Jeff Austin & The Here and Now (featuring Danny Barnes & The Keels) On Tour

 

Jeff Austin & The Here and Now (featuring Danny Barnes & The Keels)
On Tour

Mandolinist, vocalist and songwriter Jeff Austin is unstoppable. He is celebrated for his fleet fingers and penchant for improvisation on stage, but those qualities also speak volumes about how he chooses to live. Austin has cultivated his natural musical abilities and allowed himself to be driven by his boldest instincts. In this way, he has been able to build positive, exciting momentum around his life’s greatest passion.

While not on the road with Yonder Mountain String Band, Austin is joining forces with The Here and Now, featuring banjoist Danny Barnes and Larry & Jenny Keel on guitar and bass. They will be embarking on special late summer tour starting in the midwest near Chicago and looping through Bloomington, IN; Troy, OH; and Louisville and then heading south into Birmingham and St Louis before heading over to Tulsa. The tour lands for their final show of the run in Guthrie, Oklahoma with their second appearance as part of a Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road Stopover.

Take a look at Jeff’s new website JeffAustin.com and download a free EP of Jeff Austin & The Here and Now.

Jeff Austin & The Here and Now on Tour:
8/28 Wed – Durty Nellie’s – Palatine, IL
8/29 Thu – The Bluebird – Bloomington, IN
8/30 Fri – Troy Memorial Stadium – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road – Troy, OH
8/31 Sat – Troy Memorial Stadium – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road – Troy, OH
9/1 Sun – Diamonds in Upper Highlands- Louisville, KY
9/2 Mon – Avondale Brewing Co. – Birmingham, AL
9/4 Wed – Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
9/5 Thu – The Shrine – Tulsa, OK *Austin & Barnes duo show
9/6-7 Fri – Cottonwood Flats – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road – Guthrie, OK
9/7 Sat – Cottonwood Flats – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road – Guthrie, OK

More about Jeff Austin
Jeff Austin’s enthusiasm for the vast, vibrant world of music was rooted in him as early as he can remember: “I was always raised very musically. My mom always had music playing; she always sang.” It’s no surprise then that Austin himself grew up singing too. From beginning to end of his years in grade school just outside of Chicago, he sang in classes, choirs, and musicals, allowing his musical influences to lead him where they may. “I started listening to Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings,” Austin says. “And then the Beatles, that turned into Bob Dylan, and then the Grateful Dead and Phish.”

Austin continued this fearless course of action, attending University of Cincinnati and majoring in Musical Theatre, until he stumbled upon a crossroads that threatened to derail all of his plans. “I remember standing in front of the Grateful Dead three weeks before I dropped out of college and thinking, ‘there’s so much more to this music thing than being educated and being told what you are,’” Austin explains. “You can take what you think is your value and throw it at a crowd of people, and they will throw it back to you. The beauty is that nothing is black and white. It’s all grey; it’s interpreted at the moment.” Austin goes on to illustrate what this meant for his future: “At the time, I was auditioning for Broadway and off-Broadway shows. I walked away from everything I was set up to do because I realized that I just wanted to be in a band.”

Serendipitously, he met banjoist Dave Johnston around the same time. He encouraged Austin to try the mandolin so as to join his band The Bluegrassholes, so Jeff learned how to play the only way he knew how – with music: “I would listen to Not for Kids Only, which is a record of kids’ songs that Garcia/Grisman put out, nothing too fast. I would listen over and over and over and find the notes on my mandolin.” Picking up an instrument for the first time was exhilarating for Austin. “I never took lessons,” he admits. “I just threw myself in that world. I’ve always kind of learned in the line of fire.” The line of fire inspired Austin to be better, so he kept coming back. “For the better part of 3 years, I jammed night after night with these guys. There’s something about the pace, the speed, the aggressiveness, the chasing of the beat.” Austin was hooked.

In 1998, Austin and Johnston relocated to Nederland, Colorado. While working at a bar called the Verve, Austin met Adam Aijala and Ben Kaufmann, with whom he and Johnston would form the Yonder Mountain String Band. Together, the four musicians have created a wild, high-energy niche among the bluegrass legends of old and the up and coming jam band scene. Over fifteen years, Yonder Mountain String Band have built an intensely loyal fan base by playing festivals and venues across the nation, sharing the stage with legends like Jon Fishman, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman, Earl Scruggs, Pete Thomas, and Jimmy Herring, and releasing five studio albums and five live recordings.

“My time with Yonder has taught me what is possible,” Austin says. “It has shown me that if you work hard at it and you believe in it and there’s a part of you that’s meant to do it, it will happen. It’s clichéd, but it’s true.”

It is with this rich personal history at his back that propels Austin into a new creative direction as he prepares to step into the spotlight as a solo artist. On his forthcoming debut project, Austin’s songwriting remains rooted in Americana inspiration and the frantic energy of the jam genre but also, reaches even further weaving in more mainstream themes, reminiscent of his co-write contribution “Fiddlin’ Around,” that was featured on the 2010 Grammy nominated Dierks Bentley album, Up on the Ridge. While the upcoming, untitled solo effort is still a work in progress, it can already be summed up succinctly as Austin’s love letter to storytelling. “I love writing a three-minute song with a hook that would grab a five-hundred-pound marlin as much as I like writing something that goes, ‘okay, after the bridge, it’s going to open up and just go wide.’”

Indeed, “wide” is what Jeff Austin is all about. He wants new and different, complex and interesting. He wants everything the music world has to offer, and he’s willing to work hard to get it.

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For more information, please visit JeffAustin.com or Facebook.com/JeffAustinOfficial.

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Leftover Salmon Teams Up With Breckenridge Brewery to Deliver New Music This Summer

BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY TEAMS UP WITH COLORADO BLUEGRASS BAND LEFTOVER SALMON
Handcrafted Music Deserves Handcrafted Beer.

NEW Song “High Country” Available This July Through Breck Brew Download Cards
Accompanied with an Artist Series Coaster and Contests

Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado has a big fish on the line. The brewery recently announced it has teamed up with Colorado bluegrass band Leftover Salmon to deliver new music to fans exclusively through Breckenridge beers. Leftover Salmon will debut four original songs from July to October, and they will be pre-released exclusively through Breckenridge Brewery’s 12-pack Sampler Packs. Song download codes will be provided on four collector’s item Artist Series coasters packaged within Sampler Packs.

“These new Leftover Salmon songs are inspired by Breckenridge Brewery’s Fine Colorado Ales, the Colorado lifestyle, and the beauty that Colorado has to offer,” said Breckenridge Brewery’s Marketing Director Todd Thibault. “It makes perfect sense to package these songs with our beers and give folks the full Colorado experience!”

National touring act Leftover Salmon was formed in Colorado in 1989. The slamgrass pioneers created one of the first bluegrass bands to add drums and tour rock & roll bars, helping it become a pillar of the jam band scene and an unwitting architect of the jam grass genre.

Each of four song downloads will be released alongside an Artist Series coaster, specially created by four well-known artists from the “Rock Art” community and packaged inside Breckenridge Brewery’s 12-pack Sampler Packs. Gary Houston, Jeff Wood, Nate Duval and Tyler Stout each crafted their artwork with inspiration from Leftover Salmon’s music and Breckenridge Brewery’s beers. In addition to the coasters, each artist is printing a limited run of 100 screen print posters. The posters will be available through select giveaways on social media and at special events across the country.

The Artist Series song download coasters will begin shipping in specially marked Breckenridge Brewery 12-pack Sampler Packs in July. Sampler Pack purchasers will not only receive 12 bottles of Breckenridge beer, but also an Artist Series coaster, a free song download and a chance to win prizes – every download that is retrieved enters that person in a drawing. The grand prize is a trip for two to Colorado for a VIP experience at Leftover Salmon’s Thanksgiving shows, with a behind-the-scenes Breckenridge Brewery tour and a band meet-and-greet. Other prizes include a band-autographed acoustic guitar made by Andrew White Guitars, which builds Vince Herman his guitars; a set of four Artist Series coaster posters, framed and signed by the band; and much more.

The first Leftover Salmon download song available this month is “High Country.” The song was recorded between March 25 and April 4, 2013 at Mighty Fine Productions in Denver. It was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos; engineered by Mario Casilio; and mixed and mastered by Dave McNair. The song features Joey Porter on organ.

“I wrote this song while on a hike in the Collegiate Peaks wilderness,” remembered Leftover Salmon band member Andy Thorn. “It was such a beautiful day up there I just started singing, ‘I wanna be in the high country all day,’ and having fun making up verses about it.  By the time we got back to the cabin and grabbed a guitar it was basically finished!”

Gary Houston of Voodoo Catbox created the accompanying artwork. Houston is based in Portland, OR and specializes in scratch board illustrations, which he appreciates as being hands-on and organic. He also screen prints, and scratch board lends itself to this process very well.

“When I was approached to work on this project, my initial thoughts were of outdoors, summer and water, and the idea that water is such a pivotal point in making beer,” reflected Houston. “I wanted the image to have a mystical quality… Mountains, trees, churning water and salmon with spawning on their minds, in a mystical setting.” For more details of Houston’s image and inspiration, click here.

This summer and fall Breckenridge Brewery is planning promotions in select bars throughout the country that coincide with Leftover Salmon’s tour stops. The events will not only provide fans a chance to collect the Artist Series song download coasters and limited edition Artist Series posters, but also will include special appearances by Leftover Salmon. Dates and cities will be posted online at http://www.breckbrew.com/LeftoverSalmon.

“Imagine having the opportunity to drink a beer with some of the best musicians to come out of Colorado, pick up a free song download and an autographed limited edition poster,” concluded Thibault. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer evening.”

For fans who are not able to receive song download coasters, ‘High Country’ will be released via iTunes on August 6th as will the other songs at later dates.

For more information visit www.breckbrew.com or follow on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/BreckenridgeBrewery.

About Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery was founded in 1990 in Breckenridge, Colorado. In the past two decades Breckenridge Brewery has grown from a small 3,000-barrels-a-year brewpub to one of the most successful craft beer and restaurant companies in the nation. It now handcrafts more than 52,000 barrels of fresh beer annually and owns and operates five brewpubs and ale houses in the state of Colorado. For more information visit www.breckbrew.com.

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Head For The Hills Release Blue Ruin Today, Featured in CMT Edge

Head For The Hills Release Blue Ruin Today, Featured in CMT Edge

“Effortlessly matches integrity against innovation.” –Brian T Atkinson, CMT Edge

“On top of modern string music”
–John Lawless, Bluegrass Today

“This is not your grandpa’s string music” –Mark Raborn, Prescription Bluegrass

“Head for the Hills uses misdirection like a veteran magician on Blue Ruin… a surreal, heady and innovative fusion of styles.”
–A.H. Goldstein, Westword

“Head for the Hills is bluegrass filtered through the sounds of jazz, indie rock, hip hop, world music and folk”
–Danny McClosky, The Alternate Root

“Fine new recording.” — Mandolin Cafe

“Their best work yet” –Brian F Johnson, Marquee

WATCH “Never Does,” “Blue Ruin” & “Take Me Back” on Second Story Garage.

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Blue Ruin is Now Available:
iTunes → http://bit.ly/1aVRLfe & Amazon http://amzn.to/11z3NIk

Head for the Hills is pleased to announce their third studio album, Blue Ruin, releases July 9th, 2013. Blue Ruin sees the Colorado quartet fusing bluegrass, jazz, hip-hop and indie rock into songs inspired by love and misery and comic books. Think Meta-fictional sea shanties, pop-infused newgrass murder ballads and urbane lyricism, twang and punch. Featuring twelve new original songs marked by moving narratives and stellar musicianship, Blue Ruin showcases the quartet’s contemporary take on acoustic music; embracing the bluegrass pedigree while looking forward.

Head for the Hills is Adam Kinghorn on Guitar and vocals, Joe Lessard on violin and vocals, Matt Loewen on upright bass and vocals and Mike Chappell on acoustic and electric mandolins.

Recorded and mixed in Fort Collins, Colorado at Swingfingers Studios with ace engineer and banjoist Aaron Youngberg (Martha Scanlan, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West), Blue Ruin features contributions from Andy Hall (The Infamous Stringdusters), James Thomas, Gabe Mervine (The Motet), and more. Renowned screen print artist Timothy Doyle (Muse, The Black Keys, Lucas Films, NASA) created the stunning cover art and Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer David Glasser rounds out the production team. This is Head for the Hills at their most artistically fulfilled: self-produced and in top form. Blue Ruin is more than just a “bluegrass” record—it’s a Head for the Hills record.

Stay tuned for more about the new release on the band’s website and social networks. www.headforthehillsmusic.com. For the most up-to-date list of tour dates, including the band’s Album Release Show in Denver, CO at Breckenridge Brewery’s 23rd Anniversary Celebration on July 13th, click here.

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