Belleville Teen Goes From High School To Recording Studio

Belleville, NJ - How does it feel to go directly from high school to the recording studio?

Just ask 17 year-old singer/songwriter/musician Austen Gray, a senior at Belleville High School, who is about to begin the recording of a debut EP with his band, Joker’s Republic, “Songs to Sing in the Shower."

The six track release, which will be produced at Heartland Studios in New York, will be commercially available in the fall of 2016 as a CD and online at iTunes, as well as other digital music sites.

“It’s been said that the measure of a good song is whether it can stand on its own when it’s performed by a singer and the instrument that it was written on,” says Gray, who writes all of the lyrics and music for Joker’s Republic. “While the productions that we create in the studio will feature a driving rock sound, I’m going to make sure that our songs can also be powerful if sung by just one voice and played an acoustic guitar or solo piano.”

According to a news release, Gray’s journey as a musician began when he started singing at eight-years-old. At ten, he learned to play the violin at Belleville School #7, and he also taught himself how to play the guitar by studying instructional videos on YouTube and Songsterr, a collaborative music site.

Gray's music education and experience expanded when he enrolled at School of Rock in Montclair at age 15, he said. His energy and talents were recognized quickly, and he was soon participating in the school’s concert tributes to the music of Prince, Queens of the Stone Age, Sub Pop Records, and legendary producer Rick Rubin (System of a Down, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers), at venues such as The Bitter End in New York, Mexicali Live in Teaneck and the Milwaukee Summerfest.

Gray describes the vibe of Joker’s Republic as being “pop punk with a very heavy ska-punk” feel. His songwriting and musical influences include Streetlight Manifesto, Green Day, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Brendon Small’s fictitious band Dethklok, Eric Clapton, U2, and Jason Mraz.

“When the Joker’s Republic EP drops In September, I’ll be putting all of my focus into our music, and my ultimate goal will be signing to a label, “ says Gray, who will perform with Joker’s Republic at the Burrito Bar in Staten Island as well as Staten Island’s Back to the Beach 2016 festival in July. “With the experience that I gained in my two years at School of Rock, I look at it as the higher education that has prepared me for what I hope to be a career as a working professional musician.”

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