# Austin Scaggs > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Austin_Scaggs > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Austin_Scaggs.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Scaggs > Source revision: 1336315226 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Austin William Scaggs** (born August 2, 1978) is an American music critic and a contributing editor for *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)* magazine. He's also written for *[Men's Journal](/source/Men's_Journal)*. His father is musician [Boz Scaggs](/source/Boz_Scaggs). ## Early life Scaggs was born to Boz and Carmella Scaggs.[1] [Jann Wenner](/source/Jann_Wenner) (the eventual editor and publisher of *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)*) served as their witness at their wedding.[1] Austin was born in San Francisco and grew up, along with his brother Oscar, in [Presidio Heights](/source/Presidio_Heights).[1] He attended the [Town School for Boys](/source/Town_School_for_Boys).[1] His parents divorced in 1980, and after a three-and-a-half-year battle, they were awarded joint custody.[2] Carmella would bring her sons to [Tower Records](/source/Tower_Records_(record_label)) on Tuesdays to peruse the newly-released music.[1] ## Career Scaggs read *Rolling Stone* as a child, but never planned to go into [music journalism](/source/Music_journalism).[3] At 19, he moved from [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) to [New York City](/source/New_York_City) 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.[4] 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](/source/Bob_Dylan), [Mick Jagger](/source/Mick_Jagger), and [Ray Charles](/source/Ray_Charles) .[3] Scaggs will sometimes get inebriated with the artists he interviews; he did [ecstasy](/source/Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) with [James Blunt](/source/James_Blunt).[5] 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".[3] 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](/source/East_Village,_Manhattan) in New York City and Nashville.[6] Scaggs plays bass.[7] He is an avid [poker](/source/Poker) player and occasionally plays in celebrity tournaments.[8] ## Personal life His brother Oscar died of a heroin overdose in 1998 at 21 years old.[1] He is married with two children.[1] ## References 1. Whiting, Sam (February 15, 2017). ["Carmella Scaggs, socialite and ex-wife of singer"](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Carmella-Scaggs-socialite-and-ex-wife-of-singer-10932897.php). *SFGATE*. Retrieved May 6, 2022. 1. No byline (July 3, 1988). [http://www.beautifulboz.com/65951/html/page.html](http://www.beautifulboz.com/65951/html/page.html) *[The Dallas Morning News](/source/The_Dallas_Morning_News)* c/o BeautifulBoz.com Retrieved December 3, 2007 1. (September 12, 2007) ["The Smoking Section Answers Your Questions"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070916155655/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16385483/the_smoking_section_answers_your_questions) RollingStone.com Retrieved November 29, 2007 1. Fong-Torres, Ben (January 25, 2007). ["He was from Rolling Stone -- he can tell you what it's really like"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070206150936/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/25/DDGP2NNQAE1.DTL) SFGate.com Retrieved November 29, 2007 1. "Scurrilous: Chicago's No. 1 Couch Potato". Chicago Sun-Times. September 27, 2007. FindArticles.com. November 29, 2007. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20070927/ai_n21025816](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20070927/ai_n21025816) 1. Paulson, Dave (May 19, 2017). ["'Dylan Fest' is Nashville's coolest all-star concert"](https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/05/19/dylan-fest-nashvilles-coolest-all-star-concert/328900001/). *The Tennessean*. Retrieved May 6, 2022. 1. Reiter, Amy (December 17, 1999). ["Rack of hams"](http://archive.salon.com/people/col/reit/1999/12/17/np1217/index.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080517035418/http://archive.salon.com/people/col/reit/1999/12/17/np1217/index.html) May 17, 2008 at the Wayback Machine Salon.com Retrieved November 29, 2007 1. Abowitz, Richard (September 9, 2007). ["What's $3,000 if you're a Killer? Flowers snubs Scaggs"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081206075148/http://vegasblog.latimes.com/vegas/2007/09/whats-3000-if-y.html). *Los Angeles Times*. Archived from [the original](http://vegasblog.latimes.com/vegas/2007/09/whats-3000-if-y.html) on 2008-12-06. ## External links - ["The Smoking Section Answers Your Questions"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070916155655/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16385483/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"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081004084919/http://usmusic.cc/2007/08/05/dave-matthews-band-audio-interview-outtakes-video-premiere-tour-photos-and-more/), audio of Scaggs interviewing Dave Matthews in August 2007 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Austin Scaggs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Scaggs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Scaggs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.