About Stephen Austin
All you need is love . . . and peanut butter and coffee and fast cars.
New England-based drummer Stephen considers himself a “simple guy” who loves (understatement of the year) the Beatles, peanut butter, coffee, and fast cars. And pretty much in that order. Now, if he could chat with Paul McCartney over coffee while driving a fast car, well, *that* would be the dream of all dreams.
In the Beginning: Wooden Spoons & Rulers
Forget holding on to sippy cups or the like. Since the age of two, his hands have preferred the feel of sticks in them! If his mother couldn’t find her wooden spoons and Farberware, she only had to look as far as Stephen’s direction; they made a fine drum set/sticks for him. Soon, he was given a proper pair of sticks, where he wailed away on his dad’s practice pad, playing along to Ringo’s steady back beat on Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. “That is how I learned,” Stephen says.
“But I’ve always had the urge to hammer away on something, anything – by using pencils and even wooden rulers on my school desk,” he says. Even while driving or sitting on the sofa, it’s not uncommon for him to be tapping his knees, undoubtedly to a beat he’s enjoying in his head. “I received my very first set of Ludwigs in the seventh grade, and soon discovered the joy of playing in garage bands.”
Favorite Places
He’s got, oh, just a few to include Starbucks, Florida, Italy, Target, anywhere with his incredible son, Nick, and his lovely wife, Jen- or simply at home watching The Office reruns. Right up there with all of that is Fenway Park, though. It’s a tough place to beat, he explains, having been there too many times to count. “I love baseball,” he says. “I once built a baseball field in my backyard that was featured on NESN as ‘Best Backyard Ballpark in New England’”.
Did You Know?
Stephen attended Rhode Island School of Design and studied art in Italy. Part of his career that he recalls fondly is working on movies at Disney Feature Animation, drawing Mickey Mouse and various characters from Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is just a fraction of info about talented drummer Stephen Austin. Like the peanut butter and coffee he so enjoys, his passion for playing, listening to the Beatles, and being an all-around good guy is robust and satisfying!
Check out his current projects here: