Austin John Winkler (born October 25, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known for being the former lead singer of the American rock band
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
. Since his departure from Hinder, Winkler has continued his career, but as a solo artist, under the name Austin John. Austin's first release as a solo artist, a six-song EP titled ''
Love Sick Radio
''Love Sick Radio'' is the debut EP by former Hinder lead singer Austin John Winkler. The EP was released April 22, 2016.
Summary
After Austin announced his departure from Hinder in November 2013, he quickly stated he would be continuing his ca ...
'' was released on April 22, 2016.
As of the first quarter of 2022, Austin has released two new singles from his upcoming solo project, using his full name "Austin John Winkler" – the tracks "SuperJaded" and "Phoneline" were released for purchase on January 21, 2022, and March 25, 2022, with official music videos being posted to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
On June 24, 2022 Winkler released his latest single titled "American Dreams" via all major digital music distributors.
[https://www.facebook.com/AustinJohnWinkler/videos/816867749299119/ ]
Hinder
Winkler was one of the founding members of
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
and recorded a total of one
EP (''
Far From Close''), four studio albums (''
Extreme Behavior
''Extreme Behavior'' is the debut studio album by American Rock music, rock band Hinder. It was released in 2005 by Universal Records to generally negative reviews, before going platinum in September 2006. All songs were co-written by Brian Howes, ...
'', ''
Take It to the Limit'', ''
All American Nightmare
''All American Nightmare'' is the third studio album by American rock band Hinder. Released on December 7, 2010 by Universal Republic Records, it is the band's successor to '' Take It to the Limit'', which was released in 2008. ''All American Nig ...
'', ''
Welcome to the Freakshow'') and released 24 singles to radio while with them during his 12-year tenure with the band. On November 10, 2013, it was announced via Loudwire that Hinder had officially parted ways with Winkler, stating, "We hold no animosity towards Austin, and wish him the best. Although it was a difficult decision, it was the best thing for everyone involved and time for us to move on. This summer and fall tour was a tough one. We want to thank the fans for all their overwhelming support." It was confirmed by Winkler through a statement.
Soon after the announcement that he and Hinder had parted ways, Winkler quickly stated he would continue his career as a solo artist.
Solo career
2013–2017: Work with Tantric and ''Love Sick Radio''
In August 2013, a video posted on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
by
Hugo Ferreira
Hugo Ferreira (born March 7, 1974) is an Angolan-born Portuguese-American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American rock band Tantric.
Early years, Merge and formation of Tant ...
of the band
Tantric revealed that Ferreria and Winkler had established a very good friendship and that Winkler was help writing songs for Tantric's then-upcoming album ''
37 Channels''. Tantric's ''37 Channels'' album was released on September 17, 2013, and Winkler was featured on two tracks titled "Bullet" and "Fault". On October 17, 2014, Winkler posted via his official Instagram account that he had signed to
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
as a solo artist. On November 8, 2014, Winkler performed as a special guest alongside Tantric at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California on a stop while on their
Blue Room Archives tour. Winkler performed the song "Fault" with Tantric, Winkler co-wrote the song with Tantric lead singer Hugo Ferreira in the summer of 2013, the song is featured on the album ''37 Channels'' with Winkler providing guest vocals.
Winkler announced on April 18, 2016, that his debut six-song EP ''
Love Sick Radio
''Love Sick Radio'' is the debut EP by former Hinder lead singer Austin John Winkler. The EP was released April 22, 2016.
Summary
After Austin announced his departure from Hinder in November 2013, he quickly stated he would be continuing his ca ...
'' will be released on April 22, 2016, via
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
. Austin performed his debut solo show on July 7, 2016, at the
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Since Austin has announced shows throughout
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
in August 2016.
Austin also announced that he is still currently recording for his debut full-length LP which should be released sometime in 2017. He added to the fans overwhelming support for the song "Phoneline to Heaven" it will be mastered and added to the record.
On June 9, 2017, Winkler announced his first major tour as a solo artist: he would embark on the Love Sick Radio tour in the fall of 2017 with
Smile Empty Soul
Smile Empty Soul is an American rock band, originally from Santa Clarita, California, United States. It was started in 1998 by Sean Danielsen (vocals and guitar), Ryan Martin (bass), and Derek Gledhill (drums). Following the departure of Gled ...
and
Madame Mayhem as his support.
On August 30, 2017, it was announced that his former band-mates in
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
were suing him for trademark infringement, the lawsuit alleged that Winkler was using Hinder's logo to promote his solo performances, the lawsuit stated that Winkler signed a Leaving Member Agreement when he departed the band, "acknowledging that he has no rights in the (trademark), or to promotional use of the name Hinder, and accepting a very limited license for use of the mark under certain express restrictions."
2018–2021: Hiatus, health issues and Demo Slumber Parties
After wrapping up his fall 2017 tour with
Smile Empty Soul
Smile Empty Soul is an American rock band, originally from Santa Clarita, California, United States. It was started in 1998 by Sean Danielsen (vocals and guitar), Ryan Martin (bass), and Derek Gledhill (drums). Following the departure of Gled ...
and Autum Rove, Winkler put a hiatus on his music career, remaining inactive for over two years and rarely posted updates on his social media accounts with the exception of a couple of posts in January and February 2018, one being a preview clip of a new song he recorded citing that his musical influences growing up was
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
and
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
, the song was originally titled "America Whatever" but was retitled and released as "American Dreams" on June 24, 2022.
Winkler announced in March 2020 that he was once again writing and recording new music for his debut solo album. On March 13, 2020, he announced he would be hosting a "Demo Slumber Party" on his Instagram account where he would be streaming the full-length demos of a few solo songs of his he had previously shared on social media years before. The tracks were, "Phoneline To Heaven", "America Whatever", a new song he just finished writing titled "SuperJaded" and a surprise bonus of
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
's hit song "
What's Love Got To Do With It What's Love Got to Do with It may refer to:
*Tina Turner:
** "What's Love Got to Do with It" (song), a 1984 song by Tina Turner
** ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993 film), a biographical film about Tina Turner
** ''What's Love Got to Do with ...
", the songs were available on March 14, 2020, via his Instagram account and were removed after 24 hours.
Throughout the spring and early summer of 2020 Winkler hosted a handful of more "Demo Slumber Parties", streaming full-length demos of several more previously unreleased demo songs via his Instagram which included the tracks "Sleep Through My Pain", "Love Ain't Nothin'", "Dreams", "Maniac", "Back In The Day", "Control" and "Hey Love". The songs have since been removed from his social media pages.
In the summer of 2020, while in quarantine, from the 2019-2020 Covid-19 Pandemic Winkler released several Instagram live videos confirming he is in the studio and working on new music, hopefully, to be released later this year. One of the tracks Austin played in the Instagram Live videos was a new fully recorded and finished song titled "Georgia". A few other tracks have been played but unnamed and unreleased.
2021–present: SuperJaded and upcoming new music
On New Year's Eve 2021, Winkler announced via his social media that he will be releasing new music on February 11, 2022. However on January 7, 2022, he announced in a new promo video he will be moving up the release and will now release the single "Super Jaded" along with the accompanying music video on January 21, 2022. The song will serve as the lead single for his long-awaited debut solo album.
"SuperJaded" was released January 21, 2022, as planned and was accompanied by the official music video.
In February 2022, "SuperJaded" spawned the "Look What You Did to Me" challenge via social media platforms
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
, FaceBook and Instagram Reels.
On March 2, 2022, Winkler launched his first official website as a solo artist "THESUPERJADED.COM". The site features insight on his recent challenges and the difficulties that inspired him to write "SuperJaded" along with official merchandise.
On March 5, 2022, Winkler announced via teaser video posted to his social media pages that he will be releasing more new music on March 25, 2022.
On March 11, 2022, Winkler officially announced on a social media post he will finally be releasing his long-time, fan-favorite solo song "Phoneline to Heaven" (now simply being titled as "Phoneline") on March 25, 2022, nearly 8 years after initially sharing the song via his Instagram back in mid-2014.
Austin released a new single titled "American Dreams" on June 24, 2022 accompanied with the official music video. "American Dreams" serves as the third single from his upcoming solo project.
On October 26, 2022 Winkler released another new single that was previously unannounced, titled "Carry On".
On January 6, 2023 Winkler dropped a new single without any prior announcement titled "The Dance Song" he also released an official music video for the song via his
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.
Personal life
After shooting a music video for
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
's version of the song "Born to be Wild" for
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
, Winkler began dating actress and model Jami Miller, who was a dancer in the video. In late 2007, the two became engaged. On December 21, 2007, Winkler was arrested for suspicion of DUI after leaving his engagement party. The two were married on July 30, 2008. They wed in Hawaii. Winkler wrote a song for their wedding titled "The Love I Live For". The song was never released but it can be found on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
Winkler and Jami separated in late 2014. Winkler officially filed for divorce in December 2015. His divorce papers stated he wanted a clean break. In their divorce settlement, Winkler settled to share half of his rights to 81 Hinder songs with Jami. However, of all these songs, it does not include "
Lips of an Angel
"Lips of an Angel" is a song by American rock band Hinder, produced and co-written by Brian Howes and Joseph Lombardo. It was released in July 2006 as the second single from their 2005 debut album, ''Extreme Behavior''. It was their breakthrough ...
". In that settlement, Winkler also had to pay Jami $12,000 in retroactive spousal support that was owed in 2017. After that was settled, Winkler owed her nothing else and was allowed to keep his property and 2016 Infiniti SUV.
Austin was in a relationship with singer/collaborator Sophie Summers, but ended their relationship in 2018.
In the summer of 2019, Winkler revealed to his fans via social media that he was becoming very ill. He did not disclose what exactly his condition was, but fans started noticing his significant weight loss from previous posts.
In January 2022, Winkler said in an interview with ''
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...
'' that years of alcohol abuse caused liver and kidney failure, causing him to require
dialysis for nine months in 2019 and 2020: "I was in the hospital for three months straight, 24 days in the ICU...I had to relearn how to walk again and the doctor said that I was about five days away from kicking it." His experience inspired the song "SuperJaded." He has been sober since May 2019.
Discography
Hinder
;Studio albums
*''
Extreme Behavior
''Extreme Behavior'' is the debut studio album by American Rock music, rock band Hinder. It was released in 2005 by Universal Records to generally negative reviews, before going platinum in September 2006. All songs were co-written by Brian Howes, ...
'' (2005)
*''
Take It to the Limit'' (2008)
*''
All American Nightmare
''All American Nightmare'' is the third studio album by American rock band Hinder. Released on December 7, 2010 by Universal Republic Records, it is the band's successor to '' Take It to the Limit'', which was released in 2008. ''All American Nig ...
'' (2010)
*''
Welcome to the Freakshow'' (2012)
;EPs
* ''
Far From Close'' (2003)
Solo releases
;EPs
*''
Love Sick Radio
''Love Sick Radio'' is the debut EP by former Hinder lead singer Austin John Winkler. The EP was released April 22, 2016.
Summary
After Austin announced his departure from Hinder in November 2013, he quickly stated he would be continuing his ca ...
'' (2016)
;Singles
*''SuperJaded -Single'' (2022)
*''Phoneline -Single'' (2022)
*''American Dreams -Single'' (2022)
*''Carry On -Single (2022)''
*''The Dance Song -Single (2023)''
Singles
Music Videos
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Austin John
1981 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
Musicians from Oklahoma City
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma
21st-century American singers
21st-century American male singers
Hinder members