(((O))) Interview: Steve Austin

Marked Cards And Loaded Dice is the debut country album from Steve Austin and it sees him saluting his longstanding love of country music with a collection of raw and honest songs of life, love and loss, all delivered with his trademark grit and passion. Gavin Brown had the pleasure of catching up with Steve to hear all about this debut album and its creation as well as discussing all manner of country music related topics including the influence of outlaw country, his work as a producer and his band Today Is The Day.

E&D: Your new album Marked Cards And Loaded Dice has just come out. How excited are you to be bringing this album out?    

Steve: Man, it means the world to me. I can’t wait for everyone to experience the full album. I’m in love with every song on this thing. I had a vision of how this record could be and it turned out to be so much more than I could have imagined.

E&D: Can you tell us who you worked with on the album?

Steve: I was extremely lucky in being able to rock this with Dana Flood on pedal steel and dobro, Colin Frecknall on drums, and Ryu Bennett on fiddle. Dana is a country and western wizard that loves Pink Floyd and King Crimson on pedal steel. He’s a protege of Don Helms from Hank Williams Sr.’s band and in the pedal steel Hall of Fame. Ryu is a symphony violinist and wild fiddler! She brought a psychedelic element to my bluegrass/traditional country folk tunes that reminds me of Beatles’ Revolver or The White Album. Colin laid it down with the drums, adding a swing and rocking touch to all of the songs. I couldn’t have asked for more. They blew my mind.

E&D: How did the creation and recording of the album go?

Steve: Holed up in Maine during Covid lockdown, I had no one to jam with. I had been thinking a lot about how much I wanted to make a real country music album. One with no rules. An album that speaks from the heart and not driven by anything other than feeling it and laying it down. I started with a song called ‘Am I Just Crazy’ and it just went from there. I realized how deeply important making this album was to me. This music spoke to me and healed me when I was at my lowest point. I felt like life was over. I was in a massive amount of pain and depression, with no end in sight. When I started writing these songs, they represented hope. They made me feel and live again and made me grateful for my life.

E&D: What are the biggest inspirations for the lyrics of the songs on the album?

Steve: I was trying to understand my life and the world. It seemed like everything I ever believed in or cared about had been trashed and smashed into pieces. In the middle of it all, I lost my cousin Dale and my aunt Maglou, Dale’s Mother, within 3 days of each other at Christmas. I needed clarity and calm from the storm. Being locked down and isolated out in the woods, I had a lot of time to take a hard look at things. Realising how much my family truly needs me and to live life. To quit dyin’.

E&D: Did you always want the album to have a raw edge to it?

Steve: Yes, I love the sound of classic records from the golden age of analog recording. A recording that sounds warm and real. All of the instruments and vocals were tracked through vintage Neve’s, API’s, and Chandler TG preamps. Mic’ed up with vintage Neumann tube mics, Ribbon Mics. All the good stuff that makes you feel it. No copy pasting, autotune, grid alignment, etc. Just the real playing and the songs.

E&D: You cover Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, David Allan Coe and Bob Dylan on the album. How was the experience of putting your own spin on these legendary artists songs?

Steve: I love playing songs by them live, but none of them are on the new album. I covered ‘Waitin’ Round To Die’ by one my hero’s, Townes Van Zandt, on a 7” vinyl single, back in November. I’ve read a lot about Townes and I totally connect with him reading of his upbringing. All of the guys you mentioned were so real. They didn’t give a fuck and were themselves, 100% When I go to play their songs, I just feel the song and sing it and play it the way I’m feelin’. I wanna add something more to the feeling, and just be myself.

E&D: What artists songs would you love to cover in the future?

Steve: Willie Nelson – ‘Blue Eyes Cryin’ In The Rain’, Neil Young – ‘Old Man’, Hank Williams Sr. – ‘Lost Highway’, Hank Williams Jr. – ‘Whisky Bent and Hell Bound’, Alice in Chains – ‘Nutshell’ are a few.

E&D: Which artist would you love to do a version of one of your songs?

Steve: I’d love to hear Billy Strings play ‘So Far Gone’! He would shred on that song. Molly Tutlle rocking ‘I Won’t Make It Last’ and Sierra Ferrell jamming ‘Crazy Dreams’ would be wild!

E&D: How was it having your son Hank doing the video for the album tracks ‘Crazy Dreams’ and ‘So Far Gone’ and was making these videos an unforgettable experience?

Steve: I’m truly grateful for the gift of working with my son. He’s a visionary and has an amazing sense of art. We’re the best of friends and we both want the same thing. To make the very best visual representation of the song we can. I trust him 100%. That’s a hard thing for me sometimes with people I don’t know that well, because I care about the music so much. I’ve watched him work relentlessly to get the very best that he can and put his whole heart into it. I’ll never forget any of it. As a dad, the memories are worth more than anything.

E&D: Is Hank named after the great Hank Williams?

Steve: Yes, he is and his brother is Willi. Named after Willi Studer and Willie Nelson.

E&D: Is the raw spirit of outlaw country music the same as punk and metal for you and is it a big inspiration?

Steve: You must have read my mind. It is a big inspiration. I dig the sound of Martin acoustics and playing these songs are a challenge. When things kick into gear it’s rocking on a whole other level. Long ago, guys were living the hard life, down on their luck, wanting to let loose and they played rocking music with no distortion and no effects. The rock was generated by the playing and songwriting. When we all are jamming these songs, it’s wild because it creates this rocking energy and it’s different. You gotta be on vocally and rhythmically to rock the fuck out. You gotta play the shit on the money and put you everything you got into it physically and emotionally.

E&D: What are your all time favourite outlaw country albums?

Steve: The Outlaws – Wanted; Townes Van Zandt – Townes Van Zandt; Merle Haggard – The FIghtin’ Side of Me; Blaze Foley – Live at The Austin Outhouse; Hank III – Straight To Hell; David Allen Coe – The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy; Hank Williams Jr. – Family Tradition.

E&D: How did you first get into country music?

Steve: I grew up in Lebanon, Tennessee and my family are from Appalachia, in East Tennessee. I grew up listening to mountain music. My family and I would go to square dances, livestock auctions, raised horses etc. We lived on a small farm outside of Lebanon. I had never heard or listened to any other music besides country until I was 13 years old. My parents were both musicians and would jam and sing and play traditional country and bluegrass songs. I learned how to play guitar with my dad playing all of Hank Williams songs and others. We would sit and jam for hours playing all of the country classics.

E&D: What are the most influential country albums for you as an artist?

Steve: I would say overall, all of the stuff I listed earlier, but truly every song that Hank Williams Sr. ever recorded. He is the king and #1 and probably always will be. He was genuine, real and unafraid to be vulnerable in his songs. You could tell how much it meant to him to play and sing the songs for the people. He needed it and he knew they needed it. Hank connected people andmade them feel something from the heart.

E&D: Which newer country artists do you rate?

Steve: Top 3 Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell, and Molly Tuttle.

E&D: Will you be doing solo shows once the album comes out?

Steve: I’ll be playing with a full band most of the time. I enjoy doing solo shows with just me and my Martin. Rocking these jams with the band is priceless.

E&D: Have Today Is The Day got anything planned for this or next year?

Steve: Hitting the road in May to jam some shows with Napalm Death, EHG and Pentagram. Some headliners in there as well.

E&D: Have you considered doing a solo set before a Today Is The Day show?

Steve: It would be cool, but I have done tours playing in 2 bands on one night and feel that I would want maximum energy available for each show. We’ll probably do it at some point, but I care about both so much, I always will only do something if I can do it right,

E&D: Having produced Marked Cards And Loaded Dice yourself, have you got plans to produce any more bands in the future?

Steve: When I’m not on tour, running the label and recording is my daily life. I enjoy taking on other artists works, though I find that lately my time is taken up with both bands and the label work. If it’s something I truly like and feel I can make it be the best it, then I’m down!

E&D: Do you look back on your past experience producing bands like Converge and Lamb Of God with pride?

Steve: Very much so! I’m grateful for having gotten to record them at the start of the careers and those seminal records we made are pretty awesome. It makes me feel good that records that I made for Lamb of God and Converge were part of the lift off to being today’s metal and hardcore kings. I knew when I recorded Lamd Of God and Converge that they would be huge. They both had a certain fire about them and energy. We had a lot of fun making those records and they mean a lot to me.

Picture by Kayla Grindle