by joann snavely
photo by ryan hartley
Nashville-based musician Austin Sawyer, who performs under the name Drumming Bird, has been rising across the indie rock scene over the past few years with his hard-hitting lyricism that highlights love, loss, and the underbelly of the American dream. Sawyer has begun making a name for himself since his debut album Great Smoky Love released back in 2019, having played shows across the country and garnered thousands of fans and millions of streams to pair. Unclear got the chance to sit down and chat with him about everything from new music, live music, and even ice cream flavors. Read more to find out the past, present, and future of Drumming Bird.
Where does the name Drumming Bird come from?
Drumming Bird: “I wish I had a better story of how the name came to be. It was a cool name — kind of playing off a hummingbird but like a more ruckus sound. I feel like it fits my music, definitely leans into more of the indie rock-sounding world, but I still put emphasis on the more delicate parts of making music like a hummingbird with my lyricism.”
What originally drew you into pursuing music as a career, and how has that journey been since you started it?
Drumming Bird: “It had always felt like something I wanted to do, my family was decently musical. My dad always had really good taste in music that inspired me growing up and I had other family members that played music. Also I grew up with two brothers around my same age, so playing music was always a fun way to bond with them and that’s how I started my foundation in music, and then it has slowly become my life’s passion.”
Since becoming a musician, what’s been the most gratifying moment you’ve had so far?
Drumming Bird: “There have been a lot of really great moments. The coolest part, and the thing that always is so encouraging, is when I’m at a show and someone shares what one of my songs has meant to them or sends me an Instagram DM talking about what a song has meant to them. That’s something you really aren't considering when writing a song. You’re writing it to express your emotions and to tell a story but you can never fully comprehend what it will mean to someone else, so that’s always a very gratifying part to see what it does end up telling people.”
You’ve been playing a handful of shows over the past summer, and you’re getting ready to go on tour with BAERD this fall — are there any pre-show rituals that you do?
Drumming Bird: “Nothing too exciting, there’s this five-minute vocal warmup YouTube video I always hit before every show. It has 100 million views so I’m not the only one doing that, but it's nice to have one consistent thing to do to get in the zone.”
Speaking of touring, has there been any particular show or venue that has been special to you as you’ve continued this journey of making music?
Drumming Bird: “I’m still at the point in my career where I’m playing smaller clubs, and a lot of them have a ton of character. There’s a venue called the Blue Door in Oklahoma City. It's a really special spot, and it's been run by the same guy for over 30 years. I played a show at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA which is a cool historic venue where a bunch of Athens bands got their start. I played Exit/In in Nashville which is awesome, another super storied venue that a lot of my heroes have played. I just played there a couple weeks ago — it was my third time. The Evening Muse in Charlotte is a great venue; it’s very homey and everyone’s super kind there. I love that venue a lot.”
You’ve been teasing some new music lately on social media. Are there any new techniques that you equipped while recording or producing those new releases?
Drumming Bird: “It was a pretty different process this time around. I worked with a new producer for the first time, his name’s Mike Viola, and he has a really cool track record working with a cool repertoire of artists from Dawes, Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham, and Panic! At The Disco; he’s also a great singer-songwriter himself. It was cool working with him and having another creative force besides my own as part of steering the ship for this new project. We tracked the project to tape and converted it to digital which was exciting because it leaves a little less room for error than just doing all of it digitally and it gives it more of a cohesive sound. This new project is definitely a continuation of my sound, but a new spin on it for sure.”
With the new music that you’re working on, are there any records or musicians who’ve inspired the music?
Drumming Bird: “Last year was a big Lana [Del Rey] year for me. My fiancée’s been a Lana stan forever and she finally converted me a couple of years ago with Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, and I was listening to Blue Banisters a bunch. I don’t know if that necessarily translates to the vibe of the new record, but artistically that’s where my head was at.”
If you could describe your music sonically in one word, what would it be?
Drumming Bird: “One word is tough. I don’t know if I have one word in particular, but I think ‘dusk.’ The emotion I try to capture in my music is how you feel on a summer night at dusk.”
Now for some fun questions — if your music was an ice cream flavor, what flavor would it be?
Drumming Bird: “There’s this ice cream store in Chattanooga where I grew up called Clumpies and they had a flavor called ‘Firecracker,’ and it was cotton candy that they put Pop Rocks in. So I’d be Firecracker-flavored.”
Continuing with that theme, if your music was a color palette what colors do you think would be dominant and why?
Drumming Bird: “A darker navy blue going off the dusk theme, I feel like a forest green, and maybe a desert sand kind of color.”
Finally, are there any new projects or events that fans should be aware of?
Drumming Bird: “Definitely the tour with BAERD coming up, so that's the end of September going into October, and my new single ‘Roadkill Poetry’ will be released on September 12th!”