OK Sweetheart

OK Sweetheart is a four-piece indie pop band from Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Erin Austin, Jeremy Buller, Michael Porter and Alex Westcoat.

OK Sweetheart
OriginOriskany, New York
Genresindie pop, folk rock
Years active2008–present
Associated actsWilderman, Midlake, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Via Audio, Tacks, The Boy Disaster
Websiteoksweetheart.com
MembersErin Austin (lead vocals, keys, synth)

Jeremy Buller (bass, synth, keys, guitar) Michael Porter (guitar, trombone, bass, organ)

Alex Westcoat (drums, synth, percussion)

History

OK Sweetheart was founded in Denton, TX in September 2009. The band independently released debut album “Home” on April 5, 2011 and toured in North America and Europe until 2013.

Summer of 2014, Musician and Photographer, Michael Porter, joined the band when Austin and Buller moved to Seattle, Washington.

Drummer, Alex Westcoat (Pickwick), joined the band January 2015.

Music career

Home (2011)

Erin Austin started writing pop songs in December 2007, while living in San Francisco with the help of then husband Robert Gungor. They researched influences, such as The Beatles, Harry Nilsson, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac and Randy Newman, to learn song and lyric form, melody flow and chord structure. In October 2008, she and Gungor recorded at the Midlake Studio in Denton, Texas, the beginning of what would be debut record Home, collaborating with members of Midlake and other University of North Texas musicians, finishing the first track "You Let Me Down". Finding out about Sonicbids around the same time, Austin submitted to and won the international John Lennon Songwriting Contest for Pop and a subsequent Lennon Award for the track. In September 2009, Austin finished in the Top 5 "The Sound and the Jury" competition.[1] Before she headed to Austin, TX for the final performance, someone in Oklahoma tweeted about her saying "Oklahoma Sweetheart, Erin Austin …". She and Gungor then decided to go by OK Sweetheart and changed the name before the Austin/ACL debut at "The Sound and The Jury" performance. Afterward, they returned to Denton until July 2010 and decided to formalize OK Sweetheart as a duo. Gungor spearheaded the recording process (engineered, produced, arranged and mixed the record), using the Retrofit studio they co-founded with Mckenzie Smith of Midlake. Working with members of Midlake, Elizabeth Ziman of Elizabeth and the Catapult, Danny Molad of Lucius, Matthew Gray of Matthew and the Arrogant Sea and many others.[2] After playing SXSW in March 2010, over a year before releasing the record, they enlisted management from The Collective (Enrique Iglesias, Counting Crows) with a Seattle-based day-to-day manager also managing Barcelona and Allen Stone. In the fall of 2010, Erin Austin also appeared in a major commercial for Microsoft (with Andrew Belle and Allen Stone).[8] The band was featured on SPIN Earth.[9] Austin and Gungor started touring in September 2010 to foster awareness getting attention from major booking agencies such as High Road Touring, who felt they needed more time on the road before signing on with an agency. Through this fall touring, OK SWEETHEART caught the ears of music licensing and publishing entities from Mixtape to Sony ATV, and signed a co-publishing deal with Riptide Music before the independent release of Home. They enlisted publicity help from BWR. Home was produced by Rob Gungor and released on April 5, 2011, and is digitally distributed. Home has helped OK SWEETHEART gain a larger audience and been well received by fans and critics alike. In the fall of 2011 Gungor and Austin discontinued working together and Austin retained the moniker OK SWEETHEART. OK SWEETHEART showcased at SXSW Music Festival in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 and at CMJ Music Marathon in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. She has also performed at LIV Music Festival 2011, Doe Bay Festival 2011 and 2013, Norman Music Festival 2011, 35 Conferette 2010 and 2011, Neon Reverb Festival 2011, Inaugural Tulsa International Film Festival and more. She has toured the United States extensively.

Second album

In search for the next creative collaborators, Austin has recorded singles with John Vanderslice (at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco), David Hopkins (Damien Rice, Matt Nathanson) and Kevin Killen (U2, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel). OK SWEETHEART is currently recording at Bear Creek Studios with Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers).

Non-profit involvement

OK SWEETHEART is currently associated with three non-profits. For the OCCJ (Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice), she was part of the 2010, Woody Guthrie themed "This Machine" campaign to raise awareness about social justice and equality. In 2013, she headlined the OCCJ's Unity Concert at the newly established Guthrie Green in downtown Tulsa. In early 2013, Austin donated song "Home" to the Whole Foods', Whole Planet Foundation campaign called "Download for a Difference". Continuing her support of the Whole Planet Foundation, OK Sweetheart performed on the rooftop of Whole Foods' headquarters in Austin, Texas, during the 2012 and 2013 SXSW music festival. Hadlock first saw OK SWEETHEART perform at the 2013 SXSW performance and expressed interest in working together. After an experience playing music in friend's LA home for an elderly relative who had endured multiple strokes and suffered memory loss, Austin wanted to find a way to bring music to people with Alzheimer's and dementia. On a flight from Seattle to NYC, Austin came across an article in an inflight magazine about Music and Memory. Shortly afterward, she contacted founder, Dan Cohen, about collaborating. OK SWEETHEART collects used i-pods at shows to donate to associated facilities and performs in some of the facilities while touring.

Television and film

Discography

Albums
  • Home (2011)

Singles
  • "All We Have" (2010)
  • "We're In This Together" (2016)
  • "In Another Direction" (2017)

Music videos
List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s)
"Home" 2011 Nathan Presley
"All We Have" Gorilla Productions
"Safe" 2015 Thai Tran and Carlos Cruz
"In Another Direction" 2017 TBA

References
  1. Sellers, John. "'Awkward' Recruits Tegan and Sara as Guest Music Supervisors (Video)". Thewrap.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  2. "VIDEO PREMIERE: OK Sweetheart Delivers Infectious Orchestral Melodies On 'In Another Direction'". Glide Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
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