Introducing… Austin Webb
There was never any real moment of declaration for Austin Webb. He just knew what he was born to do. And, somehow, so did everyone else.
“I was born a country singer,” Webb tells CountryMusicIsLove. “And they knew it when the doctor smacked my ass.”
His journey started in Greenville, South Carolina where he absorbed everything from Joe Cocker and Guy Clark to Bob Dylan and Vince Gill. In addition to those greats, he also soaked in the written words of authors such as Oscar Wilde and Dylan Thomas. At the age of nine, he started writing his own poetry, and later picked up a Martin guitar and turned his emotions into songs. He still uses that same guitar.
“I love that guitar,” Webb gushes. “It never talks back, it never pisses me off, it never gets mad.”
Armed with that guitar, he started playing gigs up and down the East Coast after he finished high school. He would play wherever he could get in. But those sets wouldn’t pay the bills, so he took on 24 different jobs as chased his destiny. One of those jobs put him on the assembly line of a BMW plant.
“I’ve always been a hard worker, because I had to be,” he says. “Things cost money in life, and I never wanted anything given to me.”
It’s a work ethic that was instilled in him through his father, and by necessity. But there were a couple other things he learned that could really only be taught through hands-on experience.
“There’s a certain amount of pride that comes with being self-made,” he shares. “I grew up working in construction and hard labor jobs. I’ll always have great respect for the hard working middle class of America. I’ll always be part of it, and that ethic will always stay with me.”
When he was working on the line, he was on a journey that gave him experiences you seem to only hear about in old stories. One of those included a spontaneous road trip in the middle of the night to Johnny Cash’s grave after a bad breakup. But it was something he knew he needed to do as a country singer.
“I had to pay my respect to someone I respected so much,” Webb recalls. “I sat at the grave, played guitar, and smoked cigarettes. It was the day I knew exactly who I was, and who I was going to be.”
On his way back, he stopped at a Waffle House. He went to the jukebox, put on a ’45 of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” and then ran into another hero of his: Charlie Louvin. The legend was with his wife, and he talked to Webb for about an hour. It’s where the singer got the biggest compliment of his life.
“He told me I reminded him of Kris Kristofferson. That was the biggest compliment of my life, and I had not even told him of Kris’ impact on my life.”
After that, he ended up having dinner with Louvin’s family, and went to see him play at Jim Olvier’s Smoke House. That’s where Louvin invited Webb on stage for the first time. They were friends to the day Louvin passed away.
After nine years of playing for tips and working odd jobs, Webb finally got his break. He won a South Carolina songwriting contest called the “Nashville Connection,” and the prize included free voice lessons from Dave Brooks. Brooks gave Webb’s demo to Byron Gallimore, and the two have been working together ever since.
“Byron is a real person. After all his years in this business, he’s not jaded at all,” Webb points out. “He’s the real deal. He’s like a sonic artist; he paints his masterpieces with intricate strokes of sound.”
He described his sound as a mix of four things: country, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, and love. And you’ll hear it all on his still-in-progress debut album.
“I do hope to have my debut album released in the near future. But we do not have a date yet.”
While you wait, however, you can hear some of that sound on his new single, “All Country On You.” It’s an addicting upbeat warning for men of the potential wrath they’ll face of any women they try to play games with. Written by Chris Tompkins, Josh Kear, and Mark Irwin, it was a song that Webb knew was meant for him.
“I love the song. It’s not ‘bro-country,’ and it’s not ‘bra-country.’ It’s fresh, lighthearted, and only mentions a truck once,” Webb says, laughing.
His favorite line on the song references what Carrie Underwood sang about doing to her ex-lover’s truck on “Before He Cheats,” and he’s really excited about the attention it’s getting at country radio.
That positive attention he’s been receiving from country radio is just another step on that ladder as he slowly climbs his way into being becoming a household name like his heroes. And like them, he’ll never forget the the people who will keep him on the road and radio.
“As a singer and performer, I’m always amazed at how loyal and gracious the country music fans are,” Webb shares.
That loyalty won’t be misplaced, either. He knows why he’s here.
“I didn’t choose to focus on country music. I was born a country singer.”
