TJ Howlett Not Mine – A Blues Rock Journey Through Grit

Not Mine – A Blues Rock Anthem That Tells a Real Story

There’s something about the smell of sweat, steel, and stubborn pride that sticks to the bones of a mining town. It seeps into the walls, into the people, into the music. TJ Howlett knows this all too well. His debut single, Not Mine, delivers a hard-edged tale wrapped in grungy riffs and a chorus that sticks like coal dust to the soul.

Born and raised in Melbourne’s music scene, TJ carved out a name for himself as a lead guitarist in the grunge and heavy rock circuits. Bands came and went – Lost Cause, Blue September, Rehab, Joe Bloggs, Flux and Change. Then life pulled him under. But time drags people back to where they belong, and for TJ, that meant the music. With Not Mine, he tells the stories that have been waiting to be sung.

The song brings pure, unfiltered blues rock. The guitars grind, the rhythm section thumps, and the lyrics hit home. No polished, overproduced ballad about small-town nostalgia. This is dirt-under-the-nails storytelling, and that’s why I opened my eyes and ears wide, took a long drag of whatever fuels my day, and chose to write about TJ and his release. Fathers selling their lungs to the mines, mothers scrubbing the kitchen table raw, kids learning their letters while inhaling black dust. The world TJ paints is one of survival, faith, and rebellion. Because some are built to kneel, and some are built to fight. And TJ? He’s cutting his own way.

Drinking Man – A Blues Lament That Leaves a Mark

If Not Mine is the fire, Drinking Man is the slow burn. Stripped down to its bones, this B-side moves like a shadow in the night. Heavy, brooding, inescapable. Addiction leaves scars beyond the one who carries it. It seeps into the walls, into the hearts of the people left standing. TJ’s storytelling never flinches. Drinking Man offers an unvarnished account of a family trapped in a cycle, the kind that crushes the weak and leaves the strong clawing at whatever keeps them standing.

His lyrics lay it bare: a father lost in a bottle, a mother praying to a silent god, children scattering like embers from a dying fire. No hero in this story. Just survivors. And TJ – he’s one of them. The song moves slow, the rhythm barely holding itself together, as if mirroring the weight of the words. It drips with frustration, anger, and loneliness, but just when the hopelessness threatens to take hold, a blistering lead guitar break punches through. Pure defiance wrapped in distortion.

TJ Howlett – A Storyteller with a Guitar and No Patience for Fake

TJ plays with raw, lived-in energy, the kind that only comes from someone who has walked through fire and come out the other side with a guitar in one hand and a story to tell. After decades in the wilderness, he’s back – fronting Veiled Arch, slinging blues-punk riffs, and stepping into the light with his own collection of songs.

Music was always the refuge. When the world came crashing down, the songs kept playing. Now, he gives them to the world, unfiltered, unpolished, untamed. Not Mine and Drinking Man mark the beginning. More songs wait in the wings.

For those searching for something real, something that doesn’t sugar-coat life but still finds the fire to fight back, TJ Howlett delivers. He sings the truth, and the truth deserves to be loud. And you can discover more about TJ on his official webpage, on Facebook , Spotify and YouTube.

All images courtesy of TJ Howlett.

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