← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
"Second Chances and New Chapters with Austin John Winkler"
00:16:55
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- [00:00]
Buzz Knight
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Austin John Winkler
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- [03:08]
Taking a Walk we were like, well, let's just do something completely different and not so polished. And I'm like, I'm into that. And so even lyrically I wanted to get more raw. Instrumentally, I wanted to be more raw and I wanted there to be kind of no limits to what we're doing. And we didn't even really have a plan. It was kind of instinctual.
- [03:29]
Buzz Knight
Welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast hosted by Buzz Knight. Buzz speaks with musicians and gets the scoop on their new projects. Austin John Winkler is an American rock vocalist and songwriter, best known as the original lead singer for the band Hinder. During his time with the group, he helped them create their breakthrough album extreme behavior in 2005 and that featured the massive hit Lips of an Angel. Today, Austin's here to chat about his musical journey and his brand new band, the Founder and the new EP Walking Dead. Austin John Winkler joins Buzz Knight on the Taking a Walk podcast right now.
- [04:08]
Austin John Winkler
Austin John Winkler, thanks for being on Taking a Walk. It's great to be with you.
- [04:13]
Good to be here, Buzz. Thank you, man.
- [04:14]
So since the podcast is called Taking a Walk, we like to ask this question at the beginning of every episode we pose to our guests. If you could take a walk with somebody living or dead, could be somebody involved in music, but doesn't have to be. Could be something or someone personal to you, who would it be and where would you take a walk with them?
- [04:40]
Oh man, that's a good question. I think I'd want to take a walk with my grandpa. My grandpa Charlie, who's been gone for a long time. I think that would be, that would be a trip because I always remembered something, he gave me advice. You know, it kind of kick started my career. I think after I started taking what he said seriously, things started to happen in my career and you know, he left this earth whenever I was touring, very heavy. So I never got a chance to really sit down and thank him. So I'd take a walk with my grandpa.
- [05:20]
Where do you think you'd be walking with them?
- [05:22]
Oh, on the beach, man, somewhere. I don't know, something like that.
- [05:28]
And you'd get something that you hadn't learned about life out of that walk, I'm guessing.
- [05:34]
Yeah, I think so too. I mean, you know, I, like, I never. Like I said, I never got to see him after things started taking off with me, and I. I felt like I owed him, you know, some. Some love for that.
- [05:46]
Where does a walk for you come into your day, you know, on a regular basis or, you know, with your schedule permitting? Do you use taking a walk to go out and clear your head if you're creatively blocked with something? Do you like walking?
- [06:04]
Yeah, I mean, I, you know, I. For a long time I just walked on the treadmill and then I started running on the treadmill and now I swim every day. So probably my walk to the car every day is. Is something that I sometimes dread and sometimes look forward to. It's just, you know, whatever's on my mind, I like to. To try to walk it off and then swim it off.
- [06:33]
Well, congratulations on the new project, the new work with the founder, Walking Dead. We're going to talk about that and get into some of the creative process and some of the. The influences for that project. But I wanted to ask you, do you remember the first time in your life that you were impacted by music?
- [06:57]
Man, Absolutely. It's one of my earliest memories. And it was, let's see, I was probably six or seven, eight, somewhere around there, and Janie's Got A Gun came on the radio and it took me out of the world I was in. It was the first song that. That literally took me away from. From Earth and sunk me into their world. And I remember being so attached to it that I went into the bathroom because that was the only place I could have some privacy. It was big, big family. And I was waiting for it to come on the radio so you could record it. Obviously that's what you had to do back in the day. So that's one of my earliest memories ever. And that's when I knew that I at least loved that song. I at least loved that. That music, for sure. That rock and roll.
- [07:56]
Pretty infectious song, for sure.
- [07:59]
Oh, man, I hear it now and it takes me back to that time in the bathroom. Doesn't play like it's, it's. It's such a world. That whole song is crazy, but also.
- [08:10]
Kind of a dark world too.
- [08:12]
Yeah, I mean, I, that. That could, you know, very well play into some of my writing styles sometimes, just because it is a very dark world, but I'm. I'm a. Darker melodies and, and all that stuff. I'M really attracted to. I could owe to that song.
- [08:27]
Are there others that you think influenced you, like that song? Did you. Other artists or other songs or other writers?
- [08:35]
Yeah, I mean, you know, nothing. Bahrain's another one. Like, those are two songs that I. That I don't listen to very often because I. I want them to try to stay as crisp and fresh as long as they can for me in this life. Because, I mean, I have. I have a few songs like that. You know, believe it or not, Eminem being who he is, inspired me to write lyrics. I mean, I figured. I figured if. If this guy can walk into a genre that he's not really supposed to be in and. And write some crazy, crazy, amazing rhymes, I can. I can. I can pull it together and write some rock songs. That's what I. That was my mentality.
- [09:30]
And you were dreaming about a future that at that time, you dreamt about something that would turn into, you know, quite an outcome. That was fame and excitement and fortune and glitz. It really kind of came on really fast, didn't it?
- [09:50]
Yeah, man. I mean, nothing. Nothing can prepare you for that. For something like that. I mean, especially if, you know, it is obviously something that I wanted so badly and I. And I threw my whole. My whole self, heart and soul into it and never looked back. And all of a sudden looked up and there's, you know, you're playing in front of 15,000 people singing songs you wrote right back to your face. Like, it. It's a pretty crazy journey to go on. And yeah, at 19 is when I started writing songs, and at 24, 25, I had a number one hit. So it's pretty crazy.
- [10:30]
And if you could have looked back on that and had someone that was in your life to sort of be a mentor, do you think that would have made a tremendous difference? Or would the outcome of, you know, where things really, you know, went. Went bad. Would it still have occurred?
- [10:53]
You know what? I'm. I'm certain that it still. The bad still would have occurred no matter who was. Because there was no stop. There was no stopping. There was kind of even no talking to that kid like he. He was. He was who he set out to be and accomplished who everything he wanted to do. I don't think there could have been anybody that would have been like, hey, man, maybe you should slow down a little bit. Because, I mean, there were those people in my life and then very important people in my life that had these conversations, and I was like, I'm good, I'm good. I'm good. And you're only good until you're not. Until you're not, you know. I mean, that's just kind of. That's just kind of the logistics of what went down.
- [11:35]
But does it make you look at stuff differently now, the impact that you are making by being so transparent and the difference that you could make on that person who may be struggling with something?
- [11:50]
Absolutely. I mean, it's. It's amazing to. To read comments and, you know, write a song about, you know, addiction or it could be addicted to a person or whatever it is, and to have somebody. You get on there and drop a comment saying, I helped them with bulimia and songs like Super Jaded, and that literally blows my mind because that's something I know nothing about, and I know it's a very serious disease, and I know it's nothing to take lightly. And the fact that I can touch somebody like that is unbelievable to me.
- [12:32]
So you reach this point, which was pretty much the. The sickness that you were going through on physical levels and mental levels created this period where you just didn't feel like doing this thing, right? I mean, you just. Just didn't. Had no desire to be participating in creating music, right?
- [12:56]
Yeah, no, absolutely. I. I went. I mean, probably. Probably four or five years without writing anything. I mean, I. I would pick up the guitar and I'd mess around with something, but I didn't. I didn't have anything to show for it. I didn't have anything good or anything. I mean, it was just. It was a lonely time. I mean, I. I couldn't. I couldn't lean on music like I used to. And, you know, and that comes with just putting your whole heart and everything into something and having it work out, and then personal life and in career choices and stuff like that can, you know, pull the rug out from underneath you before you even know it. And the next thing I knew, I was completely miserable. And music wasn't even really something that I was pursuing at all.
- [13:53]
But you were also focused on getting yourself physically healthy. Because that was a necessity, right?
- [13:59]
That was a necessity. I mean, as soon as I was able to start recording anything else, as soon as I was able to, I took that opportunity to record something, and, you know, I kind of never looked back. I mean, I got healthy enough to be in the studio, and now I'm healthy enough to take this thing on the road.
- [14:23]
So let's talk about the creation of Walking Dead, and I want you to sort of maybe give us a glimpse inside how you Created it, how the writing took place, the folks that you collaborated with, that type of thing.
- [14:38]
Yeah. So the Walking Dead EP was something that came about from just the Walking Dead song, the title track. It was first what I recorded. And I wanted to set out and do something kind of raw because, I mean, I was. I always love. You know, I always go back to the classics like Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and the Stones and Aerosmith and all those old really, really raw records. And when I got into the studio and my producer, Brennan Hunt, who's tremendous, tremendous talent, we were like, well, let's just do something completely different and not so polished. And I'm like, I'm into that. And so even lyrically, I wanted to get more raw. Instrumentally, I wanted to be more raw, and I wanted there to be kind of no limits to what we're doing. And we didn't even really have a plan. It was kind of instinctual in the studio. We were like, okay, well, we got the shell down. What are we hearing? And it just kind of, you know. The guitar player, Randy Sanders, who's phenomenal, one of my favorite guitar players, now brings something to the. To the record that just blows my mind. I mean, it's like he can play a solo and take you even almost out of the song with how good the solo is, and then bring you right back into it. And he has a tremendous talent for that. I mean, I. Each solo is phenomenal, and it's. If you hear a solo from him, you're going to know it's him. I can just put it like that because it's. You're like, what the is that? What am I hearing? Some. Some of those solos are just so bizarre, and it's just like we were in there having fun. And it was also something I really wanted to do on the raw side, because there's so many rock records out and rock bands out now doing the exact same thing. Let's see how heavy we can get. Everything. And it's. To me, it sounds like with the exception of a few bands that have done it for a while, everything else is just seems like. And it's like I can't even distinguish the guitar from the bass, and it's so heavy and the melodies are gone. And, you know, that's why. That's why I wanted to pursue something a little more like, still kind of sexy rock and roll, but a little more raw. And, yeah, that's kind of the gist of what the founder became.
- [17:09]
So go through some more of the tracks and how you feel about them, how proud you are of them.
- [17:13]
Oh, man. I think that there's a song on there. It's the last track on the EP called the Fall, and it's a very personal song, and it's a song that I never thought I'd have to write about a relationship that's not in my life anymore and something I thought that would always be there and how there's maybe a little bit of anger and definitely hurt in it. And it's one of those songs that kind of takes you out of this world. It takes you to a place. And I've got nothing but amazing feedback on that song, and I'm excited to go out and play it live.
- [17:57]
So that's. That's awesome. Yeah, that's great. So envision going out and where you're going to be and the kind of venues you'll be playing and what do you. What are you thinking about?
- [18:10]
Well, I mean, we're about to announce it this week, so I won't get too much into it, but I mean, I'm going out with some, some two other bands and we're going to start playing some clubs and I'm going to test this as founder out on the road, man. It's. It's going to be. It's going to be some, some raw rock and roll. It's going to be a lot of fun.
- [18:30]
Oh, that's so great. Well, congratulations on it. In closing. So any dream collaborations that you might think about that would be, you know, in your sights down. Down the road, or is it really just important to savor this moment, stay healthy and, you know, keep your. Your eyes on the road?
- [18:51]
Oh, man. I mean, I haven't really thought about collabs at all. Like, I think you kind of hit it on the head with me, kind of staying focused and, you know, really, really just looking forward to being out with the fans again and playing songs and connecting with them as much as I can and just, you know, it's just something super special for me and.
- [19:17]
I'm really looking forward to, well, so on that you would be on and that you would share your story. You would try to help others by sharing your story and that now you found that, you know, creative, you know, fire and passion again with your new music. So I couldn't be happier for you.
- [19:38]
Thank you, Buzz. I appreciate it, man.
- [19:39]
Thanks for being on Taking a Walk Austin.
- [19:41]
Thanks for having me, buddy.
- [19:44]
Buzz Knight
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:03]
Austin John Winkler
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- [20:49]
Buzz Knight
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- [21:54]
Austin John Winkler
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Buzz Knight
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- [22:06]
Austin John Winkler
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- [22:10]
Buzz Knight
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- [22:16]
Austin John Winkler
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- [22:58]
Buzz Knight
And.
- [22:58]
Austin John Winkler
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- [23:06]
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- [23:08]
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- [23:17]
You're listening to an iHeart podcast.