5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Austin John Winkler Formerly of Hinder

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Set 2025 Euro Residency Tour
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Set 2025 Euro Residency Tour

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Name  Austin John Winkler

Best known for  Being the original singer-songwriter for the multi-platinum selling rock band Hinder.

Current city  Oklahoma City

Really want to be in  Anywhere in Japan.

Excited about  The new music that I’m working on at the moment.

My current music collection has a lot of  Older rock ‘n roll.

And a little bit of: 90’s gansta rap/hip-hop.

Preferred format  Apple Music.

5 Albums I Can’t live Without:

1

Appetite for Destruction, Guns N’ Roses 

This record is the epitome of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll! I was only six when it came out and I was mesmerized by GNR. They were all these real-life cartoon characters and I could not get enough of Axl’s raw and nasty vocals. The whole record is high energy and “FU” attitude, and as a six year old I felt a lot cooler and older than I was listening to it. It was a perfect introduction to rock ‘n roll for me.

2

The Slim Shady LP, Eminem 

This would be the record that would inspire me to write lyrics. When I first heard this whole record I was obsessed. I was blown away by the fact that this kid was taking over a genre that wasn’t supposed to be his. His confidence and arrogance was inspiring to me. The way he was so honest and real on “Rock Bottom” and “If I Had”…I felt that in my soul and I know all of America did at that same time and that made me want to be creative and want to reach people too. I started writing rock ‘n roll songs after I heard this record and I will be forever grateful to Eminem for that. So, in a way, you can really thank Marshall Mathers for “Lips of an Angel,” “Get Stoned,” etc….

3

Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park 

This Album absolutely solidified me going for my dream of being a professional musician. I saw LP four times during the Hybrid Theory touring cycle and they just kept getting bigger and better. Chester’s unapologetic vocals and lyrics spoke to me on a level I can never explain. It’s still one of my all-time favorite albums front to back! \

4

Bad, Michael Jackson 

Now, I don’t have the exact time or where I was but when I saw the music video for Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” [but] I felt like the coolest kid on the planet. It’s hard to explain it, but that album did something to me as a kid and every time I put it in my Walkman you could not reach me. I was the baddest M’fer on the planet! The passion that MJ sings with I feel in the depths of my soul and I’d like to think I got a little of that singing passion from him and the way he sings.

5

Pump, Aerosmith

This record had “Janie’s Got a Gun” on it (which literally made me fall in love with music). There’s also “What It takes” and “Love in an Elevator” on there, which are stellar tracks. But Hearing “Janie”—it changed my life. I used to wait for this song to come on the radio so I could record it onto cassette. It was the first song I remember hearing that took me away from this place. The vibe in the song was unlike anything I’d ever heard and it took me out of the world I was in and put me in that one.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

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