Today is the Day frontman Steve Austin has done a lot in the music business, including a Decibel Hall of Fame, but he’s taking it straight back to his roots with a new solo album, Marked Cards and Loaded Dice.
Austin—who was born in Lebanon, Tennessee with familial ties to Appalachia—grew up with outlaw country and bluegrass music, inspired by the albums he heard and by his father, honky-tonk musician Tillman Austin. Despite nearly 35 years as the brain behind Today is the Day (plus production credits including New American Gospel and When Forever Comes Crashing), the allure of outlaw country remained and Austin wrote his first record in the style.
The 11-track album is stripped back and raw, following closely in the tradition of Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. It has a sense of real authenticity, blending catchiness (“Long Way to Hell”) with ballads (“The Rain Keeps Comin’ Down,” “I Won’t Make It Last”) and occasional bursts of upbeat chicken pickin’. Austin is assisted on the record by drummer Colin Frecknall (Today is the Day), fiddle player Ryu Bennett and pedal steel legend Dana Flood (Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, and George Jones).
Decibel spoke with Austin about the new style, using vintage equipment and if listeners can expect more in the style. Read it below after pressing play on a full stream of Marked Cards and Loaded Dice. The album is officially out on May 1 via Austin’s own label, Supernova Records.
What led you to writing and recording an outlaw country record?
I came across a set of lyric books that belonged to my father, Tillman Austin, from the early 1950s. By day, he was a machinist at Chrysler, and at night, he played guitar and sang in a honky-tonk band. I read through all of his songs and it was heartbreaking stuff. The loneliness and pain that he was livin’ through filled every page. It made me think about how much I missed real country music—music from the heart that’s honest and real. So, I started writing what would be the 1st song on this record.
Are these songs you’ve been writing for years or were they written with the express intention of going on this album?
The first song I wrote was “Am I Just Crazy,” during COVID lockdown in 2020. After being in isolation in the woods for months with the world crashing in, I was depressed out of my mind. Late one night, I played my song for Hanna [Austin’s wife]. It was emotionally heavy for both of us. She cried, and then I cried. I realized how important this was to me. These songs made me feel hope. They brought me back to my roots and the Austin family from Appalachia in Chestnut Mound, Tennessee. They made me wanna live when everything seemed so hopeless.
You used all vintage equipment for the recording of Marked Cards and Loaded Dice. How did using that specific gear help you to develop the sound you had in mind?
I wanted Marked Cards and Loaded Dice to sound as real as possible. I love the classic sounds on records like Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd and The Beatles’ White Album. I wanted Marked Cards and Loaded Dice to sound true to the old-school bluegrass and traditional country albums I grew up on. I love the way it came out and the down-home sound of the album. Just real songs and real playin’ from the heart about living through life.
You and Colin from Today is the Day played most of the instruments, but you also have Dana Flood and Ryu Bennett on the record; were they actively involved in the songwriting process or did you connect with them after songs were written?
After I had demoed all of the songs, I began a search for the sickest pedal steel and fiddle players I could find. Luckily, country music pedal steel legend Dana Flood lived only 45 minutes away. Dana had toured and played with all the greats during the outlaw country days in the 1970s. To me, he is a virtuoso and the Randy Rhoads of pedal steel. He plays some of the most beautiful steel guitar and dobro parts I’ve ever heard. He was a protégé of Don Helms, Hank Williams Sr.’s pedal steel man. Don called Dana the greatest there ever was.
I was honored that, after I showed him the songs, he was so inspired and excited to rock this thing with me. Ryu Bennett, who plays the fiddle, is a classically-trained symphony performer that loves Appalachian music. She has a very hypnotic and psychedelic style that reminds me at times of the strings on the Beatles’ acid-era albums. She rips some wicked old-time fiddle playin’. Colin totally rocked it on the drums. He has a great feel and lays down a rocking groove that works perfectly with the tunes. They all three came up with amazing jams, and I couldn’t have been more proud of their approach to these tunes.
A lot of your career has been spent in the heavy and extreme music arenas, playing in TITD and producing various records, but you grew up with old-school and outlaw country music. Do you feel like Marked Cards was a sort of return to your roots as a musician or person?
Yes, I do. During COVID, I had a lot of time for introspection. I grew up in Lebanon, Tennessee. I live in the woods in Maine now, and have a barn and some chickens. I burn firewood to heat our house and live a primitive life. I fix our cars, sweep the chimney, repair anything and everything at our pad. I enjoy arborist work and love being in nature, away from towns or cities. When I was a kid, my parents would drive me crazy. I’d get home from school and go way out in the woods and creeks, exploring caves, shooting persimmons off of trees with my .22 rifle. I’d take off riding on my horse. It was peace and solitude that was calming from the insanity going down at my house. Truly a kid’s dream. Just me and my dog and a forest playground with total freedom and escape. I feel lucky to live where I do now as well, and I’m proud of my Appalachian family. They work hard, live good lives and are there for anyone who needs a hand. The most important thing in life for me is my family, friends, animals and being the best man I can be. I’m grateful for my life and everyone in it.
Is this a one-off excursion into the country music genre or should we expect more Steve Austin records in a similar vein?
Hell yeah! Last October, I recorded a Magnolia Session Album in Nashville with Dan Emery from Anti-Corp Records at his studio for album number two. It’s a binaural live recording with no overdubs and me singing and playing guitar. It has songs from Marked Cards and some new ones. I’ve already written four new songs for the next album after the Magnolia release. I love playing mountain music and the feeling it brings me and the people. Gonna keep pushing myself to play and sing what I feel inside. From now until I head off into the sunset.
