Darren King of MuteMath became a huge inspiration and someone I still look up to . There is only one person who plays like Darren King and that is himself . And that ’ s what I love about his playing .
There are so many others to have influenced me in small ways , but probably the biggest influence on my playing as an adult has been Steve Jordan . His playing on John Mayer ’ s albums Continuum and Battle Studies became the guidelines on how to approach a song with simplicity and complexity all at once . Unlike the pop punk , hardcore and even gospel upbringing , he taught me that less is more and how to play the right thing at the right time . And , on a studio recording level , about drum tones , and the right tones for the song . I ’ ve watched the Trio section of Where The Light Is ( John Mayer ’ s live recording DVD ) a couple dozen times , and it still gets me . He ’ s the GOAT for me .
[ WM ] Do you drum outside of the church ? Do any session work ?
[ Austin ] I ’ ve done some touring in the mainstream country world and I ’ ve played tons of shows with pop artist and friends based out of Nashville . I love it .
As to session work : Yes ! I do a lot of sessions and have been pretty steadily for probably six years or so . In 2020 , during lockdown , I decided to buy everything I needed to remotely track drums for my house . Producers kept hitting me up and asking if I could do so , and I was sick of telling them I couldn ’ t . So , it felt the perfect time to invest . Since then , I ’ ve done probably 90 % of my sessions from my house . And the amount that I ’ m able to do , has doubled if not tripled . It ’ s been amazing .
[ WM ] Thoughts on drum cages ? Are you using sound deflectors ? Are they working well ?
[ Austin ] Well … Like most drummers , I hate them . ( laughing ) Nah , they are necessary , depending on the room you ’ re in . It ’ s just a totally different feeling when the drums / drummer feel like there in the room and on the stage with everyone else . It ’ s way more electric .
I feel like the fully encaged thing makes drums sound weird . Inside the cage and at Front of House . Just kind of unnatural .
Deflectors can be helpful for mic bleed in the singer ’ s mics , but ultimately don ’ t help with volume at all . In short , if I don ’ t have to use them , I won ’ t .
[ WM ] Do you have a kit at home … tell us about that one ?
[ Austin ] I have a few kits at home . I have a C & C acrylic kit : 12 ”, 14 ”, 20 ”. A Franklin mahogany drum kit , painted a creamy white ( which we ’ ve named “ Krispy Kreme ”): 13 ”, 16 ”, 18 ”, 20 ”, and a 1968 champaign sparkle Ludwig kit that my Uncle gave to me . It ’ s my holy grail kit : 13 ”, 16 ”, 22 ”
[ WM ] Snare drum , what is your preference - shallow or deep ?
[ Austin ] The deepest snare I own is a 7x14 , and I usually crank it . And my deepest tuned snares are usually 5x14 . I find that works better for me . The 8x14 snare ’ s , which are very popular amongst church drummers , are not my