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Michael Austin Artist Bio
Michael Austin from Austin, Texas?
Yeah, that's his real name and where he lives, but he's not the kind of
singer-songwriter that the name Austin usually conjures up. A dramatic and
expressive vocalist, his clarinet-tinged mix of rhythm, blues and Broadway is
totally original Texas music. An uninhibited performer, he has been known
to end up in the lap of an unsuspecting audience member before the end of the
first set. Born the son of a Navy man in Honolulu, Hawaii, Austin moved
around with the family until his fathers illness and death at an early age
forced them to settle in Sullivan, Mo.
Michael picked up the clarinet to play in the school band and along with
piano lessons, school plays, musicals and Sunday singing in the choir, his
musical training was on its way. He followed with studies at the
University of Missouri, Kansas City's Conservatory of Music and a stint with the
Kansas City Philharmonic, eventually receiving his degree in Music. The
art scene in Kansas City was diverse and Michael gravitated away from the
symphony circle towards Milton's on Market St., the Black Musicians Hall and
other hotspots where he found inspiration treading in the footsteps of jazz
greats like Charlie Parker and Count Basie. But jazz was not his only
passion and his interest in all things theatrical eventually led him to shift
his focus, working as a props assistant, writer/choreographer on a west coast
production shooting in Missouri, acting and soundtrack composition.
Artists are born wanderers and in 1979 California called. It was on his
way to the Golden State that he first lived in his namesake town, Austin, Texas.
During this period in Austin, he appeared in Sam Shepard's show "Tooth of
Crime" and did music for industrial films until his push to the west landed
him in San Francisco. San Francisco embraced Michael Austin's gifts of
music and drama. He became a core member of CityDog, a video/comedy group
ala Monty Python, helped form the rock group "Austin, Saunders and Prael", and
was nominated for a Cabaret Gold Award for his work in a production of "A Kurt
Weill Cabaret". It was while playing a gig in San Francisco that a local
filmmaker approached him to star in the film DREAMLIFE. This project
eventually led him to the Big Apple where he spent 7 years, acting in or
writing/directing off Broadway musicals, appearing in music videos and films and
wearing hats as diverse as casting Lenny Bruce - a multi-media Burlesque
production - and producing a fashion video.
Austin was showcased in Big Breaks, a documentary which followed the
rising stars of New York, was featured in Windows Over Manhattan for German TV,
and won a major roll in the Oscar nominated short film Norman Mailer's Children.
Jingles, demo singing, recording sessions and singing at joints in the Village
also kept him alive in New York City. In 1991 hunger for a more laid back
scene brought him back to California, this time to Hollywood where he continued
as a jack of all creative trades. He spent time writing a screenplay,
taking acting classes, and working at the Disney Studios in departments
from feature acquisition to Hollywood Records. But the constant has always
been writing and singing. Nightclub shows, one acts, children's bedtime stories,
screenplays and song after song. The LA Earthquake in 93 finally compelled him
to trade in the ground shaking mayhem of LA and give Austin, Texas another
chance.
Michael Austin is building a loyal following with regular regional Texas
performances like the popular "First Thursday with Michael Austin and Chris
Gage" at Artz Ribhouse in south Austin or sitting in with Albert and Gage at
Donn's Depot. He was a New Folk Songwriter Competition Finalist at the
Kerrville Folk Festival, a guest on the Austin Music Network's "Songwriters
in the Round" series and featured on KXAN TVs award winning "Out on the Porch"
with host Jim Swift.
Austin's debut CD, "Thick n Thin", was produced by
multi-instrumentalist and sought after producer,
Chris Gage. Gage's
record label (with partner
Christine Albert), MoonHouse
Records, has licensed the project and is promoting its release.
www.moonhouserecords.com/michaelaustin.htm
www.moonhouserecords.com
(Layout provided by Mike Industries.)
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