Official JA News

3.14.2008
ANNOUNCING "NO TRUST FUND" BAND TOUR FOR MARCH '08....Full band tour...a co-bill with my friend Art "Buddy" Edwards (formerly of The Refreshments) on bass, Bret Hartley (formerly of Sugarland) on guitar, and Kevin Leahy (of The BoDeans) on drums. We'll be playing songs from my new record, SATELLITE BLVD, as well as favorites from BYZANTIUM and the rest of my discography.

9.16.2007
SUNDAY AFTERNOON RADIO BROADCAST / SONGRWITERS-IN-THE-ROUND....This Sunday is the 25th anniversary of Grandfather Rock's radio show & the entire program is being given over to a songwriter's roundtable. I'll be there at the table with some of New York city's finest rising songwriters, Brooke Campbell, Reid Maclean & Colin McGrath. You can join us at www.webradiowcwp.org at 4pm NY time.

6.16.2006
NEW SONGS.... Not long ago my good friend Bret Hartley (a founding member of pop country band Sugarland) called me up and invited me to return to Atlanta and record some of my new songs with him. We recorded 5 new songs -- to listen click HERE.

The tracks, recorded and mixed in just 3 days, are:

NOWHERE WITH YOU
THUMBELINA
COVER YOUR TRACKS
LEAD THE WAY
SUNDAY SONG

Another good friend, Brandon Bush -- of the pop/rock band TRAIN -- played keyboards. The rhythm section for these sessions was courtesy of the band CIGAR STORE INDIANS (Keith Perissi on bass, Paul Barrie on Drums). Bret produced the whole thing and played all the tasty electric guitar parts.

Jeff Bakos engineered the tracks at Bakos Amp Works Studio (Home of the Ponce de Leon Sound!) and additional tracking & mixing was done by Ben Price at his studio in my old neighborhood of Decatur.

These tunes should be available for digital download soon.

6.13.2006
NEW JA SONG COLLECTION.... A compilation of my songs from 1990 until now -- hand-picked by "Byzantium" executive producer, Doug White, and yours truly -- will be available July 2006. The CD highlights many favorites and a few new songs (including one track featuring singer Claire Holly).

You can preorder HERE.

5.25.2006
"BYZANTIUM" CD TO BE RE-RELEASED IN 2006!.... Over the years I've received email inquiring about a re-release of Byzantium -- a record I made in the 90s which has been out of print for some time.

The good news is that a re-release of Byzantium is planned for 2006! It will be available as a CD and in digital download form.

Those of us who worked on the record have always thought of it as a little gem that never quite had it's moment in the spotlight. Interestingly, many of the players for the Byzantium sessions went on and up to bigger things. Travis McNabb joined Better Than Ezra, bassist David Labruyere went on to help John Mayer form his band, Kristian Bush went country with Sugarland, Marty Kearns joined Shawn Mullins' band for a time, Randall Bramblett plays with Steve Winwood's band, engineer Don McCollister went on to produce Grammy winners, and engineer Glenn Matullo made a big splash with Shawn Mullins, and has since worked with Indigo Girls, Collective Soul, John Mayer, Outkast, Pink and Collective Soul, to name a few.

But that's just the spotlight. Others who worked with me on that record are still out there, somewhere, making music -- because music is an inescapable lifetime work. More often than not music is it's own reward. I'm just happy to see friends fashion their lives with the music they've created. I believe it's what we're all here for.

THANK YOU to the fans that kindly wrote me over the past years asking about Byzantium. For the curious others, I hope you'll enjoy the disc this time around. It might be one of the best records you never heard!

5.10.2006
NEW MUSIC FOR 2006.... Two new recordings are in the works for 2006! One is an album of new songs which I've been recording with some great musicians in Atlanta. The other is a "Best of" disc that Doug White (executive producer of "Byzantium") is putting together. It'll be a quick run through my past songwriting career, and will include some previously unreleased bonus tracks, including the acoustic song demo of "Island Girl" that caught the ear of producer Mark Heard. Both discs will also be available for digital download.

4.10.2006
THE WOOD BROTHERS.... One of my all-time favorite session tracks is by guitarist Oliver Wood of Atlanta based blues band King Johnson. He's playing the blazing, serpentine lead guitar on my song "I Don't Know You" (from the CD "BUSTED AT THE PEARLY GATES"). Oliver has an excellent new record out that he did with his brother Chris (of Medeski, Martin & Wood). Check out their MySpace page HERE.

3.20.2004
New Austin Echo recording for Paste Records! John Austin and Erin Echo have captured the beauty of their live performances in a studio recording of ten new songs. Produced by Glenn Matullo, this acoustic pop songwriting gem is supported musically by Don Peris (Innocence Mission), Brandon Bush (Train), Gerry Hansen, Mike Steele, Bret Hartley and Clay Cook. Paste Records will release the CD Spring 2004. Listen here!

12.17.2003
Mike Davies of NetRhythms UK lists BUSTED AT THE PEARLY GATES as one of the Top 10 Albums for 2003! He writes: "A quietly yearning voice, infectious yet intelligent pop and poignantly reflective acoustic melancholy, with albums like this he's assured of a pass to Heaven's VIP enclosure." Other artists listed include Emmylou Harris, Josh Ritter, Kate Rusby, and Lucinda Williams.

12.11.2003
AUSTIN ECHO (featuring John Austin) return to the DC area this Friday for an acoustic performance at Jammin Java. Showtime is 8pm. Special guests The Throes open. Tickets can be pre-purchased by calling JAMMIN JAVA at 703.255.1566 x8.

10.01.2003
UK NetRhythm's Mike Davies has written up a fine review of BUSTED AT THE PEARLY GATES. Read it here.

9.30.2003
John & Erin have just finished basic tracking with producer Glenn Matullo at Orphan Studio (Atlanta) for a new acoustic pop CD titled AUSTIN ECHO, to be released December 1. The new CD will feature a few of Atlanta's finest players -- percussion by Gerry Hansen, bass by Mike Steele & keyboards courtesy of Clay Cook -- with a little help from legendary Innocence Mission guitarist and solo artist Don Peris.

8.18.2003
Check out the new live Jennifer Daniels CD. John Austin & Erin Echo will give a special performance to get the CD release party started for Jennifer on Friday night, August 29 at The Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC.

7.29.2003
The first book about the life of Mark Heard, Hammers & Nails, is now available in paperback. It's a great read for fans and those curious of Mark's music. Author Matthew Dickerson has put together a mosaic of Mark's life through interviews with family, friends, and the artists Mark worked with (including John Austin, Buddy Miller, Pierce Pettis, etc.).

6.24.2003
JA returns to the DC area to perform at Jammin Java this Friday, June 27 at 8pm! Joining John for the show is singer Erin Echo and longtime friend & collaborator Bill Campbell on guitar. Click here for directions.

6.13.2003
BUSTED AT THE PEARLY GATES is one of the best recordings of 2002, according to Paste Magazine . . . New CD reviews and interviews with John Austin here! . . . Thanks to everyone who helped out with the Carolina tour w/Clay Cook! (If you have not yet heard Clay's music, he is one of John's favorite new songwriters) . . . Live John Austin acoustic performances in June, including Asheville NC (w/Pierce Pettis), Vienna VA and Harrisburg PA . . . New photos & song lyrics added . . . A new book about the life of Mark Heard, HAMMERS AND NAILS, has John telling stories.