Austin Hartley-Leonard - Franklin Ave [CD]

Austin Hartley-Leonard began as a solo singer/songwriter in Austin, TX. On his first demo, he played a majority of the instruments himself. This demo earned him an invitation to the 2005 SXSW. Soon after he started to look for other musicians to round out the band, and the group St. James Inc was born. St James Inc played a number of nationally renowned venues such as The Mercury Lounge in New York City, The Hotel Cafe and The Viper Room in LA, Stubb's and The Parish in Austin, Subterranean in Chicago, and the Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre in San Antonio. In 2005, they performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival alongside such acts as Coldplay, Oasis, and The Black Crowes. After releasing the "8 Hours" EP in 2006, St. James Inc performed at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago, and then relocated out to Los Angeles where they continued to see great success. You can hear their tunes in the film Moving McAllister, and the hit show Men In Trees on ABC. After meeting producer Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, The Bowmans, AM,) in Los Angeles, they began work on Austin's debut solo record in LA in December 2007. With labelmates The Bowmans adding a sprinkling of harmonies, Doug Pettibone (Lucinda Williams, Teft Merritt) on pedal steel, Carrie Rodriguez (fiddle), and the St James Inc band, recording was finished at Mother West NYC this past March. Austin will be touring the US throughout the fall in support of the release.