Canadian musician Austin Cole talked about his new project Ninety-Foot Stone, his musical inspirations and journey, and working with prominent musicians on Ninety-Foot Stone’s debut single “Out of My Head”. Working with musicians from some of Canada’s most well-known rock bands, the song features Taylor Perkins of Bleeker (vocals/lyrics), The Trews’ Jeff Heisholt (keyboards), bassist Duncan Coutts and drummer Jason Pierce, both from of Our Lady Peace. The track was produced by world-class rock producer Brian Moncarz (Alice Cooper, Our Lady Peace, The Trews).
Find out what was production like behind Ninety-Foot Stone’s debut single. And what kind of things that Austin Cole wants listeners to take away from the track. While reading this rockin’ interview, make sure to listen to “Out of My Head” down below. Let me know wat you think in the comments!
Please introduce the project! How did Ninety Foot Stone come to be?
The idea of Ninety Foot Stone (NFS) started when I met up with producer Brian Moncarz. I had some music and ideas that I wanted to turn into songs and Brian was interested in working on them together. Right away Brian brought in Duncan and Jason from Our Lady Peace to do drums and bass and we started recording.
At this point, we still didn’t have a singer so Brian suggested bringing in Taylor from Bleeker. Taylor did a couple of runs through one of our songs and as soon as we heard it we knew it was the perfect fit for the music. It’s been a slow evolution over the past couple of years and has turned out to be the creation of some really cool-sounding rock music.
How did you get your start in music? What has the journey looked like?
I started playing guitar seriously when I was about 13. Once I started to get some confidence I was hooked and just wanted to keep learning more and more songs and pushing myself to be better. Eventually, I got to a point where I only wanted to write my own music as opposed to playing covers. My interest in playing guitar went from just playing to creating my own music. For the past couple of years, I’ve only played my own stuff. I’m always trying to write more riffs and put more songs together.
What artists have influenced your music the most?
The first band I was really into when I started playing was Billy Talent. I thought the melodies on guitar were so cool and was obsessed with learning every Billy Talent song there was. Next, I moved into everything Metallica and Megadeth. All I wanted to do was play music from those 2 bands. I’ve always also had an interest in old blues music like Robert Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and older rock like The Band. Overall though I think Billy Talent and Megadeth are the 2 groups that really inspired my writing and play style.
As 2021 is winding down, what are you looking forward to in 2022? Any challenges?
Right now I’m focused on making more music for 2022. Being able to get back into a studio in person since the start of the pandemic will make a big difference for me. We recorded “Out of My Head completely remotely which definitely had its challenges. It worked out okay but not having that person-to-person interaction I think made it more difficult to really polish the song.
Congratulations on your debut single “Out of My Head”. What is it about? What inspired you to write this track?
“Out of My Head” is a song that I created with the intention of capturing the sound of Ninety Foot Stone in one song. We had other songs at the time but I wrote this song with the intention of being a heavy-hitting and melodic tune that captures your attention right away and keeps you interested. I wrote it with the intention of being the first single so we can give listeners a really good representation of what NFS is.
How was working with musicians from some of Canada’s most well-known rock bands? What was the most important takeaway?
It has been absolutely incredible. I’m so appreciative to be able to work with such incredible musicians. When I started this project I never would have thought I would be given the opportunity to work with people like this. There’s a lot that I have learned from each of them. I learned so much about what it takes to demonstrate a high level of musicianship. Their ability to make something sound so much better by making small adjustments on the fly while in the recording process had really taught me so much. Working with them has definitely made me a much better artist.
This song was inspired by classic rock and metal with a modern twist. How so?
I love the darker melodic feel of rock music in the ’90s but I also love the harder-hitting hard rock music that you hear today and I really like trying to combine them. The combination of tone and drop-tuned guitars creates a very big sound but we also add in some really interesting melodies and I think it brings 2 worlds together very well. There are hints of 90’s rock and modern rock in it but it still very much sounds original.
What do you want listeners to take away from your music?
The whole process of creating this music has been very natural and organic. I wasn’t trying to make it sound like your typical rock radio song or what’s popular in the rock world right now. The music is original and authentic. What I hope listeners take away from this song is added confidence that original rock music is still being made and hopefully they can be excited for more to come.
Future plans for NFS?
More music is the future for NFS. I feel like I’ve just finally accomplished creating the sound and the music that I want to create and I want to build on that. We definitely have a few songs now that make a really good foundation but my goal is to push forward and keep making more music. Although not everything we have done is released yet, we’ve already started working on part two of this project.
Make sure to check out Ninety-Foot Stone at the following:
Official Site | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
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