on the bill.” Joel usually ignores my emails and books us for good local weekend shows anyways, but this time he put us on the bill. I believe the email went something like “Ah, screw it, I’ll put you guys on.” The mic I was using was a Shure “Green Bullet”. It was actually designed for a harmonica, which is why I love it. It has a very warm, mid-rangy sound to it that you can’t re-create any other way.

You have a very charismatic stage presence, like Meat Loaf meets Ed Kowalczyk, I take it you enjoy performing live.
I would love nothing more than to be able to tour the world and play music every day. I also love doing studio work. For me, music production is as much of an art form as music creation & music performance.

Your backing band, The Sounds, are also very solid and tight, and your live set puts your album to shame (a sign of a great band), where do you hope to play next here in lil' ole Texas? The band wasn’t put together until after the album was recorded. I think our next record will be our breakout record, because it will have all live instrumentation on it and should capture the energy of our live show. I am going out of the country for awhile; I should be back in the middle of January. We will start playing shows as soon as I get back. I think we have one booked at Club Dada on the 22nd of January. We also have some other big things in the works that I would love to tell you about, but I’d have to kill all you so I’ll wait.

Chili or potato soup? Chili baby! This is Texas.

Word on the street is that you are looking for someone to play the keys in your band. What would be the best avenue for a talented keyboardist to get in touch with you, showcase their proficiency, and possibly join your ensemble?

If you don’t suck…call me: 469-877-5336 Have any interesting plans for the holidays? I am going to Dubai for a couple of weeks to see my father. I fly through Amsterdam on the way back to the US, so I think I’ll stop and stay a week there as well.

Thank you for your time A-Dizzle, let us know about any new shows and recordings, you are the one 2 punch! -Morrow
- Dallas Observer Blog

Sat Dec 13, 2008 at 01:41:46 PM
Eagles of Death Metal, Klopek, Austin Brown Sounds, The Improv
The Door Dallas - December 12, 2008

Better Than: Just the plain old Eagles.
Cory Graves

Variety was the unifying theme of last night's seemingly random assortment of warm-up acts for the Eagles of Death Metal show at the Door.

The first band of the night, The Improv, seemed to know they were a little out of place: "We're kinda punk, not really Eagles of Death Metal style..." the frontman admitted a couple of songs into his band's set. The band's not-quite-ready-to-leave-the-bedroom-style was so out of place, it caused more than one member of the sparse turnout to query whether they were in fact at the right concert.

The second act on the hodge-podge bill was Austin Brown Sounds, who were equal parts George Thorogood and Har Mar Superstar (with a little Les Claypool action sprinkled in for good measure). The band;s funky sound was tight enough to more than make up for the Improv's misgivings; highlights from its set include a killer rendition of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" and Mr. Brown yelling "Fight for it" as he showered the crowd with Christmas presents, among which were dozens of Austin Brown bracelets and a smattering of thrift store goodies, like a plush Mrs. Potatohead doll.

Next up were Klopek, who despite throwing down some face-melting guitar work between the verses on every song, still managed to sound like a Coheed and Cambria tribute. In contrast to the first band, Klopek was afforded the commodity of a decent soundcheck, but it didn't do much good to boost their standing with the crowd.
Sitting through the first three local acts, it was painfully obvious who the crowd was there to see.

As Pilot's "Magic" blared over the sound system, Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jessie Hughes and company stormed the stage to an eruption of applause from what had slowly grown to a near-capacity crowd.

A couple of songs into his band's set Hughes joyfully exclaimed "We're having one of those B.E. nights..." before further explaining that the songs, in his opinion, were sounding their Best Ever. And he couldn't have hit the nail more squarely on the head: EODM sounded bigger and tighter last night than it had during previous stops through town. And while the band ripped through its catalog of bluesy garage rock in record time, what the audience was doing was too rambunctious to be called dancing--and yet wasn't quite violent enough to be considered moshing.

Midway through its set, the band pulled off a cover of "Stuck in the Middle With You" that sounded just as tumultuous as the rest of the EODM catalog--and every bit as good. By the end of the set, when the band brought out its biggest hit, "I Want You So Hard (The Boy's Bad News)", the crowd was worked into such a frenzy that at least one person was punched in the face.

For an encore, Hughes came back out and played solo acoustic versions of "Midnight Creeper" and "Cheap Thrills" before the rest of the band came back out and joined him for versions of "Cherry Cola" and "Speaking in Tongues" that managed to be louder and harder than their album counterparts.

Jessie Hughes really showed D-town how he earned his nickname "Boots" last night by gathering his band mates and delivering the biggest ass-kicking that the building on 2513 Main Street has seen since it has been called
The Door.

--Cory Graves
Critic's Notebook

Random Note: Get free Austin Brown Sounds mp3s right here.
By The Way: Some men do look good in mustaches
Kudos: To the Door for landing such a huge show for Deep Ellum.
Tags: Austin Brown Sounds, Eagles of Death Metal, Jessie Hughes, Klopek, The Door, The Improv
Category: Show Reviews - DC9 Dallas Music Blog

Recent graduate launches his solo music career
Written by Zabrina Ransom, The Shorthorn Scene writer
Wednesday, 06 February 2008 08:56 PM

Coming off the Vans Warped Tour, Austin Terrill realized it wasn’t easy re-adjusting to the real world. The alumnus, who earned a degree in international business in December, was traveling with his high school heavy- metal band, A Faith Called Chaos, when he received a call from his parents telling him that if he came home to attend college at that moment, they would pay for it. He did what he thought was right. But as a student, he found it difficult to transition from playing in front of thousands of people a day to sitting in class. “After we came back from the tour, it was hard acclimating myself into school,” Terrill said. “All of a sudden yhave to go to class and do homeWhen you’re on stage and have all thospeople idolize you, you can get sucked into that.” The 23-year-old Houston native kept his drive for making music. After A Faith Called Chaos disbanded, he began working on his upcoming solo album Nova Dreamer to be released later this year. He wrote 25 songs for the album his junior year and has since condensed it to 10. He’s known by his name with family and friends but better known as Austin Brown when associated with his music. Although Terrill received offers from independent labels, he opted to put the album out himself so he wouldn’t be contractually obligated. It has already been recorded and mastered at his studio out of his apartment, and will be manufactured by Disc Makers.
He will distribute the album online through his Web site, www.austinbrownsounds.com, his MySpace page, iTunes and others. “I don’t want to sell myself short,” he said. He got the idea for the title of his album from an underground social scene known as “lucid dreaming” where a person recognizes when they are dreaming. The Lucidity Institute Inc. developed a device called NovaDreamer used to make a person aware of their dreams with lights flashing from shades placed over the eyes. From a young age, Terrill was into music. His father exposed him to different genres like classic rock. Terrill didn’t act on his interest until he moved to Venezuela with his dad in junior high. There, he befriended some guitar players and convinced them to let him participate. When Terrill returned to the U.S., he collaborated with his friend, Zach Jobin, who played the drums and started A Faith Called Chaos. The band was signed with Volcom Entertainment and toured with national bands on the Vans Warped Tour in 2003 and 2004. Terrill has taken a drastic turn with his sound from the heavy-metal period in high school like his former band members, Jobin said. Jobin started a pop-rock band with another former band member and Terrill now plays electro indie-rock. “He’s very good at visualizing songs,” Jobin said. “He’s very versatile. He’s done different styles of music from heavy metal to punk.” Jobin had no input in Terrill’s latest work and said it’s not likely the band will get back together. The two have only joked about doing a show or two. The band faded because of changes in priority and music, Terrill said. “Some of it was, we were chasing a sound we never achieved,” he said. To support his music career, Terrill works as a design manager at a software and web development company in Dallas where he lives and produces music for upcoming artists in his home studio. He said he still receives royalty checks from A Faith Called Chaos. Terrill hasn’t set tour dates but is rehearsing with musicians he hired to perform live with him. He plans to distribute the record, perform locally and pursue music for his career, instead of a nine-to-five job. Kirk Warren, an alumnus and musician who met Terrill in class, didn’t work with him on
the solo album but tried to collaborate with him on a project that didn’t pan out. He said he was interested after listening to A Faith Called Chaos. “He’s just incredibly talented on his guitar,” Warren said. “He has a really different new sound and will go very far. I can see him doing what he loves, and he’s good at it, too.” - The Shorthorn Newspaper