Austin Gibbs and the States formed in 2007 through friends of Gibbs’ in Mesa. They gained momentum after winning the Tempe Music Festival SRP Garage Band Competition in March 2008, where they opened up for Gin Blossoms on the main stage. They were asked by The Edge 103.9 FM to open for The Presidents of the United States of America as well as Dear and the Headlights and had a slot in California for the Bamboozle Left festival in Spring 2008. Shortly after though, the band began to go their own ways. Gibbs took his own turn in music, playing guitar on tour with California band Brighten across the country during the summer. He returned home and started writing and preparing to record under his own name. Gibbs teamed up with Arizona producer Bob Hoag, well known for his work with Dear and the Headlights, The Format and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. Gibbs took residency at Hoag’s Flying Blanket Studios in Tempe. He called upon a few of his old band members in The States, including Loren Brinton (ex-Lydia ; now in Fueled by Ramen’s A Rocket to the Moon) on drums, Marshall Hunt on bass, andlocal guitar prodigy Rajiv Patel. Hoag even joined in as well, playing keyboard, tambourine and adding vocals. What was born are four songs that draw influence from Gibbs’ previous musical endeavors, but can now take a voice all his own. It begins with the playful track, “February” and cascades into the booming yet catchy first single, “Complete”. All the songs provide an insight into Gibbs as well as allow the listener to interpret his music for themselves through his honest lyrics. “I have met musicians who have talked about how they just write songs for themselves and they don’t need to reach out to people, because if they like the music they will come,” says Gibbs, “I feel like there are way too many people in the world to sit back and wait, I try to keep it simple, because I love writing like a talk.” Gibbs premiered “Complete” on his MySpace in late February and already has nearly 50,000 plays. He continues to play shows in the Phoenix area and plans on embarking wherever the new EP takes him through 2009 and beyond. |
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