Hello Peoples, here’s some good news on our end: We have been selected as Airplay Direct’s 2009 All Things Americana artist. Airplay Direct and it’s industry sponsors chose us out of 130 submissions to be their next Americana artist! The Grand Prize Package is valued at over $35,000! We’ll be heading into the studio to begin work on a new project this October. For more information check out AirPlayDirect.com. Stay tuned . . .
AC

Hello friends, we've recently been the recipients of some honarable mentions and all-around compliments from some of our favorite bloggers. We in the Rainbird's camp are obviously very proud of the year we had and the album we put out, but here's a taste of what some other folks had to say.A Salty Salute - #1 Americana Record of the YearAmber Waves Of Twang - #52 Release of the YearDallas Observer - honorable mention - "best roots record of the year" and a highfive for AC's Steve EarlenessHouston Calling - #5 Album of the Year"I first caught Collins while in Austin a few years ago watching Tody Castillo and Arthur Yoria at an icehouse during SXSW. I was immediately impressed with his songs, which are often dark, depressing, and worldly–the perfect combination for alt-country music. With Roses Are Black, he’s crafted his masterpiece. The backing band, The Rainbirds, is superb as well." The Y! Radish (Yahoo) - #46 Album of the Year"Texas' own Austin Collins came out of nowhere this year with one of the best alt country releases to hit store shelves. The songwriter achieves a perfect combination of twang and grit with memorable melodies sweeping around everywhere. Roses Are Black is a hit from start to finish and I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite track. There are just too many."MOG.com - #10 Album of the YearPhew . . . all of this patting ourselves on the back is exhausting. Thanks to all of you for a great 2008. More good times to come in '09! Cheers. - Austin, Dylan and Craig

Had a great time playing some shows with Patty Hurst Shifter in the Carolinas! Made a lot of new friends and probably some enemies. We've posted some pics from the road and here's a blog on the show from GoodnightRaleigh.com:
http://goodnightraleigh.com/2008/10/austin-collins-and-patty-hurst-shifter-at-slims/

Last Night: Collin Herring at The Cavern
Sun Apr 06, 2008 at 01:58:59 PM

Collin Herring, Austin Collins April 5, 2008 The Cavern
Better than: pretending to be alt-country by drinking Lone Star while listening to The Drams or Old 97’s.

Fort Worth’s Collin Herring and Austin’s Austin Collins put on an Americana song writing clinic Saturday night at The Cavern in front of a surprisingly large, vocal and sufficiently inebriated crowd. Diverse isn’t the word to describe the collection of punks, jocks, retirees and alt-country holdovers that descended upon lower Greenville last night. The cross-cultural appeal is part of what makes the music of Herring and Collins so vital in the first place.

Collins is on the road supporting his recently released gem Roses are Black. Produced by Will Johnson, the album is not nearly as pessimistic as the title might suggest and is a godsend for those craving the golden alt-country days of Slobberbone and Uncle Tupelo. Looking like a (much) younger version of Steve Earle, Collins led his bedraggled quartet through a hefty dose of twang infused heartland rock. Songs such as "11 Months" and "Broken" brought out appreciative howls from an audience that actually shut up long enough to hear the music, a sad rarity these days.
Next up was Collin Herring, who performed with only his father Ben Roi as accompaniment. Herring, who is temporarily residing in Austin after a few stops in rehab, didn’t need a full band to get his message across. Performing songs from his new effort, Past Life Crashing, along with classics from 2005’s The Other Side of Kindness, Herring was personable and energetic throughout his performance. Already in the studio working on another new record, Herring spoke before the show about getting sober and how much more work he’s getting done since giving up the bottle. Judging by the textured verbosity of songs such as "Cellophane" and "Yard Cars," Herring has given up drinking for the perusing the dictionary. But when Ben Roi’s pedal steel punctuated the lovely ballad "Beside," Herring’s sound echoed across the club like secret truths in search of converts. -- Darryl Smyers

Critic’s Notebook
Personal Bias: Why does it always seem odd to hear a performer talk about being sober in a bar with a couple of hundred drunks? And why do shows at The Cavern always start so damn late? I think all clubs on Greenville Avenue should follow the lead of the Granada and have all shows kick off by 9 p.m.

Random Moments: This pretty cute teacher from Garland ISD was moderately infatuated with Herring, commenting on his Buddy Holly lenses and the way he fit his jeans. There’s always a fairly large contingent of females at Herring’s shows and this particular fan had to leave before the set ended in order to catch a midnight showing of, what else, Midnight Cowboy. This gal took her alt-country seriously!

Artist Suggestion: Herring’s songs are layered and dense and often evoke a similar mood to that of Bob Mould, at least when Mould’s solo work was decent, a la Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain. And Austin Collins not only looked like Steve Earle, but as soon as I got in the car, I had to pop Copperhead Road into my CD player just for quick comparison. Collins is so good that Earle’s influence is not simple impersonation.

Austin Collins: Roses Are Black
POSTED BY KELLY IN ALT-COUNTRY, AMERICANA, COUNTRY, REVIEWS, ROCK, UP & COMERS

In this day and age of artists making a killing on 99 cent downloads and hit singles, the days of that special album that you don't feel the urge to skip even one song on the entire disc are almost gone. We all have the ones that still reside in our top 3 or 4 albums, the ones that we would have with us in our life vest if we were ever stranded on a desert island (I know, I know, hopefully Gilligan and the Skip left The Professor on the island to help us make a CD player out of coconuts, Mrs. Howell's necklace, and one of Mary Jane's Banana Cream pies). My list of CD's that I just leave the skip buttons alone for are (in no particular order): Too Far to Care - Old 97's, Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams, Millican - Reckless Kelly, Trouble - Ray Lamontagne, and Failer - Kathleen Edwards, just to name a few of the most recent additions to the club. After listening to Austin Collins' latest offering, Roses are Black, I realized that I need to sew an extra pocket into my life-vest to make room for this one. Collins is a Texas boy that has one disc already under his belt, 2005's Something Better. I have to take issue with his debut's title as I see Roses as a step up in all areas. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Something Better, but time, experience, a grittier sonic, the invaluable addition of genius Will Johnson (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel) turning the knobs as producer, as well as playing guitar and backing in the vocals dept., have seen Collins make the step from solid to stellar. With much of today's Rockin'-Country, I've noticed a one dimensional tone that sees the artist displaying all rock with simple lyrics (making it "country" in many people's book), or a story-teller tone that never quite seems to hit the folky mark that the artist is trying to hit. Other critics have likened Collins to various Southern-Rockers like Drive by Truckers, or Son Volt. Unlike many releases from those artists, this is an extremely accessible album that doesn't come off as the acquired taste that some DBT's swampier, more moon-shine drenched cuts can often seem. The diversity that is on display in this discs 12 songs is remarkable in the sense that none of the songs ever reach an extreme in tempo on either end, yet still seem to be different enough to provide the listener with an array of moods, and judging by songs such as "Unapology" and "Witching Hour" an array of relational issues and conflict. My favorite lyrics on the disc are contained in "Unapology". Collin's sings to a former lover that he cant say he's "sorry anymore" and that she's "entitled to the grace that she won't show". I like lyrics that refuse to take the easy way out. This song, which musically is reminiscent of Whiskeytown's "16 days", could be George Strait's "Easy Come, Easy Go", where everyone involved is happy and ready to move on, but it doesn't go that route. Picture the light "Easy Come, Easy Go" vibe with a casual middle finger waving effortlessly at this chick who done him wrong and then you have the right picture. The track where I feel that producer Johnson's fingerprints are most evident is "House Without Windows". The gritty, moody, muted guitar intro is a prime example of what you might hear on a future Centro-matic record (if you aren't familiar with Centro-matic, you should be. They are DBT's Patterson Hood's favorite band, people!!) Again, lyrically this isn't a song that chooses the stale, easy, country-cool path. When Collins strains his voice, he laments his "lead-based dreams". We are left wondering how dangerous such dreams are when the chorus reminds us that his is a house "without windows". This album also shows a major emphasis on the intro of each song. So many times, a song fails to use instrumentation to paint the picture that the artist wants us to see. The moods that are set with each intro are as integral to each song as the lyrics and inflections that each track. The clean, acoustic strums of the album's opener, "11 Months" leads elegantly into the echoing tones that wrap the opening words sung by Collins. With this album, Fat Caddy records has positioned itself as a label that is home to some of the best of the Lone Star State (Macon Greyson, Band of Heathens). Thanks to Roses are Black, look for Austin Collins to be the next Texas artist that cant be held by the boundaries of his home state.

Having spent the last three years playing with artists such as James McMurtry, the Eli Young Band and Walt Wilkins and The Mystiqueros, Austin Collins has undoubtedly been playing in the likes of some incredible talent. Still, he refuses to simply sit back and conform his musicianship and songwriting to what others want. Lucky for us all, that approach seems to be working out for the best.For the past three years Collins and his three band mates have been effortlessly amplifying their fan base venue by venue. Playing throughtout the state and beyond since his 2005 debut album Something Better; Collins has been bringing in a multitude of fans, old and new, to each show. He has played gigs everywhere from the House of Blues, historic Gruene Hall, Austin City Limits, and even sold out Stubbs BBQ for the release of the first album.
With the release of his sophomore album Roses Are Black, I am now awaiting Austin Collins mania to reach full force. I was actually worried this album wouldn't live up to the first, but leave it to Collins to surpass my expectations and to outdo himself. It's obvious when listening to the album that this four-piece band knew what they wanted to do and how they wanted to do it. With some of the most honest, long overdue songwriting I've heard in quite a while, true rigid musicianship, and the talented Will Johnson from Centro-Matic working as producer; there is no doubt in my mind "Something Better" is waiting for Collins after the release of this album.
"Take me back and put me in the throes/of your hardwood nights and your dirty clothes/under the eaves of your cocaine episodes/I watched it all burn down" is how the alum starts off and how it won me over in the opening track "11 Months". The candid lyrics depict a scene from the lives of anyone who has been in a toxic relationship where, unbeknownst to you, it was over before it even began. If you're looking for a little more rock, you're in luck. "Witching Hour" and "Eight Dollar Thrills" will supply you with some stellar lyrics and the rock sound you crave to back them up. Roses Are Black is the title track from the album and lucky for us, Collins doesn't always practice what he preaches. In this case it's what he wrote for the track "You go with what's easy 'cause it makes you feel safe", it's presumably what most of us would do, given some glimmer of talent, to make it in this business. Without copping out or compromising talent, Collins and his band have delivered a solid second album all the way around.
Roses Are Black gives Austin Collins fans what they have patiently been awaiting and more. It is the true grit of his songwriting and the intensity behind his voice that leaves me listening in awe throughout the entire album. Roses might be black to Collins but this album is nothing less than gold.
~Megan Doggett, Lone Star Music Magazine Feb/March 2008