The Slow Drag

‘American Rock ’n Roll’ is a genre as broad as it is nebulous, which is just where Austin James, AKA The Slow Drag, feels comfortable.


"The music of The Slow Drag is meant to be an audible expression of who I was when I started playing music and how that person resonates with who I am today. And just like anyone else, I’m full of complexity and can't be reduced to a single label, which is exactly why every song The Slow Drag puts out is looked at as its own project. Some songs are going to sound better with saxophones and a chorus of ladies, others will sound better with big drums and rusty distortion. As an artist, I want the songs of The Slow Drag to be able to stand on their own, with the lyrical style being the connecting thread, rather than the instrumentation. I don’t want to be part of your road-trip playlist, I want to be that playlist.”
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A lust for hedonism and a hunger for transcendence. A celebration of liberated sexuality and the desire for intimate connection. A cynical disdain for complacency and the daydream of finding one’s place in the world. These are thematically woven throughout lyrics sung over musical arrangements reminiscent of classic American genres ranging from motown to punk.

“I’m a first-wave Millennial, for better or worse. That means that all my life I’ve heard I can be everything and anything, so that’s what I’m doing. The punk in me doesn’t give a shit what it looks like from the outside. If you like it, great! And if you don't, go listen to something else.”

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Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Austin began touring internationally as bassist and co-songwriter for the LA-based pop-rock trio, Everybody Else where he had the opportunity to open for acts like Beck, Xzibit, Rooney, and The Veronicas, as well as lend his musical skills, on and off-stage, to Billboard charting-artists like Hanson, Ben Lee, and The Summer Set.
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Syncs include music in the films "Lovelace," "Demoted," and "Grace is Gone," as well as on the small screen in the ABC series, "Jane By Design" and "Back in the Game."
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After Everybody Else dissolved, Austin released his first solo EP, entitled “Dance Moves." Promise Ring, the first track from that EP, was a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, and was featured in USA’s “Complications," while the final track, “So Much Time” won the Pop Category of the Song of the Year contest.
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Currently releasing original music on a quarterly basis, The Slow Drag is taking on the world of online broadcasting. Seen most regularly on YouNow.com, where his broadcasts are viewed over 40k times per month. The Slow Drag can also be seen broadcasting live, interactive shows on Krue.tv as a Featured Partner.