Austin Scaggs is an American music critic and a contributing editor for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' magazine. He's also written for ''

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' is an American monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenner ...

''. His father is musician Boz Scaggs.

Early life

Scaggs was born to Boz and Carmella Scaggs.

Jann Wenner Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American magazine magnate who is a co-founder of the popular culture magazine '' Rolling Stone'', and former owner of ''Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free Speech Movement whil ...

(the eventual editor and publisher of ''

'') served as their witness at their wedding. Austin was born in San Francisco and grew up, along with his brother Oscar, in

Presidio Heights San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five m ...

. He attended the

Town School for Boys Town School for Boys, located in San Francisco, California, is an independent day school for boys from kindergarten through the eighth grade. The school was established in 1939 by parents from the recently closed and privately owned Dam ...

. His parents divorced in 1980, and after a three-and-a-half year battle, they were awarded joint custody. Carmella would bring her sons to

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

on Tuesdays to peruse the newly-released music.

Career

Scaggs read ''Rolling Stone'' as a child, but never planned to go into

music journalism Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

.(September 12, 2007
"The Smoking Section Answers Your Questions"
RollingStone.com Retrieved November 29, 2007 At 19, he moved from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to play guitar in a band, and began interning at ''Rolling Stone''. He loved it and eventually began picking up small assignments. After two years, he began receiving travel assignments.Fong-Torres, Ben (January 25, 2007)
"He was from Rolling Stone -- he can tell you what it's really like"
SFGate.com Retrieved November 29, 2007 Four years into his job, he was assigned the section "Random Notes", which, incidentally, had been his favorite section as a child. He has interviewed many prominent musicians, including

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

. Scaggs will sometimes get inebriated with the artists he interviews; he did

ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

with

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After ...

. In regard to his interviewing style, he has said that he does not "write to stir up controversy, make tabloid headlines, or get someone busted". Since 2001, Alex Levy and Austin Scaggs have planned annual tribute nights to various artists, along with their Cabin Down Below Band, in the East Village in New York City and Nashville. Scaggs plays bass. He is an avid

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player and occasionally plays in celebrity tournaments.Abowitz, Richard (September 9, 2007)
"What's $3,000 if you're a Killer? Flowers snubs Scaggs"
LATimes.com Retrieved November 29, 2007

Personal life

His brother Oscar died of a heroin overdose in 1998 at 21 years old. He is married with two children.

References

External links

"The Smoking Section Answers Your Questions"
an interview with Scaggs about his time with ''Rolling Stone''.
"Dave Matthews Band: Audio Interview Outtakes, Video Premiere, Tour Photos and More"
audio of Scaggs interviewing Dave Matthews in August 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scaggs, Austin American music critics American music journalists American poker players Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Jewish American journalists 21st-century American Jews