Daily Inspiration: Meet Austin Cain

Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Cain.

Hi Austin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Absolutely, I’d love to! So my parents made me and my three sisters do two things: play a sport and learn a classical instrument. Being the youngest in the family at 8 years old, when it came to the instrument I’d play, I got the last choice. One sister chose piano, the other two violins.

Since I didn’t wanna play the instruments they had, I decided on the cello. We had a little quartet and would play at weddings, Christmas parties, church, and even retirement homes… A few years later, I saw the worship pastor at our church carrying around his sleek guitar case and I remember thinking how much cooler he looked than I did lugging around my boat-sized cello case.

So at 13, I saved up just over $150 and went with my dad down to our local music shop with my dad and bought a royal blue Squire Stratocaster – the feeling of holding that guitar in my hands must’ve been really similar to the way I imagine James Bond felt the first time he got the keys to an Aston Martin, it just felt right.

That next week, my dad grabbed his acoustic guitar and taught me two songs; Jesus Loves Me and More Than A Feeling by Boston, in that order!! I was hooked. Something about playing guitar feels so limitless and like you have a way to communicate with anyone.

A few years go by and I end up playing my first show, it was senior year of high school during spring break at an ice cream shop on 30A in Florida. Then in college, at Auburn, I formed a band and we played bar gigs and fraternity and sorority events. During that time, I started to write original songs about my life as I was learning to live it.

Shortly after I graduated from Auburn with a degree in finance, I came to terms with the fact that music was the only thing I really wanted to do. It was the only thing I still wanted to do when no one else was watching. It made me feel like I was doing exactly what I was born to do.

I decided that I wasn’t going to take that finance job in Texas, but I was going to pursue what made my heart come alive. So I moved to Nashville and I started writing songs and learning production.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well ya know, the biggest struggle along the way has probably been finding the right YouTube video on how to get the perfect snare tone! All kidding aside, I don’t know anyone who’s had a smooth road, and I believe we all experience tragedy and triumph, especially those of us pursuing something creative.

But I try and extend grace to everyone’s journey, even my own. At times, it’s real easy to get beat up by the metaphorical pot-holes and detours of the road, but I try and keep my head high whether I’m going up towards a peak or pressing on through a valley.

In the fall of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I was working on a tour with my friends, The Band CAMINO. Then on March 11, while we were on the way up to Philadelphia, we got the news that the tour was canceled due to Covid. So I came back to Nashville, set up my gear at my house, and started writing and working on songs.

I sometimes feel being an artist is like walking a tightrope between over-confidence and crippling self-doubt. By the time 2021 rolled around, I think I was leaning a little closer to the doubt side of the pendulum. I felt unequipped and unsure of how to do this thing. I faced a lot of discouraging moments and wondered if I should give up.

But I knew I wasn’t gonna quit, and for whatever reason, I kept on. I started thinking about making a full-length record and I would always talk about how that was “a big dream of mine”. One day my wife, Franni, said “hey that should be the name of your record, “A Dream of Mine”.

And that’s exactly what inspired the title track for my debut album. Along the way, I have discovered several other big dreams of mine, a lot of which I wrote into these songs on my debut album.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a songwriter, artist, and producer. I’m motivated by a desire to spread a message of love, hope, and unity and the best way I know how to do that is through music. Let me tell ya two of my favorite feelings; one is opening an empty Logic session, and the other is finishing writing a good song.

The first gives me a feeling of infinite possibilities, the genesis, an open road where I could take the music in any direction. The latter feels like solving a puzzle, finishing a race, or summiting a mountain where both my mind and body get a sense of like, “Yeah, I did what I set out to do.”

I had to learn how to make music all by myself, arrange the parts, play each instrument, mix the tracks, shape the production, and master the final mix – in order to come to not only appreciate but truly love working with other people. Recently, I’ve been getting to work on a lot of other people’s records – which is so fun!

Usually in the producer role, but sometimes just mixing or mastering the song. I love finding the right person who can help craft a song, whether it’s for myself or one of my clients.

When I’m not making music, you can find me eating chips and queso at Rosepepper, crafting the perfect old-fashioned, chasing my dog, Cowboy, in the backyard, or playing darts with my wife!

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve learned that music can be utilized as a powerful tool to push people through a difficult struggle. People turn to music to help express their feelings or to be encouraged by words of hope.

I believe my new album will give each listener a breath of fresh air as the world begins to take steps out of a dark season. Music has opened the door for me to dream again, to hope again, and to let myself dare to live the life my heart and my bones beckon me to live.

I hope my music calls you back to whatever makes you come alive and encourages you to keep hoping because hope is

Contact Info:

• Website: https://austincain.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austingcain/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC49umfQpgvnCKUWrKmeRgqw

Image Credits
Rachel Deeb, Haley Ringo, Gillian Grice, and Jordan Gunn