Artist Spotlight: SUSTO
Courtesy of Paul King
The Appalachian Preservation Project is proud to present SUSTO as this week’s artist spotlight. The following answers were contributed by frontman Justin Osborne.
Tell me about your background. Who are you at your core? Why did you become a musician?
Well, I’m a lot of things I guess. I’m a dad, I’m a husband, but before any of that I was a singer/songwriter and I still am. I was drawn to music from an early age, and started writing songs around age 12. I grew up in a very religious household, so I also started singing and playing in church. I started my first band when I was 15, and have pretty much been a touring musician since then.
How long have you been recording/gigging?
Guess I kinda answered this in the last response, but I started recording albums and playing shows around the age of 15, before my first SUSTO album I had already released 9 albums with other projects. I started playing shows pretty early on too, back then my parents would have to drive me and sometime be my chaperone haha.
What is the inspiration behind the name SUSTO?
Our band is named for a Latin American term, that literally means “soul loss” but is also used to describe feeling separated from or beside yourself after some sort of traumatic or transformative experience. I found the word when I was making the first album and it seemed to perfectly fit the kind of experience I was trying to explore with my writing.
What is the most challenging part of recording/gigging? The most rewarding part?
Hmm that’s a hard one, I’d say the hardest part of touring is being away from family. recording is great because you can kind of do it wherever, so it can honestly be nice to work in the city Im living in and come home to my own house and family at the end of the day. The most rewarding part of it all is seeing the songs go from being a simple idea to something shared with our audience live, seeing that little creation become a conduit for human connection is really special.
What artists inspire your songwriting the most?
Also hard to say, because I listen to a wide variety of music…it may be most true ti say that inspiration comes most easily from folks around me, friends, family and collaborators, but in terms of artist I love…there’s a lot…Cat Power, Townes, Jim Croce, Bob Marley are a few artists that have had a profound influence on my writing.
What life experiences inform your music?
All of them haha, I write from a confessional autobiographical perspective mostly. Large topics in the last 2 records have been becoming a father, losing my father, then navigating a divorce from my daughters mom, and finding love on the other side of that experience.
How do you hope your music impacts people?
I hope that sharing so much of myself in these songs will help folks connect over shared human experiences. It never feels good to navigate pain, but it feels easier when you know other people have been through that too, and also I want to spread joy…there’s a lot of personal stuff in these songs, some really hard lessons learned and some huge moments of joy and love.
What has been the most personally impactful moment in your career so far?
Honestly, I gave up on a career in music when I was 26, and moved to Havana, Cuba. Living there for a few months helped me re-discover my connection to music and set me on the path of starting Susto. Everything that’s happened for us since then wouldn’t have been possible without the rejuvenation I found there.
Who or what inspires you most?
Life is incredibly inspirational, I’m committed to translating my experience, good and bad, into songs.
Listen to SUSTO’s new album My Entire Life on Spotify and iTunes when it comes out tomorrow, 07/28, and find their merch HERE!
