Austin Marolla

A winning tenor voice arcs into a transcendent falsetto; lyrical authenticity and melodic simplicity are framed in effortless arrangements. With his debut CD, You & Me, Austin Marolla illuminates an unfolding path of discovery and destiny. Remarkably, My Journey, the introduction to this musical sojourn, is also the first song that Austin ever penned.

Although he is a relative newcomer as a singer/songwriter, Austin possesses considerable credentials as a performing artist. Trained in the theater, in music and as a dancer, he has performed in shows and musicals on stages from his hometown, New York City, across the U.S. to Italy, France and Spain.

Now with his first CD, he is writing his own script in song, with lyrical passages that trace an emotional terrain both complex and multifaceted. A theme of self-acceptance and the influence of his father, an Italian immigrant, both underscore Be Your Own Hero, while a pair of songs, All for You, and Time Traveler, bookend the beginning and elegiac conclusion of a relationship.

Gratitude is a key ingredient in Austins life philosophy, as his song title Thank You might indicate. He explains, Life can be hard. You can put yourself in a pool of despair and write about that, but thats a heavy song to sing. Ive surrounded myself with loving and beautiful people and my music reflects that. The title track, You & Me, extends a joyous invitation to a life partner and the gentle poetic promise of Im Gonna Love You, echoes this theme. Between the lines of You Found Me, the protagonist finds salvation through love. In Skylars Song, love come in on four paws, delivered by an orphaned cat.

Key to Austins emergence as a songwriter and solo performer were intensive guitar studies with two-time Grammy award winning slack key guitarist Jeff Peterson in Hawaii and Valerie MacKend in New York. While attending Summer Songs Songwriters Camp, he met Sloan Wainwright, scion of the legendary musical family, who contributes backing vocals to four songs from You & Me. I think we meet people for a reason, Austin notes, there are no coincidences.

And realizing his own dreams through music reveals Austins profound process of self-discovery (revelations he now shares through lyrics and melodies.) With songs and music I create what I want in my life: its about the process, making art and being on the journey.