Latest news is at the bottom of the page.
NEW! The Speed of Light EP
Happy twenty-ten, everyone! I made a new 3-song digital-only EP called The Speed of Light, available now for free on this page. Much like The Things You Carry and 1982 (if you haven't heard those yet, see below), it was recorded at home in Baltimore, with all the instruments played by me. Two of the songs are older ones that wouldn't have fit on either the last Private Eleanor record or on The Things You Carry; one song is a new one that doesn't quite fit with the tunes I've been writing for my new band (about which more shall be revealed soon!). Luckily the three of them seem to fit just fine together. All were recorded in late '09 using both a cassette 8-track and a computer. Grab the ZIP file of the EP (containing mp3s and artwork) to your right. I hope you like it!
Preview the title track:
The Things You Carry
The Things You Carry is a record I made by myself at home, on a Tascam 488 cassette eight-track machine (an obsolete piece of '90s analog technology), during the winter of 2008–2009. I made this record primarily for my own enjoyment—I wanted to experiment with the 8-track, and to get back to making songs just for myself again—but I liked how it turned out, and I thought you might like to hear it too.
You can download the record for free in high-quality MP3 format. (Use the link to the right. It's a ZIP archive that also contains printable artwork, if you want to be old-school and make your own little CD package.) Please let me know what you think. (Email me at austin at austinstahl dot net)
Want a preview before you commit to the full album download? Stream a few tracks below:
Great Things Await:
Fruit On the Vine:
Shrug:
Bonus mini-album: 1982
Also available here for a limited time: a bonus/companion mini-album called 1982, comprised of covers of six songs originally released in the year of my birth. I recorded this during the same time period and on the same equipment as the sessions for The Things You Carry. The songs themselves, in addition to being the same age as me, are all excellent. Find out whether I did them justice.
Link to a ZIP archive of the album at right. Streamable sample below.
The Cutter:
About Austin Stahl
I'm a songwriter/musician/recordist from Baltimore, Maryland. I used to sing and write songs in Private Eleanor, and I currently play drums in Small Sur. I've made records and toured with both of those bands, and have played drums or bass and engineered records for a number of other artists over the past 10 years. I was once called "Baltimore's Best Singer/Songwriter" by City Paper, which I thought was pretty nice of them to say. The music on this page is the first music I've released under my own name.
Email me: austin at austinstahl.net
Here's a photo of me that you can use, if you're writing about me on on your blog/site/whatever. (If you are, thank you!)
News
Jan 2010:
>>New release: The Speed of Light EP is out now! Three songs, recorded at home in late '09, available for free exclusively on this site.
Nov 2009:
>>Have you heard the Baltimore
Does Baltimore compilation at SpliceToday.com? It's an excellent all-local
all-covers album. I have a track on it—covering a great song by my
friend Lawrence Lanahan—and also recorded/played on Small Sur's contribution.
(Caleb Stine covers a Small Sur song too!) So much great stuff on it, and
it's free!
Oct 2009:
>>Been working on a batch of new recordings. Not sure yet if they're
destined for another solo record or for a new band. Time will tell. Either
way, I'm quite excited about how they're sounding.
>>Thanks to everyone who came to see me play this summer! If you'd like me to play somewhere, let's talk: austin at austinstahl.net. All offers entertained; house shows and small spaces encouraged.
Sept 2009:
>>Al at Splice
Today interviews me about fake band names, '80s covers, and the lure
of the electric mandolin.
>>Independent Clauses posted an excellent review of The Things You Carry.
July 2009:
>>BrightestYoungThings
had some nice things to say about the record.
>>If you missed my show in June at Mobtown Studios, the full audio is now available at their site.
