DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Austin Taft
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we found Colorado based multi-instrumentalist Austin Taft sat on the beach. The island is far from his base, but how did he end up here and how did he cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
How fortunate that I managed to grab 'Alien' by Strapping Young Lad. When I'm in a great mood, it's fantastic. When I'm in a crap mood, it's fantastic. One of the most astonishing records I have ever heard, and it's difficult to imagine actually getting tired of it.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Maybe the first Days Of The New album? It's simple, but there's a great atmosphere to it, and the tree might fit in well with the island. It would sadden me to never hear the music again, but the cover art might be able to keep it in my mind well enough.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Water for me. I would opt to stay properly hydrated on a desert island.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
A maroon snapback hat I bought from The Psycho Realm. It would keep the sun out of my eyes, and it looks quite stellar!
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
My wife!
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Genesis live in Chicago, October 3rd, 2007. The best show I've seen to date, and I actually do own the "official bootleg" soundboard recording from that evening!
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Weird Al Yankovic. I would like to think that he's a resourceful sort. Fingers crossed that my faith is not misplaced!
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
It's just me, and I'm seeing things. The mirage has become too real, and he's got to go.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Interestingly, I'm not aware of an individual who ticks all of these boxes. My musician friends probably haven't had as much influence on my career, and the musicians I have been influenced by from afar haven't contributed much to my way of thinking or my outlook on life. Picking a name from the public, I would say Tony Banks, composer, keyboardist and founding member of Genesis. An amazing talent and a great musical inspiration. Though in this situation, Tony would probably tell me later that I wasted my one pick!
There was no room in the boat so we had to leave Austin on the island as we left. We hope he gets home soon, but in the meantime, his new album 'Skeletons' gets released on May 28th! Order it here.
