Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:16 What's up everybody? This is Rowdy Alternative. My name is Sam and we are here with Mr. Austin Up Church. How doing man?
Speaker 2 00:00:24 Man, I'm living the dream.
Speaker 1 00:00:25 Oh yeah. You've been busy at all. Excited to
Speaker 2 00:00:27 Be here, bro. I was. Okay. Crazy story. So, yeah, go ahead. I just put in my two weeks at my job to like, yesterday I think one of my friends with his name is Blake. He's starting a pressure washing business. So he is like, yo, man, you wanna pressure wash some stuff with me? He's like, yeah. So we pressure washed a sonic all night. Like I got home at like seven o'clock this morning,
Speaker 1 00:00:51 So. Wow. Yeah. Did you get to sleep at all?
Speaker 2 00:00:55 <laugh>? Oh yeah. I actually didn't go to work, you know, what are they gonna do? Fire me.
Speaker 1 00:00:58 Right? What Exactly. Exactly. So, well, good luck with that job, man. It sounds like a, sounds like a blast. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:01:05 No, it actually is. So I
Speaker 1 00:01:07 Can't, well, that's good. All right, man. So I guess just for the people who don't know who you are, I guess we'll just start out with, um, like how'd you first start out playing music? Um, I did some research on you and I Oh man. And I heard something about a Thomas Rhett story,
Speaker 2 00:01:25 Dude. Yeah, it's actually one of the craziest things that's ever happened to me in my entire life. Uh, so I started singing because I was a band nerd my entire life. Uh, so when I got to college and I had no way to like play anything, I was like, man, I'm just gonna teach myself how to play guitar. So I wouldn't go to class with my friend Blake Pressure watcher, guy <laugh>. He was my roommate. So he would go to class, take notes, I would learn guitar chords when he got back, we would trade. I would teach him the chords. He would gimme the notes. So, uh, we were there and then I was dating this girl. She liked Thomas Rhett, like way back in the day before he got like real big. And uh, she was like, we're going to the Lucky Mule Saloon and Abilene, Texas, and we're gonna see Thomas Rhett.
Speaker 2 00:02:06 And I was like, sweet. I was drinking at the time. So naturally I got drunk and was harassing this man on the stage cuz I'm a tornado of destruction. And I was like, let me get up there and sing. And he was like, all right dude, get up here. I was like, oh crap. I had no, I'd known like two chords at this point. He handed me the guitar. I was like, man, I can't play that. And he was like, well, you wanted to get up here and sing. I was like, oh shit. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Uh, so he is like, what do you wanna sing? I was like, man, I know like two of your songs something to do with my hands and another one. And he was like, well we already played those. What do you wanna do? I was like, man, I found this song on YouTube of you singing at acoustic called Star of the Show.
Speaker 2 00:02:44 And he goes, freaking know that song <laugh>. It's like, yeah. And he is like, if you can sing the words, I'll play it. So he played it acoustic, I sang it, it was a super cool moment. And then afterwards we were walking to the lady, I was dating's Prius in the parking lot and uh, we walked by the bus and like, horrible musician etiquette obviously, cuz I wasn't a musician. I walked right up to the bus, knocked on the door, security promptly ran over and was like, Hey, get outta here. And I was like, oh, it's cool. He let me sing on the stage with him, you know? And, uh, turns out the security guard went to the college that I was going to and was like, oh, sweet dude, yeah, let me run in here. I'll see if he'll come out. And he did. So it was pretty cool. He came out and was like, Hey man, like what's your band name? He said, I don't even have one. He said, oh, well you should probably look into that. You're pretty good. I was like, all right, thanks. And then I left and I was like, man, I'm gonna try to sing and play guitar.
Speaker 1 00:03:36 Gee, how about that? For a compliment. Wow. That's nuts. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:03:40 Yeah, it was, it was a very weird moment.
Speaker 1 00:03:43 Yeah. So, so that's what kind of influenced you to start playing then. So how'd you, yeah. How, what made you wanna start, like writing your own stuff? Like how, when did that start, when you started creating rather than like maybe just playing a cover or here and there or,
Speaker 2 00:04:02 It's actually really kind of funny because when I was in high school, one of the kids I was friends with, his name was Charles. He used to write like poetry songs and he was like, oh, this is really cool. And I was like, ah, I can do that. So then I would do it. So I'd technically been writing for a while, uh, but when I actually started writing and singing and playing in college, uh, I don't know, it was just kind of, I'd been playing some covers, learned some chords, and I was like, oh, this is not really that hard. I figure I could just say some dumb shit and make it work, right? And I did. And it was, it was pretty cool. So people were like, man, surprisingly that really isn't terrible. <laugh>, you should continue to do that. It's like, oh, great,
Speaker 1 00:04:42 <laugh>. So it was pretty easy for you then?
Speaker 2 00:04:45 Uh, I mean, I think it wasn't like horribly hard, mainly just because I'd played a lot in band. So my musical like comprehension was kind of there. Okay. My rhythm and all that. So at that point it was just kind of, and you don't really have to read music, you can just Google anything. It'll tell you the five chords that it is, you know, and then you can just kind of figure it out. So it wasn't too bad.
Speaker 1 00:05:08 Right on. So who were some, uh, influences, uh, dead or Alive, who kind of formed you to who you are now? Or maybe you just listened to and it just clicked with you?
Speaker 2 00:05:21 Okay. Definitely. I love this question always because there's nothing more that I enjoy than talking about bands that I like. So I'm a huge Tom Petty fan. I love Tom Petty. He is, my God, I have a Beagle right over here. Her name is Honey Bee because I love Tom Petty so much. Yep. Um, so huge fan of that. Uh, and then I'm really into the like emo alternative stuff naturally. Uh, so I love the, the band the main from Arizona, they're freaking fantastic. I have the main tattoo, I go see them all the time. I love it. So definitely those two. And then like, I'm falling into a, a data remember phase right now. I was really into them in high school, kind of forgot about 'em and I've been listening to 'em a lot here recently. Their new album's pretty cool. Uh, and then the story so far,
Speaker 1 00:06:11 For sure. Okay. That is crazy. You said the main, that's like, I would never expect that. Like, just that's an obscure band and like, dude, what's their, what's their biggest song? Cuz like, I'm trying to
Speaker 2 00:06:23 Remember. Oh, I love that is my, well, right now their biggest song is that one of their new ones, it's called Sticky. It's like top five most played in like the world or something. It's crazy. They're finally getting the recognition that they deserve after years.
Speaker 1 00:06:40 So yeah, I think I like, but uh, I think I know like one song by them and I can't remember the freaking name, but, but yeah. Anyway,
Speaker 2 00:06:48 Bro, everyone, everyone knows one song by the name <laugh>. I'm telling you. <laugh> they say they don't, but they do.
Speaker 1 00:06:54 So you say you like Tom Petty
Speaker 2 00:06:56 That, but yeah, so I, I love the Man. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:06:59 So about Tom Petty, what, what would you pick is like, uh, what would your favorite song be? Because Tom Petty's super interesting to me cause
Speaker 2 00:07:10 Okay. I feel like this needs to be preference. Are we talking Oh, Tom Petty and his entirety, or are we talking Heartbreakers? We talking just Tom Petty solo?
Speaker 1 00:07:18 Let's do, we could do both because we could do both. This
Speaker 2 00:07:22 Is difficult
Speaker 1 00:07:23 Unless you wanna break it down.
Speaker 2 00:07:26 Uh, I really enjoy shadow people off of his mojo record. I believe it's, or no, I don't think it's off that one. I'm lying to you. Don't catch me lying, Sam. Oh,
Speaker 1 00:07:38 I won't, don't
Speaker 2 00:07:39 Worry. Uh, yeah, I really like shadow people. I think it's cool. But he is also got like, some of his newer stuff that a lot of people don't really listen to. Like his 2015 Mojo record, his self-titled one, or I say self-titled Right. It was a, just a solo record. But he's got a couple of bangers on there, man. Definitely. I should have known it. Stuff like that. Love it. So, uh, yeah, I would say probably my favorite one is Shadow people. Shadow People. It's my, my low key. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:08:11 I think my that
Speaker 2 00:08:12 One Or like, you Got Lucky.
Speaker 1 00:08:14 That's a good one. That's a good one. Do you know the uh, I think it's just called Rebels. It's like an old one. Oh yeah. I love that one. Oh yeah, you love that one,
Speaker 2 00:08:25 Dude. You're talking old Tom Petty. You go to the first record Fold again. Yeah. Is one of my
Speaker 1 00:08:30 Favorites. Okay. Yeah. There, that's probably my favorite era.
Speaker 2 00:08:32 We used to cover that.
Speaker 1 00:08:34 Oh yeah. Oh yeah. So, um, how did you meet your band mates, like the guys you play with now? Cuz I know I follow some of Reed's Reed's stuff on like the socials and everything on band and that dude's killer. Yeah. Um,
Speaker 2 00:08:52 Reed Barden is my favorite.
Speaker 1 00:08:55 Yeah. So, so how'd you meet these guys?
Speaker 2 00:08:59 It's actually a really funny story. So I was playing a lot acoustic at the time, uh, and my friend Cameron Hobbs called me and was like, Hey man, we're gonna play a show. I would love for you to do it. I was like, sweet, you know, I'm down. So two weeks before this show comes up, he calls me and says, man, I'm so excited to hear your band. And I was like, what? He's like, yeah, dude, it's full bander. I didn't tell you. I was like, no. So I was like, oh my gosh, I have to slap a rag tag group of boys together in two weeks. So, uh, Reid I'd been song swapping with for a long time and I just kind of known him through a couple of people and I ran into him at Larry Jo Taylor at one time, and we partied and played guitar and it was great.
Speaker 2 00:09:41 Really enjoyed him. So I called him and I was like, Hey man, can you just kind of fake it through a set with me? You know, just make it work. You're a lot better at guitar than I am. And, uh, it's like, you can do it. He's like, yeah, man. Sweet. So I sent him the songs that I had and we kind of worked up some parts and then he was like, okay, where are the rest of the guys? I was like, man, I have no one. So then randomly the next day I was at work, a kid I went to college with named Austin, called me, said, Hey man, I met a guy yesterday that plays bass. You definitely need to hit him up if you ever wanna start a band. I was like, coincidentally, send me his number right now because I apparently have a full band show in two weeks.
Speaker 2 00:10:22 So he introduced me to William and uh, I went to college in Brownwood, so he lives in Brownwood. So the connection was kind of there. We knew some of the same people. I sat down with him and, uh, I sent him the songs to like audition, I guess. We sat down, he played all the songs better than I did. So I was like, okay, yeah, you're hired. And, uh, he was like, my best friend Matt plays drums. I was like, great. He's hired too. We have a show in a week, let's go. And, uh, yeah. So we practiced like two or three times and that last week, and then we went and played and it was actually arguably our best show we've ever
Speaker 1 00:10:57 Played. So just clicked like that.
Speaker 2 00:11:01 Yeah, it was, it was really cool, man. And then, uh, like a couple years later down the road, we, I have this horrible thing where I like to smoke a bunch of weed and then forget how to play
Speaker 1 00:11:12 Guitar <laugh>. That's a running theme with the guests. So
Speaker 2 00:11:14 I was like, man,
Speaker 2 00:11:16 Yeah, you know, it, it happened. So I, I was telling the guys, I was like, man, it is killing me trying to remember the words and sing while I'm playing guitar. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, like trying to do all these parts. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So we kicked around adding a new guy, and we finally did, and we brought in our friend Nathan, who used to play in another band. One of my friends was in, his name's Andrew Sevener. He was on The Voice, so Nathan was with them, and then he came over and started jamming with us and he just is a goofball. So he fit right in with everybody. It just kind of took off from there.
Speaker 1 00:11:46 That's awesome, man. So it's pretty eye-opening when you think about like, and I love singer songwriter stuff, don't get me wrong, but it's really eye-opening. How much of a difference in like a new life that a full band can put into a song? Like for instance, uh, do you know JR Carroll? Yeah. So his, he, he put out that where The Red Fern Grows song and on his EP a while back, and it was the acoustic version, which of course it was great just the way that it was there. But then he, the other day he just released the full band version. And that's just an example of how, like, how much new life could be like put into something, like a whole new attitude could be brought to a song. So yeah, you you made a good move getting a, a killer band together. I've seen some live videos and it's, it's badass man.
Speaker 2 00:12:41 Thanks man. I appreciate it. We definitely have a long way to go. We're obviously super independent, so getting everything that we need to be as professional as possible has always been the, the thing that kind of kills us. But we're getting to the point where we pretty much cut it all figured out now. So our consistency is getting a lot better and we're getting better every day. So I think
Speaker 1 00:13:00 It's great. Cool. So are you guys looking to stay independent or are you, because I know a lot of artists are doing that nowadays, or are you trying to move on from that?
Speaker 2 00:13:12 Oh no, I'm gonna get paid, brother. Come on <laugh>, I get, I get, show me the money.
Speaker 1 00:13:18 Fair enough.
Speaker 2 00:13:19 I want to, I want to sit at home with my baby all day and then play shows on the weekends. Yeah, no, uh, I mean I definitely, I think it'd be cool, uh, like Parker McCullum says it best in one of the interviews. You really get the longevity. If you go into a label stuff, it's a lot easier to, I, I guess maintain if you have all the, the big machine behind you. And I think that would be cool, you know, and I think that you can definitely do it, especially with people like the, the bands that I'm really into. Tom Petty was on the label, had his beef, he want his stuff, and it was like, okay, watch out for that. The main was also on a label and dropped and went independent. And I think they still might be independent. I'm not exactly sure, but I mean, I feel like it's all just a matter of perspective, I guess, in the business sense. And I would prefer to go the label route, I guess just for the, uh, the sure amount of like resources, you know, I wanna play a show at the main labels can get that done. It's hard to do that independent.
Speaker 1 00:14:19 Right. Well, and it's, there's no shame in saying you want to get paid either. Like that's totally understandable. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:14:26 Exactly.
Speaker 1 00:14:27 So, um, I was, um, looking through a lot of your stuff, your old stuff, your new stuff. Oh man.
Speaker 2 00:14:35 Oh, I think he froze
Speaker 1 00:14:36 Up on me. Hold on. I think you're back.
Speaker 2 00:14:37 Oh, there,
Speaker 1 00:14:38 You're all right. Cool. We're good. But, um, what I was saying was, um, I I, I went back and looked through a lot of your old stuff all the way up to your newest DP and like you and a lot of other of your peers in that scene. It sounds all different st kinds of styles. And, um, I guess what I want to ask you, would you put yourself in a genre? And if you do, if you would, what would that be? Or is it just not important to you? Like the genre lines are kind of go, you could skip across 'em. Like is it important for you to be in like one specific space or does it not matter to you personally?
Speaker 3 00:15:27 Y'all still there?
Speaker 1 00:15:29 Um, yeah. I gotcha. Okay, cool.
Speaker 3 00:15:33 Woo.
Speaker 1 00:15:34 All right, good to go.
Speaker 3 00:15:36 Good to go.
Speaker 1 00:15:39 All right, let's do it <laugh>. So, um, I'll just jump right back into it. Um, so when we, we were talking about the, uh, the rock influence stuff. So speaking on that, just in the scene in general Texas Red Dirt scene, there's been like an explosion of this alternative tastes and rock influence styles. Um, what are you, what do you, do you think it's, um, what do you think of that shift? Because clearly you, you have like a lot of alternative punk influence stuff that I could hear personally. Um, so do you, do you think that's like a too rapid of a shift that a lot of these bands are taken, not necessarily yours, but like, do you think that the whole scene itself maybe just going towards this sound or is it kind of, you think a temporary thing from a musician's standpoint? Uh,
Speaker 3 00:16:40 I, this is actually kind of funny. I think music as a whole, it, it's just always kind of shifting. So I think it's not gonna be like this necessarily forever. I'm happy it is because like I've always really enjoyed doing stuff like that. Um, so it's just giving us kind of more of a chance to shine with the stuff that we like. So I definitely don't hate it. I hope it stays around, but it's always industry wise, it kind of shifts in around seven years. It'll go one way. Everyone will love it and then it'll go another way completely opposite. So I think, who knows, maybe in like five years we'll get into something crazy, 8 0 8 drums and snapping. I don't know. But I don't think it really matters. It's just with the way that you consume music and all that, like I was saying earlier, I'm into so many different things. Just keeping it to one specific genre would be kind of hard, you know?
Speaker 1 00:17:45 Right. And I, I completely agree with you. It's um, sometimes just from a fan's view, like it gets very oversaturated after a while. Like, um, a lot for a while there, especially in like around the Stillwater area, not just Stillwater, but just the Red's dirt more. A lot of it is just like the singer songwriters who are all very talented. It just kind of just, it's blah, like it's all like the same stuff you you've been hearing. Oh yeah. Uh, so like hearing like it change itself, it's just exciting I
Speaker 3 00:18:19 Think. Oh, I definitely agree. And I mean I've always been a huge fan of like variety within bands, especially talking about, I was talking about a day remembers new record earlier, they have songs on there where they're screaming and rocking. They also have songs that sound super poppy and almost kind of like rappy, so mm-hmm. <affirmative> and they have some just straight up punk rock songs on there too, all in the same record, same band, you know. And I think it, the versatility is cool and it just ultimately opens up your horizons on what you can do as a band. You know, who knows, maybe I can tour with Colby Cooper one day and then I can turn around and go play a show at the main, you know, for me that's cool. Colby and them are my homies and I love them to death. But also I love the main's music and that's something I necessarily wouldn't always be able to do. But getting the opportunity would be cool nonetheless. You know? So I think keeping the genre borders kind of open or cool in my opinion. You know, let everyone do what they wanna do. Music is cool. Let it be cool
Speaker 1 00:19:19 <laugh>. Totally. That that's a hundred percent correct. So is that like an easy shift? Is that easy shifts for you? Like you say, okay, the people are listening to this. Like you don't wanna force yourself to do that if you don't want to do it, right? Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:19:35 For me personally, it's actually really funny that you say this and it's gonna sound super weird to say this, but like from the first time I ever went into the studio in Stephenville, which was our second song, the only song that we did not do there was all wrong. So we were going in and I was like, man, you know, everyone around here is really into country music. I like country music. All my friends play in country bands. You know, there's a lot of shows to be played around here. Let's keep it kind of conducive. But I was like, also like, and our producer Josh is great cuz normally when we go into the studio, I'll send him like 12 songs that I like and I'm like, this is kind of where I'm thinking I want to go. And he's like, great. So we've always in the past kind of tried to keep it in the realm of where it's kind of like if you're a country fan, you can listen to it and enjoy it, you know, it's not just like punk rock, let me spit off the stage and crowds are, you know, which definitely I'm into, right.
Speaker 3 00:20:37 You know. But it's just, it's one of those things like I want everyone to be able to listen to one of our songs at some point and enjoy it. You know? I would love to do some metal stuff at one point, just get gnarly with it. But that's,
Speaker 1 00:20:51 Please do
Speaker 3 00:20:52 <laugh>, it's in the works, it's in the words. But, uh, <laugh>. So we've always kind of tried to keep it conducive and then when the shift kind of started going this way, that was our nod to be like, dude, let's just go out and make something that we think sounds cool. Like, we don't necessarily care if it's Texas country or if it's punk rock or indie alternative. I just tell everybody we're indie rock, you know?
Speaker 1 00:21:15 Right.
Speaker 3 00:21:16 So
Speaker 1 00:21:17 Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:21:18 It's one of those things I think it, it opened up for us to be more of who we normally would be musically. So I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 00:21:30 Yeah. And I, and I think the fans especially are starting to kind of see what's going on and accept the changes. Cause that, you know, you get those people that ain't country. Oh yeah. Like you always have the, it's forever genre. And is that, do you see a lot of that?
Speaker 3 00:21:44 Yeah, absolutely. 100% on both ends. That ain't country, that ain't Texas country that ain't punk rock all the time. It's everywhere. But I mean,
Speaker 1 00:21:54 Yeah. Can't escape.
Speaker 3 00:21:55 Yeah. People are gonna always have that opinion no matter what. So yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 00:22:01 Definitely. Yeah. But y yeah. Um, you mentioned the, uh, your songs, um, rain coming down off of a Breakdown that was like, definitely I could get a hint of pop punk in that. That's, that's my favorite song off that album. 100%.
Speaker 3 00:22:19 Honestly, it's, I love that song so much. It's one of my favorites to play. And the thing that is crazy about it is when we were doing that whole record, I had 10 songs and we went in and there was like one or two that we were kind of not jazzed about working on. And it was the last day in the studio to start doing stuff. And I was kind of freaking out thinking what we were gonna do for a song. And Reid was there and Reid was like, Hey man, I wrote a song like two days ago, you should check it out. Let's do it on the record. I was like, man, I don't know. And then he played it and it was rain coming down. I was like, that is incredible. Let's record it right now. So we did, we learned it that day and recorded it. So rain coming down I think is really cool. I, I forced Reed Barton to listen to a lot of like, stuff he wouldn't normally listen to cuz he is a die hard, you know, country and ac d c and that is it <laugh>. So I was on this just attack on Reid to make him listen to as much Weezer as possible <laugh>. And that is, that is what came out of it. He was like, dude, I feel like this song kind of is Weezy. And I was like, this is great. I love it. Let's record it. So
Speaker 1 00:23:27 I never thought of the Weezer aspect of it. No, that's crazy. Oh yeah,
Speaker 3 00:23:31 Dude. Uh, it's so funny because I've, it's funny, I, I've made kind Barnes, the bass player for Cody West, my friend that I beef with on Twitter all the time. I forced like Hot Mulligan and the band Camino and movements on him, you know, so I'm like, these are bands that you will like just stop resisting and listen to him.
Speaker 1 00:23:55 Yeah. I wanted to ask you about that whole thing. What, what started, obviously it's a joke. Oh yeah. But I'm curious to know what started that whole thing.
Speaker 3 00:24:02 Me and kind just like to talk shit to each other all the time, you know? So naturally,
Speaker 1 00:24:08 Dude, it's every day, every day, multiple times a day. And, and
Speaker 3 00:24:12 The thing that's hilarious is that's just the stuff you see on Twitter. You should, you should see the Snapchats and text messages. It's just insane. Oh, it never stops. And it's funny, I have people come up to me all the time and they're like, yo, dude, Kien Barnes is such a dick. And I'm like, what? They're like, yeah man. I talked to him one time, he's a dick. And I'm like, I really don't not like Kai. He is like my best friend. I talked to him all time. It's great.
Speaker 1 00:24:40 That's hilarious. Oh yeah. Um, so what, with with your songs, what is the writing process like for that? Um, like do you get input from your oth the other guys? Or how does that, how does a song begin with you?
Speaker 3 00:24:55 Oh man, if it normally begins for me is like, I'll sit down and I'll just start playing some stuff that I like. I'll kind of noodle on something that I think is kind of cool. Try to piece a little bit of a melody together. And I'll normally get like a verse in a chorus or two verses or something, just kind of get a little melody flow. And then after that it, if you are my friend, be prepared to get nothing but text messages if this is cool or not for like the next three days while I'm planning on it <laugh>. So like, I'm very active with other people's input in it. Um, I try, I tend to try to overcomplicate things in songwriting. So I definitely think reaching out and getting the input, especially from Reid, I write all my stuff with Reid all the time and he'll be like, you're playing 57 guitar chords, Austin, why don't you just play two and sing?
Speaker 3 00:25:44 And I'm like, oh, that's a great idea. You know, <laugh>. So they, they kind of keep me humbled in the realm of what's easier and a lot more complex in a way, I guess, if that makes sense. If you keep it easier, that opens your, your options to do so many other things. So instead of me trying to overcomplicate everything, it's nice for them to be like, Hey, just stop, write the words and shut up with everything else. So I'm very active in getting input from everybody all the time. My dad other, I'll write songs and send 'em to my dad and he'll be like, yeah, that's just not the one son. <laugh>, move on. You
Speaker 1 00:26:25 Know?
Speaker 3 00:26:26 So I, I definitely like getting other opinions for sure.
Speaker 1 00:26:31 So as not only a songwriter but also a guitar player, um, is what do you think that your focus is more on, uh, in the studio? Is it on the songwriting aspect or is it on like, the instrumental aspect
Speaker 3 00:26:48 In the studio? Definitely instrumental because most of the time at that point I have most of the groundwork lyrically and melodically done. I mean, every time you go into the studio, they're gonna chance your stuff with you just for the greater good of the song. And that's for me, I'm here to give you a lump of coal that has some potential ultimately in the studio. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's my job. So I come in with just the material and then from that point, like we normally sit down with our, one of our producers, Ben Hussie was in Six Marker Boulevard and all that kind of stuff. He's a freaking legend. Love that guy. Um, and we sit down, we'll kind of start setting up studio, getting instruments and stuff that we wanna play. And me and Ben will sit down and we'll go through line by line.
Speaker 3 00:27:32 So I'm song by song, how I sing it and everything and just try to make sure it's, as it flows as good as possible and everything makes sense, the ideas are there and all that. So most of the time when we're in the studio, a lot of that stuff's already done. It's kind of there. So I'm definitely thinking, can I play to a click track today? Is it gonna be a day that I can't, what do I wanna play? You know, is there any kind of chords that I can do to change it up and all that. So it's definitely more instrumental.
Speaker 1 00:28:01 Okay. So, so you're pretty involved then with the pr. Are you pretty involved with the producing aspect of it? Like, do you put a lot of your input in or you kind of like sit back and let them roll with it?
Speaker 3 00:28:12 Uh, no. It's definitely an open door flow thing. But it's funny, you think the kind Barnes Twitter stuff is funny. You should see me and Ben Hussy in the studio. <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:28:23 <laugh>, what's that? Like? Oh
Speaker 3 00:28:24 Dude, it's the worst. So I was in the, the vocal booth one time and uh, they were talking and they were like, Ooh, I think we could do something like this kind of here. And all the guys were in there with them in the, the control room. And I was in the little isolation booth and I was like, Hey, well we could do this right here. And I think it would be really cool. And all you see is Ben look in the window and hit the mic button, look at me and go, Austen, if we want any stupid opinions, we'll ask for your, be quiet please. And I was like, oh, thanks
Speaker 1 00:28:51 <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:28:53 He told Reid, look, it's, they're so funny. It's not mean at all. We just l I love roasting people and I love getting roasted. I think it's great. So that's all we do is just shit talk people all the time. And Reid was playing guitar while we were tracking and Ben was like, Reid, you know, that guitar would sound great if you just went and played it outside. It's so funny.
Speaker 1 00:29:14 <laugh> great. That's a good dynamic to have though. Oh yeah. Just shooting the shit. Yeah. You gotta keep it light. Um, right. Um, so you put an EP out, your most recent ones, sometimes the Sun Hurts me. Yeah. Um, killer Pete, thanks. Great songs. That's, I'm gotta admit I'm very late to the Austin Up Church party. I, I've always, I've heard the name for a long time now. I just never like listened. No reason why I didn't. I just didn't. Then I got enough recommendations and I listened to it. And that was the first, uh, first songs I listened, uh, from. You was that one, um, killer songs. I l and it's very alternative rocky sounding like we talked about before. Um, I'm just curious, what does the title mean? Sometimes the sun Hurts Me cuz that's very on the nose. Okay.
Speaker 3 00:30:08 Yeah. So I love, like I said, in the spirit of overthinking things, every single one of our songs that it, the name and the meaning and all that stuff has this elaborate story that I've constructed and it ultimately dilutes down to whatever it's called. So I was going through this breakup and the story is amazing. We can get into that another time. It involves my man Giovanni and the hired guns. And it's just, I owe every good thing in my life to that guy legitimately. And yeah, so I was going through this breakup and it was really bad. I was not having a good time. Uh, and so the sunshine aspect is I met my wife, my now wife, her name is Hadley, she's super sweet. We had a baby and it was weird. I've always been a, oh my gosh, I'm a romantic comedy movie watching romantic guy, you know, <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:31:06 So I've always wanted it. And I was getting to the point in life where I was like, yeah, this is just a hallmark piece of crap that they feed you to make you thank it. You know? And then I met my wife and dude, when I tell you I met my wife and it was literally that moment. Oh my gosh, it was something out of a movie. It was incredible. So at that point it was like my entire outlook on life and everything kind of brightened. So I used to always tell her. I was like, you're my sunshine. So I was writing the song that is now called Sunshine. Before I met her, I met her and then like two or three days after I met her, I was like, you know, you're my freaking sunshine. This is great. And made it all kind of lovey and cool. And so I had that one and then I had all these other sad songs. And so the whole title is Sunshine is a metaphor in a way for Love and the feeling of love, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> so much like the Sun, it can go good for you or it can go bad for you. So it's sometimes the sun hurts me because I was in a bad spot kind of burnt by it, and then now it's completely opposite and it's, you know, an incredible feeling. So yeah, sometimes the sun hurts me. <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:32:21 Well that, that's actually oddly pretty simple. Yeah, because I've been wondering that <laugh> like it was so on the nose and like maybe it's just something he was feeling and just wrote it down and they he stuck with it. Yeah. But, um, since we're still on the topic of music, uh, an interesting thing to me is like, since how close you and all your peers are in all these bands, is there anybody, uh, whether it be like you said Cayenne or anyone really who you, you would like to collab with maybe on a song, it like, is there any ideal, like we could say like a super group, let's go with that. If you could form a super group with anyone in your scene that you know, like who would that be?
Speaker 3 00:33:04 Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 00:33:05 That's a, that's a tough question. I know. I literally just thought it up now. Dude, take your time. It's
Speaker 3 00:33:10 Really not. If I could craft a super group of nothing but my friends in the scene that I know, uh, obviously I would make like a punk rock metal esque band. Uh, me and two singers, me and Cody, I'm the biggest Cody West fan. Uh, I freaking love those guys. It's weird that they're my friends cause I love them so much. Uh, <laugh>, I would have Caan maybe play spoons or run the board. You know, my friend Elon Sealy, he's my best bud. We got these terrible 817 tattoos together. He lives right down the road. He plays bass for Colby Cooper. So I would have to put Kai in doing something else. Put Elon on the bass. Uh, my friend Chase Chancellor, he used played for Sha Abshire, he plays drums for Carson Jeffery now he's like my favorite drummer. Definitely have to put him on the drums. Uh, and then guitar is hard. I'm gonna exclude my guys from the conversation just for the sake of the argument,
Speaker 1 00:34:08 Right?
Speaker 3 00:34:09 Uh, man, it's so hard. There's so many good people that play guitar. I love Ben. I'm gonna have to say Ben Johnson from Cody West for sure. Definitely. I think he's the greatest guitar player there is. And then also I would, if I could have two, I would say Josh Serrato our producer. Cause he's a freaking wizard. But yeah, that would be my super group of destruction right there.
Speaker 1 00:34:36 Hell yeah. But yeah, dude, Cody West is especially his new stuff. Insane. Like, oh yes, don't even sound like the same band. Like in the best way possible, dude.
Speaker 3 00:34:45 Like yeah,
Speaker 1 00:34:47 Seeing that shit live. I saw him live for the first time back in March and that was an experience. <laugh>
Speaker 3 00:34:54 Dude, they're freaking great. Like they're fantastic. I love them. I can't say anything bad about them other than Caen Barnes sucks. He's not faster than me, you know? Uh, but did, oh God, I
Speaker 1 00:35:06 Point out <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:35:07 They've been so good to us, man, since the very beginning. Uh, I met Cody like a million years ago when we were playing acoustic. So like, they're, they're some of my clothes homies and I think they're great in every aspect. So yeah, 100% agree. They're a completely different band. They're well oiled machine. Everyone's great. Love it.
Speaker 1 00:35:30 Yeah. I might have to have, I'm gonna have to get Cayenne on here to counterpoint your, uh oh dude, your insults. Dude. We could, it could be like a fight night thing. We get both of you on it.
Speaker 3 00:35:40 I need you to edit out every nice thing I said about Cody West and just keep all the bad shit I said about kind
Speaker 1 00:35:46 <laugh>. Just bleep everything out except
Speaker 3 00:35:49 That. Oh yeah. Kind Barn sucks. Can that be the episode name of this podcast? We
Speaker 1 00:35:55 Could quote that probably.
Speaker 3 00:35:56 Yeah. Episode one with Austin of church Caen Barnes sucks. The Chronicles.
Speaker 1 00:36:02 We'll just put <laugh>, we'll just put subtitle like translations under you that you could be saying something like super prophetic and it's really just saying Cayenne sucks or something.
Speaker 3 00:36:11 Yeah, I mean, oh, he's the worst <laugh>. He really is. Like, we were supposed to play with him the other day and uh, something happened and they weren't able to make it and we played it, but uh, he was like 250,000 retweets and I might go watch Austen up. George played before us. I was like, you're such a dude. <laugh>. Oh gosh.
Speaker 1 00:36:37 The best one was, were you in like an airport drinking coffee Oh. Or something. Yeah. You're like, that one caught me off guard. I I I was like, I have spit out my drink. That was like the funniest shit.
Speaker 3 00:36:48 He's the worst <laugh>. I'm telling you. It's funny because he always, he has the best comebacks of all time and he just, I don't know even know how he comes up with the stuff. I hit up all of our friends. I'm like, give me something to mess with Cayenne about. Please.
Speaker 1 00:37:09 <laugh>. So, um, being the summer, there's a lot of really cool, like whether it be festivals or like these massive outdoor venues like Red Rocks comes to mind. Um, is there any like, whether it's places you've already played or bucket lists, venues or festivals that you'd like to play at?
Speaker 3 00:37:31 Oh, I mean definitely 100% there's festivals I wanna play at. Uh, man obviously it's one of those things that I've thought about super hard wanting and then now that you've asked me, I can't think of one to name. Uh, so we're gonna go with the cheesy one because it's right down the road. Uh, I would say I would love to play Larry Jo Taylor one time. I think that would be fun just cuz I've went there for years. That would be cool. Um, I think get to play Slam dunk in the UK would be really cool, but I don't think I'm punk rock enough for that.
Speaker 1 00:38:04 I never even heard of that. Oh dude. What kind of bands they got?
Speaker 3 00:38:07 Dude, it's like punk rock metal, stuff like that. So it's like movements knocked loose, all kinds of crazy stuff.
Speaker 1 00:38:14 Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 00:38:16 Okay. That would be so cool. Any of those big UK like Welcome to Rock or no that's Oklahoma. What am I talking about? Rock and Rio in Brazil and stuff like that. Okay. That would be really cool. But
Speaker 1 00:38:28 What about like rock Oklahoma? That is a good, I think you'd fit well there
Speaker 3 00:38:32 Dude, I would love to play Rock Oklahoma. Oklahoma is one of those, we have like three fans there and it's my friend Robert Earl, <laugh> <laugh> and uh, the homie Chris. And that's about it. You know, it's funny because they're so close and we played there a few times, but Oklahoma's one of those places we just haven't had like a huge shift yet in people being super into our music. So,
Speaker 1 00:38:57 Okay. I would love Is Robert Earl the guy? Oh, sorry. Is Robert o the guy with that tattoo?
Speaker 3 00:39:02 That is Robert Earl. That
Speaker 1 00:39:04 Guy dude that went viral like months ago. Dude,
Speaker 3 00:39:08 Robert <laugh>, this man is a tornado of destruction bug <laugh>. He does <laugh>. Okay. This guy, literally every time for like the first year that I hung out with Robert, he would come to shows and he's hilarious. He has a mullet and he's just kind of awkward. He's the funniest guy. I love this guy to death. I will take him anywhere. He sells March for us all the time. It's fantastic <laugh>. And uh, he would just come and like hang out, he'd be there, everything would be great. And he'd be talking to him. He'd look, talk to somebody else and look back and he would just be gone <laugh> for the whole rest of the night. And so there'd be times I'd be like, yo dude, where's Robert? And everyone would be like, oh, I don't know. I saw him like an hour go back, you know? And finally like, I, I asked him one day, I was like, Robert, you always just disappear. You don't even say bye. Like where do you go? And he goes, oh man, I normally just get you drunk and go sleep in my car <laugh>. I was like, yeah. So he he's outta control. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I tell you the greatest Robert stories if I had the time.
Speaker 1 00:40:17 Well it sounds like you surround yourself with some funny ass people Cause cause for some in some way I follow a lot of these guys that you've been mentioning and like, like well that is that guy. Oh yeah. Like they posts like the goofiest shit.
Speaker 3 00:40:30 No, he is outta control and his thing is, he's a huge, I'm gonna bring this up. Oh gosh. I'm ready for the hate. I do not Alright. Publicly. You're hearing it here first live. I do not like the band Yellow card. It is just a thing. I imagine they're all really nice people. I'm just not a fan of the music and everyone hates me for it. And so that is Robert's biggest thing. He, every day he'll be like, oh, I'm getting your daughter this. And it's like a children's book with nothing but yellow card lyrics. And I'm like, you're such a dick man. No. Wow. Yeah. So they're outta control.
Speaker 1 00:41:09 Yeah. Like I saw, I swear I I think it was like Eve six. Oh yeah. Like he was just talking to one day like the hell, it's such a random band. Like they're great, but it's just such a random band to be talking to
Speaker 3 00:41:24 <laugh>. The, the craziest shit happens to Robert. Like we went to a so what it's a music festival in Arlington the other day. And uh, we went because the main was playing and my wife was like, the main's playing and you're not going, are you serious? It's like, oh well you know, I figured I'd stay at home hanging with the baby. And she was like, no, that's stupid. This is like, my wife really likes Morgan Wallen. So she was like, this is like the equivalent of when Morgan Wallen comes to town, I have to go. I don't care what, you know. I was like, okay cool. So we go to this main concert and Robert has been at this festival for two or three days already before we go. And he's like, yo, come get me from my hotel on your way to the festival. We're like, right on.
Speaker 3 00:42:05 And just the craziest stuff happens around Robert 24 7. We're picking him up outside of his hotel jamming into this band called Tiny Moving Parts. I love their music. I think they're great. Super cool guys. And I was like, oh yeah man, it's super sad that tiny moving parts plays at the exact same time at the Main. I turn and look out the window and I shit you not car next to us. Tiny moving parts hopping in their car to drive over. And I was like, ah. Wow. Yeah. So just wherever this guy goes, there's just people there. He met Billy Gibbons in like a h e B or something and walked up and was like, Hey, what use Z Top? And he was like, matter. Go ahead. Like it's just
Speaker 1 00:42:46 The coolest dude of all time. Billy Gibbons is. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:42:50 It's just insane.
Speaker 1 00:42:53 Well now that we're talking about uh, punk, cuz like, I'm just going on a tangent here. I don't really care what we talk about. Um, I need, I'm new to the pop punk game. Okay. Uh, I hate to admit, I I, before like growing up, of course I'd listened to the basics like Green Day, some Blink 180 2. Honestly, I'm not a real big fan of them. I know it's sacrilege to say it's okay. I understand. But Yeah. But I need from you is there like an essential, like these bands you need to listen to pop punk wise? Do you know?
Speaker 3 00:43:24 Because I need to like, the story so far is
Speaker 1 00:43:27 Yes.
Speaker 3 00:43:28 Yeah. There you go bud. That's the genre. That's all you need.
Speaker 1 00:43:32 That's all I need. Well,
Speaker 3 00:43:33 I mean obviously like I'm big into Free Throw mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I like Free Throw, uh, neck Deep Knuckle Puck, the story so far, uh, tiny Moving Parts. They're kind of math Rocky, but I would consider it, I love their band. Uh, there's a band out of Austin that followed me on Instagram and it's how I found them. They're called Nominee. I think they're sick as fuck. Fudge my bad. Excuse
Speaker 1 00:43:58 Me. No, you can cuss. You're fine.
Speaker 3 00:43:59 Ah, great. No, but yeah, so I think they're really cool. Uh, obviously the, uh, data remembers they're more on the other, like the heavier side. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, microwave. I love Microwave. They're kind of like poetically emo, I guess. Hot Mulligan Barings from Canada. Love it. Uh, counterparts. They're more metal, I guess. Hardcore Turns Style. There's so many
Speaker 1 00:44:28 Good ones. Oh yeah, I know them. They're good. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:44:30 Oh yeah, they're insane.
Speaker 1 00:44:32 Do you know Lag Wagon?
Speaker 3 00:44:33 I do know Lag Wagon. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:44:36 It's quick story. I don't like talking about me, but I, this is a funny story. I think you'd think it's funny. I to you
Speaker 3 00:44:41 Know, their album know about you, Sam. We're all, we're listen to your part of the interview where I'm gonna start asking the questions.
Speaker 1 00:44:46 Uh, I'm not interesting at all. But anyway, so I was at a record store and you know that their album Hoss? Yeah. It has, you know, hos from Bonanza on the cover. Yeah. And I was like walking around and I just see in my face just a picture of Hoss, which immediately made me die laughing for no reason at all. It's just like a big fat cowboy. And I'm like, these dudes must just be like one of those funny bands and make like the funny jokes like in their songs and stuff. And then like later on, like I put it on my Snapchat story, I'm like, ha ha ha. And like I knew nothing about 'em. And then my buddy's like, no, like, you need to listen to these guys. Like, they're drummers insane. Like they're killer. So I listened to 'em and sure as shit, they're like insane. That one song, uh, is it Head Going South? You know that
Speaker 3 00:45:34 One? Yeah, I is. Yeah. I think I do.
Speaker 1 00:45:38 That one's, that one's not on Host though. That one's on, I think one of their earlier albums. I don't know too well
Speaker 3 00:45:45 My,
Speaker 1 00:45:45 My, I think it's one of
Speaker 3 00:45:46 The, our tm, clay Massey is the punk Rock. God. This Man will give you 40 bands that you've never heard of in your life. And he is the one that actually introduced me to Lag Wagon. Uh oh, okay. Yeah. Like I, he shaped my entire music catalog that I enjoy. But yeah, so I'm familiar with Lag Wagon, but I I'm having a hard time remembering specifically the one you're talking about.
Speaker 1 00:46:11 Yeah, well I, I grew up listening to like all sorts of stuff, but the, uh, the punk I listen to the most is like the classic punk. Like, we're talking like, you know, like the Ramones of course. Fear Sex Pistols. Yes. Um,
Speaker 3 00:46:25 Come on
Speaker 1 00:46:27 Dude. And The Misfits Man.
Speaker 3 00:46:29 Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 00:46:29 That freaking you can't find shit better than dude. You can't find shit better than the Oh yeah. Than the Misfits dude.
Speaker 3 00:46:35 No, they're freaking great. I am a huge Lee Big fan. I love the band Fear. They're so cool. They're like, even they're, they're insane. Think of like older bands like that, like descendants and, um, all those like older California bands that really got like Blink 180 2 and all them into it, so mm-hmm. <affirmative> I'm definitely in.
Speaker 1 00:46:57 Yeah, for sure. Like The Misfits, the one, my favorite album from them is the one where Dan's not even on it. It's that Hollywood Ollywood monsters one. Yeah. Yeah. And I love dancing, but that Hollywood Monsters album, it's like, like fifties doop rockabilly except it's punk. Like, dude, I don't know if you're familiar with it, but Yeah. You need to listen to that. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:47:18 Bro. That's ex, see, think of that. But like, hey man, these guys can rope some cows and you know, do some cowboy shit, but also they're super into punk rock. That's us. That's what
Speaker 1 00:47:28 We do. Yeah. Full circle. There we go. <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:47:31 It's incredible. Here we go. We're getting to the Bones, brother.
Speaker 1 00:47:34 Look at that. Yeah. Um, so what do you do like outside of music? Let's get to know the real Austin Upchurch.
Speaker 3 00:47:42 The only thing I do outside of music is work, Sam, that is all I knew.
Speaker 1 00:47:48 You don't have any hobbies or nothing besides musical stuff, really?
Speaker 3 00:47:53 I like to smoke weed. That's about it.
Speaker 1 00:47:56 <laugh>. Okay. I mean, that's a hobby I guess.
Speaker 3 00:47:59 No, I, I mean, there's things I like to do. It's just hard finding the time. Like, the one thing that I genuinely enjoy doing the most is nothing with my wife. Like, I'd just like to sit at home and hang out and enjoy the company of my wife. Sounds really simple and kind of dumb to say, but like, genuinely that is what I'm into <laugh>, you know?
Speaker 1 00:48:19 Right. Um, and you got a, you got a kid now too, so, I mean, that has to take up a lot of time, huh? I
Speaker 3 00:48:24 Do. Uh, I mean, I got like, I, I like farming. I had a garden that I was really into for a while. Uh, I got some chickens in my house, you know, so I'm into that kind of stuff too, but there's nothing really just incredibly fun and exciting that I enjoy or I'm good at other than music, you know?
Speaker 1 00:48:45 So that's a terrible thing to say, <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:48:49 Yeah. I guess if you, if you think about it that way, what, uh,
Speaker 1 00:48:53 But you're also good at music though, so it makes up for it.
Speaker 3 00:48:56 I like cooking. I'm, uh, I love cooking, Sam, but I'm absolutely terrible at it. Uh,
Speaker 1 00:49:01 Oh.
Speaker 3 00:49:02 I love wa just, you know, partaking a little bit, watching some Action Bronson cooking videos, being like, oh, I can so do this <laugh>. And then I try and I'm like, oh no, this is not good. This is not good at all. <laugh>. So, yeah, I don't, I dunno.
Speaker 1 00:49:19 Uh, fair enough, fair enough. Um, so I, we're getting close to the end here, but I'd like to talk about if, if you can, what are, can you give us any information on some like, upcoming stuff? Like maybe like single like coming out or
Speaker 3 00:49:33 Album? I, I definitely can. Uh, here in the next couple of weeks we are gonna be dropping a collaboration with one of my favorite.
