Autonomous is really the brain child of musician John Stout. Known for his versatility and skill as a drummer/percussionist, he has played all over the United States opening for, or playing with bands such as Vertical Horizon, Cowboy Mouth, Cracker, Hootie & the Blowfish, Edwin McCain and many others. Before jumping into a career as a professional performer and educator, John attended the University of South Carolina, earning a BA in Music. But it's only within the last five years that he has grown into what has become Autonomous. After graduating, John began to take a heavy interest in piano which lead him into an intense practice routine of 8 to 10 hours a day. Midway through this cycle he began to experiment with writing some original compositions. Although the goal was not to start his own project, more and more time was being devoted to writing. Soon the effort grew too large not to call it what it was, the debut album of a project soon called Autonomous. All of the instruments and vocals on the album are performed by John, except some of the bass parts.  Once the album "No One's Listening" was released, John began perfomring all over the southeast.  But, it wasn't long long before he made up his mind to take the band to a larger market, moving west to Seattle where the band's building a strong regional following. 

Outside of his own musical project, John keeps busy dividing his time between teaching and performing as a freelance musician.  On any open night he can be found performing with various rock/funk/jazz groups in the Seattle area, or backing a local acousitc performer. And during the day he enjoys teaching private lessons on piano and drumset.

As for the future, one goal has always been the same, to constantly raise the bar on musical ability. And along the way, to create something that's new and meaningful to the listener.