Meet Dani

Photo courtesy of: Janna Woody Smith

16 Questions with Dani Austin - Lead Vocals

 1. Name: Danielle Lynn Austin 

2. Birthday: December 5th 

3. Hometown: Saint James, NY 

4. Favorite instrument: I can’t play any personally, but I’d say guitar. 

5. What made you want to become a musician? I started singing when I got a karaoke machine for Christmas when I was about 4. I grew up listening to Ashlee Simpson and Hilary Duff and I knew I wanted to sing and perform like them. 

6. Which instruments did you play in high school? I didn’t play any instruments, but I was in choir all 4 years. I was a pro on the recorder in elementary school though :) 

7. What are your hobbies or interests outside of music? Outside of music I like to bake, paint, travel, and spend time outside whenever it’s nice out.

8. Describe your favorite performance venue. The thing that makes a performance venue great to me is the people that are there to listen. A great crowd with big energy feels incredible to play to.

9. Tell me about the craziest/worst thing that has ever happened onstage. At one gig we played, the microphone connection was weird I guess, and I got shocked a few times which was startling…but I was fine! 

10. What qualities do you think make a great musician? I think the ability to adjust on the fly is crucial for anyone who performs live. You never know when there’ll be a technical issue or what not, so being able to adapt and stay chill in the moment is important.  

 11. How do you handle performance anxiety (nervousness)? (Not well!) To this day I still get crazy anxiety before just about every show, but joking around with the rest of the band always helps. Plus, once that first song starts all the nerves melt away.

12. What is the most trouble that you ever have gotten into? Honestly, I was a goody goody growing up so never got in much trouble…but probably was when I got my first tattoo. 

13. What is your favorite song to perform? We’re always working on adding new songs to the setlist, so it changes a lot but right now it’s a rocked-up cover of Before He Cheats.  

14. Who Are Your Biggest Influences? Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, Kelsy Karter, Joni Mitchell

15. What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you? Play every show like it’s your last one because life can change in the blink of an eye.  

 16. Tell me about your experience on the X-Factor! I auditioned in high school back in NY. My mom and I waited in endless lines all day in this big basketball arena and then in the center of the arena there were about 100 curtained off cubicles each with a random judge in them. I could hear everyone around me singing, which was wild, and then I got about 45 seconds to sing a song to this one guy (I did “Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera) and he handed me a pink sheet of paper that got me into the next round! It was a whirlwind but so much fun.

Take a listen to some of Dani’s favorite songs.

Meet Jace

Photo courtesy of: Janna Woody Smith

16 Questions with Jace Yarborough - Rhythm Guitar/Vocals

1. Full name: James Cleveland (Jace) Yarborough         

2. Birthday: November 10th          

3. Hometown: I was born in Greenville, SC.          

4. Favorite instrument: Electric guitar.          

5. What made you want to become a musician? Watching my papa play growing up.          

6. Which instruments did you play in high school? Guitar, bass, and drums.          

7. What are your hobbies or interests outside of music? Fishing.          

8. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician? I think a strength that I have is that I [can] improvise and learn more from what I come up with instead of learning songs note for note.          

9. What is your greatest weakness? Finger speed.          

10. Describe your favorite performance venue. I don’t think I have a favorite if there’s a crowd. 

11. Tell me about the craziest/worst thing that has ever happened onstage. What did you learn from this experience? Probably when I broke strings on all my guitars and had to use Bryson’s guitar. Learned my lesson on replacing strings.         

12. What qualities do you think make a great musician? Being open-minded to new ideas and learning new stuff.  

13. What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you? Probably the words “if it feels right, it sounds right.”                  

14. What is the most trouble that you ever have gotten into? Probably having the police called for a noise complaint from guitars.          

15. What is your favorite song to perform? My own song “Rotten to the Core.”          

16. Who Are Your Biggest Influences? Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

Take a listen to some of Jace’s favorite songs/albums.

Meet Jarrett

Photo courtesy of: Janna Woody Smith

15 Questions with Jarrett Iskra - Drummer/Vocals

1. Full name: Jarrett Jeffrey Iskra

2. Birthday: September 15th

3. Hometown: Spartanburg SC

4. Favorite instrument: “The drums believe it or not (saxophones are cool also).”

5. What made you want to become a musician? “A lot of influence, mainly the music my dad listened to, and movies about bands/musicians.”

6. Which instruments did you play in high school? “Trombone (still do).”

7. What are your hobbies or interests outside of music? “I make YouTube videos (edit them myself), but also Rain On Mars on Spotify and Apple Music. I also watch Pro Wrestling.”

8. Tell me about the craziest/worst thing that has ever happened onstage. “I [messed] up a song so bad bro, it was so awkward.”

9. What qualities do you think make a great musician? “Patience, creativity, timing/tempo management, and not being a hassle to work with.”

10. How do you handle performance anxiety (nervousness)? “Be a man. I just think about how awesome the show will be if I don't screw it up and it helps a lot.”

11. What is the most trouble that you ever have gotten into? “My lawyer has requested I do not finish [this] statement.”  HA!

12. What is your favorite song to perform? “Used to be ‘Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You’ but now we just started playing ‘Sex Type Thing’ and I love it every time. Also, ‘Ocean Man.’”

13. How did you come up with the Creek Band name? “So there's this creek…”

14. Who are your biggest influences? “King Crimson, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Ween, System Of A Down, Led Zeppelin, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana…”

15. What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you? “Fit the song, don't try to steal the spotlight when not necessary, lean off the vibe of the crowd, ‘stop tuning you've been at this for 3 hours,’ …”

He’s hilarious!

Take a listen to some of Jarrett’s favorite songs.

Take a listen to some of Jarrett’s favorite songs from his Rain On Mars channel.

Meet Bryson

15 Questions with Bryson Iskra - Lead Guitarist

1. Birthday: January 5th

2. Hometown: Spartanburg, SC

3. Favorite instrument: Guitar

4. What made you want to become a musician? Playing Guitar Hero and my Papa

5. Which instruments did you play in high school? Guitar

6. What are your hobbies or interests outside of music? Fishing, traveling, camping, going out

7. Describe your favorite performance venue. “I can’t honestly say… every place has its own charm.”

8. Tell me about the craziest/worst thing that has ever happened onstage. “I had a cable crap itself (go out) and had to panic to get a new one.”

9. What qualities do you think make a great musician? “Creativity, passion, and a general love for all music.”

10. How do you handle performance anxiety (nervousness)? “I just breathe and remember this is what I want to do for my career.”

11. What is the most trouble that you ever have gotten into? “Almost had the cops called on me when I was a kid.” (Yeah, but what did you DO, Bryson? ;) )

12. What is your favorite song to perform? “I don’t think I can really say I have a favorite.”

13. How did you come up with the Creek Band name? “Just by taking the names of what was around (nearby places).”

14. Who are your biggest influences? “David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and many more.”

15. What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you? “Be true to yourself and just never stop playing.”

Well said!!

Take a listen to some of Bryson’s favorite songs.