„An American in Vienna“, I started performing in Austria as a way to meet people and get to know my new home. I have a lot of fun travelling around the country performing at clubs, bars and festivals for local dedicated country fans. I brag that I’ve seen more of Austria than most Austrians! My band, “CrossCountry”, recorded a CD for Austrias largest retailer of Country & Western apparel, jewellery and CDs with 12 popular country songs such as “On The Road Again”, “Help Me Make It Through The Night”, and “Folsom Prison Blues”. The CD sold well, (it is unfortunately no longer available) so we decided to try again, this time with all original music. “Portrait” was recorded live in front of a small but enthusiastic audience at a local (and affordable) studio near my home. I am proud to report that a couple of the songs. “Meat & Bread & Beer” and “Three Words” have been covered by other Austrian singers: The latter has even been translated into Danish and has had some airplay in Denmark! Along the way, I’ve won a couple of awards and citations, most notably “Singer of the Year” from Austrias one and only magazine for country, folk and blues “The Hot News”, and “Songwriter of the Year” from the “American Eagle Awards” in Las Vegas, NV. These days I’m performing with my good friends, Willy Bell and Igor Dobak. Willy is another ex-pat American and Igor is from Slovakia. We perform a broad mix of country styles: Traditional (Waylon, Willie, George Jones and Johnny and Kris) Modern, (Garth and Alan, George Strait, The Eagles) Pop Country (Jimmy Webb, Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers) Bluegrass standards, folk songs, movie songs and, of course, a generous dose of our own songs. We call ourselves “The Akzentrix”. We’re now working on a demo and looking for a label and a publisher. In the meantime, we’re plugging along, performing any and everywhere, working on new material, writing songs and keeping our fingers crossed. I hope you enjoy “Portrait”. I am excited at the prospect of presenting my music via CD Baby to my fellow Americans! Keep your eyes and ears open for the “Akzentrix” CD later this year. Steve Harrison