Cynthia D Chambers, Peak to Peak. Jeff Austin, founding member of Yonder Mountain String Band, longtime Nederland resident and rock star mandolinist, passed away on Monday, June 24, 2019.
There have been very few details released regarding how he died, but the internet has been flooded with thousands of heartfelt stories of how he lived. Over the past week, friends, fans and fellow musicians from coast to coast have been paying tribute to Jeff and his music through photos and personal accounts.
As people posted their stories, the ones that knew Jeff during the early years and could relate to that time in his life, really spoke to who Jeff was as a person. Kimba Stefane, owner of Blue Owl Books and longtime friend knew Jeff almost from his very first days in Ned. In her own words she relates a story from these early times together.
She writes, “We are heartbroken. We met Jeff when he first moved to Colorado, 23 years ago. He was young, broke and already an amazing picker. Vince and I took him in for a bit, pre YMSB. He and I would walk around Eldora pushing Silas in a stroller, and Jeff would tell me his dreams for the future: to buy his mom a house, be a successful musician and have a family of his own. Those dreams came true. He had many happy years here in Colorado - he loved living in the mountains, gardening was a favorite activity and he cooked amazing dishes. He grew beautiful orchids. He often came into Blue Owl and just started grabbing stuff from the shelves to buy - stuff I suspected he didn’t really need but he wanted to help support my business. He was a generous friend, a dear friend. Jeff was there for Silas, throughout his life. He comforted him when his Dad was on the road, spoke highly of Vince and gave Silas love and encouragement. He always included and encouraged him musically too. Last time Jeff played The Caribou Room, he stepped back for most of the show and gave Silas the solos because he was proud of him and wanted to show him off. You will always be a part of our hearts and family, Jeff. We miss you terribly.”
Kimba was formally married to Vince Herman, a long-time mentor and friend to Jeff. Vince is a founding member and frontman for locally spawned group, Leftover Salmon. Days after Jeff passed, Vince penned a beautiful song and tribute to his friend.
The song includes lyrics of compassion and pain, “Sometimes it seems there will be no way of changing. The pressure coming down around your head, you get to thinking things you think you’ll never think of, think of me at times like that, my friend.”
He ends the song with, “Think of all of the love yet to be given, think of all of the love yet to receive. Think of all of those good times that we had together, don’t let yourself believe that it is time to leave.”
Austin moved to Nederland in 1998 and continued to be a resident of the area until moving closer to his hometown, in Illinois in 2016. Through the time he toured with Yonder and during much of his time with the Jeff Austin Band, folks around town were used to seeing him in his everyday life. Locals that posted to his fan page recounted seeing him at the after school pick up getting his kids and how kind he always was. Others recounted the times of getting the perfect sub made by Jeff himself during one of his many shifts at longtime friend Ross Alper’s deli in town. In the next sentence, they may describe an incredible show they went to at Red Rocks as he played to thousands of people and packed houses.
Having been such an incredible force in the Colorado music scene, Jeff was regularly featured in The Mountain-Ear and the original monthly editions of Mountain Music (previously owned by The Mountain-Ear). During the years between 2006 and 2012, Dango Rose, founder of Elephant Revival and former writer for the paper, covered many events and milestones in Jeff’s career.
Dango was able to contribute in his own words the impact Jeff had on everyone that knew him or ever saw him play. He writes, “Jeff (is/was) a pillar of the local music community. His influence is overarching and far reaching. To state it simply, Jeff has forever changed the landscape of bluegrass music. Austin’s creative process became ever more fascinating to witness over the years; as he continued to process and channel of his emotions through song. He never seemed to stray from his shadow and over time, some of his songs became ever more bizarre. In a bluegrass context, this was expansive and dare I say, genius.”
Jeff led people to experience Nederland because he honored the land in the way he spoke about it. He also gave of his soul in support of up and coming bands. After meeting YMSB at a roadside motel in Crescent City, California, back in 2000, I followed the band back to Nederland. This by proxy, relates to the founding of Elephant Revival several years later. We are part of a lineage up here that traces back to The Caribou Studios. The picks that took place back in the late 1990s and early 2000s are just as much part of the folklore now as were the appearances of rock stars like Elton John, Stephen Stills, Dan Fogleberg and Joe Walsh at The Pioneer Inn decades earlier. I feel fortunate to be part of this lineage. Yonder brought me here and the land has kept me.
Jeff was hard to get to know. Even though he and I were friends, I could never break through or pierce the veil. His brother in arms, Ben Kaufman explains it best, “As I witness the extraordinary outpouring of love for Jeff, I find myself wishing that it could have happened before he died. I realize that’s not how these things work but it doesn’t stop me from wishing that he could have experienced it. The truth is, though, I don’t know that it would have had the effect that I would hope for. You see, it’s a funny thing: the people who bring the most happiness to others thru their weird creative processes often find it challenging, if not impossible, to really receive love, appreciation and gratitude. They say ‘Thanks so much, glad you liked the show, the song, the energy,’ But it doesn’t reach the heart in a way where all that love can find fertile soil. In some terribly backwards way, it’s easier to receive a criticism than a kindness. You can rally against a criticism, use it as fuel, indulge in the fantasy of making someone eat their words someday. But to receive love? To truly receive it? No way. Far too uncomfortable. It doesn’t stop me from wishing he could have felt it though.”
As many cope with how to deal with the loss of Austin, Dango continues with, “Please never be afraid to reach out to each other during times of need. Touring life is rarely as glorious as it seems. With this in mind, always treat your musical heroes like human beings. I know how easy it is to vacillate between extremes; oft times fragile and unsure like a china doll, and sometimes clear and lucid like Apollo. The goal is to find the middle ground. Our mortality is always close at hand, and what will ultimately be remembered is not our greatest achievements but instead, simply how we chose to treat others. This of course is a direct reflection on how we treat ourselves. Talk to your friends, talk to your loved ones and enshroud this dimension with healing light and positive intentions. Practice in the way that best serves you and become a conduit. Ground into your essence and return back home to center. Do what it takes to release judgement and forgive...and remember to be grateful.”
He ends with these words, “It’s always darkest before the dawn. I know from my own experience, that even amidst the darkest night of the soul, the light does come again. I don’t know the answers, but I do offer my compassion and my fervent will. It’s a very thin line we walk, a switchback we traverse, and I believe we all can relate to this on some level. If we can’t relate, I believe that we’re fooling ourselves. All my love goes out to Jeff Austin’s family. This one digs deep and cuts hard. And this is why we come together.”
Jeff Austin leaves behind a wife and three children. There has been a fund set up to help support them during this very difficult time. People are asked to go to https://sweetrelief.org/jeff-austin-fund/ and contribute any amount they are able.
(Originally published in the July 4, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
