FOUNDER, OWNER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Taylor Austin founded Honky Tonk Times in January 2021. It's a good cheatin', bourbon drinkin' song that keeps his Honky Tonk heart beatin’. From an early age, the love of a good country song was instilled in him by his family. Growing up as a single child, Taylor spent most of his childhood around adults and always listened to the music they did, as well as the stories they had to tell. By the fifth grade, Taylor’s mother was working in the antique business and his stepfather was digging out his old albums. It was here, at ten years old, where Taylor was bitten by the vinyl bug along with a love of things from days gone by. He could tell you all about what happened in the 50s and 60s and almost nothing about any current celebrity gossip or music of the day. Not much has changed (except the size of his record collection). Taylor still knows more today about Ray Price, Roy Drusky, and Patsy Cline than he does about any top 40 country artist of today. In 2018, Taylor fulfilled a childhood dream of being on the radio. He hosted two radio shows “We Gotcha Covered” and “Cousin Early’s Late Night Country Show For Anytime” on various local Vermont stations. Sadly, the pandemic put the radio shows on ice and Taylor founded Honky Tonk Times out of an urge to promote the music he loves. When not working his full-time job selling appliances, he dedicates his time to the magazine and the music. Taylor very much enjoys diving deep into his work for Honky Tonk Times- writing, photographing, interviewing, and meeting all the musicians he admires so much, and is always searching for the next big story and new contributors.

CONTRIBUTOR

Rachel Brooke truly is one of those “if you know, you know” artists. She’s a master storyteller, underground country queen, Ameripolitan Outlaw winner, multi-instrumentalist, Honky Tonk poet, raised on Bluegrass and red tomatoes.

She’s “The Rattlesnake” – a name given to her while drumming in a punk band during her teenage years – ever evolving on the fringe of Country music, bucking the system, and never losing the game.

She’s an introvert off stage, whose wall-shaking voice has earned her a place at cutting-edge roots music festivals like Muddy Roots, SXSW, AmericanaFest, Mountain Top, Cowboy Fest, and the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

She’s a self-produced, self-released independent artist who has been featured in major media outlets like CMT, Parade Magazine, The Boot, Music Row, Glide, and Cowboys and Indians, garnering the attention from Nashville big-wigs.

But when you sing this well and play like hell, who do you have to answer to anyways?

Learn more about Rachel on her website and Instagram.

ARTIST

Jack Browning is a 24-year-old artist, musician, and writer based in the wildlands of...Essex, England! Specializing in illustrations (which you see in Honky Tonk Times) and oil portraits, Jack is also a professional guitarist, banjo player and singer, touring the length and breadth of Europe with several bands. His Honky Tonk hero is Johnny Cash. Jack’s illustrations have been in print with Honky Tonk Times since Issue Four!

Check out Jack’s art online: jackbrowningartist.com

Follow Jack on Facebook and Instagram

CONTRIBUTOR

Soda Canter proudly grew up in Southern Maryland on the shores of the Patuxent and Potomac Rivers. Raised in equal parts by those that went to church on Sundays, those that worked on the water, and those that were consistently in and out of prison. This trifecta best represents his life. A struggling rule follower who’s called to the water and can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Whether song, story or experimental piece, Soda brings all of this light and darkness into his work through an untethered, filterless approach. He lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, and spends most days in the sun listening to Waylon Jennings with his pocket pitbull, Esme-Loretta. He’s currently at work on a collection of flash fiction and a debut country album about growing up in a small river community called Morgantown. You can follow his journey at www.sodacanter.com

CONTRIBUTOR

Garrett Cash is a self-proclaimed country music addict. His formative exposure to country included artists like Marty Robbins, Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, The Byrds, and even Buck Owens (courtesy of The Beatles). When Garrett was in high school, he started exploring the greater field of country music and discovered everyone from Jimmie Rodgers to Steve Earle. He began writing for No Depression magazine and collecting as many country records as he could find. Garrett met Honky Tonk Times’ founder Taylor Austin virtually through a country music Facebook group and followed the magazine’s creation with much interest. Their chats on country music led to a spot to write for the magazine, and the rest is history. Garrett is married to his beautiful wife Aly (who is also a country fan) and they have two boys, Elias and Ezra (who are too young to decide). He hosts a radio show that features country music among other genres called “The Beat! with Garrett Cash” and has co-hosted a series for the “Let It Roll” podcast on the history of gospel music called “HolyRoll”.

SELF-APPOINTED WEST COAST CORRESPONDENT,
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Donald C. Cutler is a contributing author, Self-Appointed West Coast Correspondent, and for Honky Tonk Times. Since December 2021, he has covered music, nostalgia, and the intersection of cultural norms within and influencing the Honky Tonk scene for the magazine. He hosts regular Instagram Live interviews with artists from around the world to catch up between issues of the magazine on the Honky Tonk Times' Instagram account. Donald lives with his wife and two kiddos in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, home of The Flying Burrito Brothers and the once-famous Palomino Club. Follow Donnie on Instagram.

ASSISTANT EDITOR, WEBMASTER

Cindy Davis works in the non-profit sector by day and moonlights as a social media and website manager by night in the Burlington, VT area. Cindy was introduced to Taylor and Honky Tonk Times in the fall of 2021 at a local Honky Tonk Tuesday and the rest is history. A devoted music fan, Cindy spends her time supporting artists by buying their vinyl & swag and traveling far & wide to see live shows. In addition to managing the Honky Tonk Times website and assisting editing, she helps out with the magazine in whatever way she can. As Billy Swan says, "If you need a hand I can assure you this, I can help." It takes a village, a special family really, to keep a passion project like Honky Tonk Times going and Cindy truly believes in its value and success.

ARTIST

Glenn Hughes was born and still lives just outside of Nashville, TN. He grew up in a family that loved and appreciated country and bluegrass music. His family spent most Saturday nights at the local VFW for the weekly square dance. His sister, Teresa, was a square dancer on the Grand Ole Opry with Ralph Sloan and The Tennessee Travelers in the mid to late ‘70s. Glenn went with her to the Opry often and got to meet most of the legends and experienced backstage when things were pretty loose and much less restricted than it is now. Glenn started drawing at a young age and was heavily influenced by MAD Magazine. He graduated with a fine art degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Glenn worked as an art director and freelance illustrator for many years until burnout set in. A job in government took him away from doing anything artistic. After retirement from the government and with much encouragement from his wife, Jerrie, Glenn started creating art again. His love of classic country music and drawing has made him a perfect fit for Honky Tonk Times. Glenn’s style of drawing is somewhere between a caricature and a portrait and his artwork is a combination of traditional pencil & ink drawings combined with digital techniques. Glenn has been with Honky Tonk Times since Issue 11.

You can see more of his artwork by visiting his website or following him on Instagram.

PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEO EDITOR

Taylor’s first intro to Honky Tonk Times was being interviewed for an article by Donald C. Cutler for Issue 14. Taylor is the frontman of Tar & Flowers and hosts Honky Tonk Saloon at The Maui Sugarmill Saloon. After “The Cemetery Sessions,” began filming, Taylor was recommended for the video editor position for this new series. He is a figure in the Los Angeles Americana community as co-curator and graphic designer for Honky Tonk & Vine and various other country programs throughout LA. His western aesthetic for show posters can be found around the scene and his photography work has been utilized for multiple PR campaigns. In his day work, he can be found editing travel shows, music videos, and background performance videos as well as shooting videos of artists for his series “Why I Write,” and “Why I Write The Song.”

COPY EDITOR

Catie Michael has been the Copy Editor of the Honky Tonk Times since May of 2022, and a friend of Taylor Austin for longer, which is how she found out about the magazine. She has been a lifelong fan of the Vermont music scene, and an occasional participant, and she has been enjoying her recent foray into country music.

CONTRIBUTOR

Lawrence Peters is a country singer, songwriter, DJ, record collector, promoter, and writer.

He grew up on 70s country radio, absorbing the sounds of the national and local AM stations at a molecular level. Lawrence took a sort of Rumspringa from country music, around ‘79, and discovered the new worlds of Punk, Synth-Pop, Post-Punk, Krautrock, and Alternative Rock. Ironically, it was also that music that brought him back to the Country music fold, through rootsy underground bands like The Knitters and Rank And File; new traditionalists such as Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart, and k.d. lang; Rockabilly revivalists like The Blasters, The Paladins, and Reverend Horton Heat; and later masters of the sound that included Dale Watson, Rosie Flores, and Wayne Hancock.

Lawrence’s own Honky Tonk band, The Lawrence Peters Outfit, has been honored with two Ameripolitan Award nominations, two “Best Country And Western Entertainer” trophies from The Chicago Music Awards, and “Best Country Band” accolades in The Chicago Reader’s “Best Of 2022” poll. Their LP “What You Been Missin’” was cited as one of the essential Chicago country and folk albums in Mark Guarino’s 2023 book “Country & Midwestern” (University Of Chicago Press).

Fans of Jason Molina will know Lawrence for his lead vocal on "The Old Black Hen", on the watershed Songs: Ohia- “Magnolia Electric Company album”.

Lawrence has been a contributor to Honky Tonk Times from the very first issue, with his “Chicago Hustle” column. His radio show “Country, My Way” can be heard weekly on WLPN 105.5 FM in Chicago, and lumpenradio.com worldwide. Visit Lawrence’s website and follow him on Instagram.

GRAPHIC DESIGN & MAGAZINE LAYOUT

Beck Rustic is a graphic designer based in Massachusetts. She’s been in the graphic arts field for 22 years and has worked at both large design firms as well as freelance. Known for not being a “morning person,” she prefers the schedule flexibility of freelance. In addition to design, she owns and operates Swelltune Records, a record label she started in 2017. Beck has been designing for Honky Tonk Times off and on since the magazine’s inception and most recently has hopped on board full-time as the Honky Tonk Times’ constant magazine designer.

Check out Beck’s record label and magazine, they’re swell! Swelltune Records

CONTRIBUTOR

Lisa Sorrell is a cowboy bootmaker in Oklahoma. She grew up singing a cappella in church and listening to the few country gospel albums her parents had — Buck Owens' “Dust on Mother’s Bible,” Loretta Lynn's “Hymns,” and the Louvin Brothers’ “The Family Who Prays” and “Satan Is Real,” which led to a life-long love for and obsession with classic country music. She has little formal education and no training for being a writer; when Taylor asked her to write a monthly column for Honky Tonk Times she was terrified and so she immediately said yes.

Check out Lisa’s work online: Sorrell Custom Boots

Follow Lisa on Instagram

CONTRIBUTOR

Austin Stambaugh is a guitarist, poet, and songwriter, originally from Northeastern Ohio, now located in Nashville, TN. Enriched with an authenticity that is magnetically keen, he has supported national touring acts such as Joe Ely and Kinky Friedman. His work has been called, ‘Timeless and nuanced, starkly sad and a little funny…,’ by Lilly Hiatt, who says, ‘enjoy with the lights low.’ Tim Easton wrote, ‘Austin Stambaugh is the best flatpicking songwriter you've never heard of and I'll stand on Steve Earle's coffee table in my redwing boots and say it.’ Austin got involved with Honky Tonky Times after meeting founder Taylor Austin in Nashville’s Ernest Tubb Record Shop and the rest is history.

Check out Austin’s music on Bandcamp and follow him on Instagram

Press Reviews of ‘The Magnolia Sessions’:
The Sleeping Shaman
House of Prog

PHOTOGRAPHER, CONTRIBUTOR

Paul grew up under the shadow of the Leduc oilfields in western Canada and came to the U.S. when he was 12 with nothing more than a single seat toboggan and a pair of ice skates.

He was first introduced to the incomparable wail of George Jones listening to AM radio in the ‘80s. And he's one of the few people in Chicago that have actually seen the Possum live in concert. One of his favorite memories is the night Dale Watson dedicated the song "Window Up Above" to him during a show at the Continental Club in Austin.

Paul is a partner in the online software firm, SurveyWriter.com, which has allowed him to pursue his other passions: travel and photography. He's had music photos published in the Chicago Tribune, UK Rock and Roll Magazine, Guitar.com, Honkytonk Times, and the Japanese rockabilly magazine, Lovely Rockabilly Life. His other photos have appeared in the Asian Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Birds and Blooms magazine, and Scienta, DePaul University's College of Science and Health Alumni Magazine.

Paul lives just a couple of lonesome train stops away from the Martyrs bar in Chicago where he two-steps with his darlin' clementine, Barbara.

CONTRIBUTOR

Cody Tyler Youse is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, substitute teacher, landscaper, concert poster and album cover designer, hopeless vinyl addict, amateur Allman Brothers historian, and now, a Honky Tonk Times Controubadour. Proudly born and raised in Reading, PA in the foothills of the Appalachians (yes, the same Reading as the railroad on the Monopoly board), Cody proudly still resides in the Pagoda City with the love of his life, Sammy Jo. He’s been described as an old soul since he was in the 8th grade, and enjoys nature, hunting, and tubing across Lake Dunmore, VT when he isn’t gigging with his band, Cody Tyler & Gypsy Convoy. Cody is an ambassador for authentic country music in the Keystone State and enjoys using his teaching skills to help other artists develop their careers. He and his band were recently awarded Album of the Year and Best Country Band at the 2023 Central Pennsylvania Music Awards in Hershey, PA. You can become a member of his Friendbase by following him at www.CodyTylerMusic.com, or on all social media. His band’s debut album is available on all streaming platforms, CD, and, of course, VINYL.