Now that the crowds have left SXSW 2015, Austin can go back to being the “Live Music Capital of the World.” That’s right—even though 2000 bands came from all parts of the world to play the festival, without them, Austin’s local music scene is still world class. Photographer Matthew Sturtevant has documented these fine performers in a book called “The Sound of Austin.” It’s full of luscious shots of these iconic musicians, holding some equally impressive guitars. We sat down with Matthew to find out how the project came to be.
A book of Austin musicians…sounds like a no-brainer.
Definitely. I was meditating one day after four months of daily meditation, and the idea just occurred to me. I immediately went to the bookstore; sure enough there was nothing like it. I couldn’t believe nobody had done one on Austin yet. There were a few poorly done books with concert shots, but nothing with actual portraits of Austin’s musicians.
Jimmie Vaughan
How did you chose your subjects?
Somebody described my book as the “old playlist from KGSR radio,” and I would say that that is accurate. From about 1990 till 2010 Austin was blessed with a radio station that—for once— assumed the audience had a brain. They played everything from Hank Williams to Marley, but more importantly, they focused on the local scene. What Nirvana did to rock and roll, I felt Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Lucinda Williams were doing for folk. Nationally, it was happening with k.d. Lang, Uncle Tupelo and Dwight—this new blend that morphed into what we now call “Americana.” There was world-class music being made all around us, and you’d see these people while you were at the grocery store: James McMurtry, Shawn Colvin, Alejandro Escovedo, and on and on. These people created music that became the soundtrack of my life. I couldn’t have been prouder of them and wanted to tell the world about them.
Eric Johnson
Was it hard convincing the musicians to participate?
I would compare it to political campaigning. I did have to win over many of the bigger names like Lyle Lovett, Jimmie Vaughan, and Willie Nelson. None of these people need or want any publicity. Their managers are expected to be really good at saying, “No.” Lovett’s management turned us down five times until we got Guy Clark, then they got on board. With Jimmie Vaughan, I already had Billy Gibbons, Gary Clark, Jr., Eric Johnson, David Grissom, Junior Brown, and Redd Volkaert. After all those guitar slingers, they kinda want to be included.
Gary Clark, Jr.
How long did the project take from first photo to last?
Nine months for everything: scheduling 100 musicians, doing their portraits, figuring out how to publish a book, getting funding, doing interviews, then editing 20,000 photos. I was absolutely paranoid that somebody else would do it before me—every photographer in Austin has at least 10 shots of musicians in their portfolio. I kept it a secret for about 6 months, and then realized nobody could catch up even if they wanted to. I was more than a little obsessed. So nine months of 14 hour days, but it was all worth it.
Biggest perk of the job?
I got to hold Junior Brown’s famous Guit-Steel!
You can buy a signed copy of “The Sound of Austin: Portraits by Matthew Sturtevant,” by going to his website:
A portion of the proceeds benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, which provides access to affordable health care of Austin’s low income, uninsured, working musicians with a focus on prevention and wellness.