diff --git a/astyanax-cassandra/src/main/resources/cassandra-template.yaml b/astyanax-cassandra/src/main/resources/cassandra-template.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 7049792f2..000000000
--- a/astyanax-cassandra/src/main/resources/cassandra-template.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-# Cassandra storage config YAML
-cluster_name: '$CLUSTER$'
-initial_token: 0
-auto_bootstrap: false
-hinted_handoff_enabled: false
-max_hint_window_in_ms: 3600000 # one hour
-authenticator: org.apache.cassandra.auth.AllowAllAuthenticator
-authority: org.apache.cassandra.auth.AllowAllAuthority
-partitioner: org.apache.cassandra.dht.RandomPartitioner
-#partitioner: org.apache.cassandra.dht.Murmur3Partitioner
-data_file_directories:
-    - $DIR$/data
-commitlog_directory: $DIR$/commitlog
-saved_caches_directory: $DIR$/saved_caches
-commitlog_sync: periodic
-commitlog_sync_period_in_ms: 10000
-seed_provider:
-    # Addresses of hosts that are deemed contact points. 
-    # Cassandra nodes use this list of hosts to find each other and learn
-    # the topology of the ring.  You must change this if you are running
-    # multiple nodes!
-    - class_name: org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleSeedProvider
-      parameters:
-          # seeds is actually a comma-delimited list of addresses.
-          - seeds: "127.0.0.1"
-flush_largest_memtables_at: 0.75
-reduce_cache_sizes_at: 0.85
-reduce_cache_capacity_to: 0.6
-concurrent_reads: 32
-concurrent_writes: 32
-memtable_flush_queue_size: 4
-storage_port: $STORAGE_PORT$
-listen_address: 127.0.0.1
-rpc_address: 127.0.0.1
-rpc_port: $PORT$
-rpc_keepalive: true
-thrift_framed_transport_size_in_mb: 15
-thrift_max_message_length_in_mb: 16
-incremental_backups: false
-snapshot_before_compaction: false
-column_index_size_in_kb: 64
-in_memory_compaction_limit_in_mb: 64
-compaction_throughput_mb_per_sec: 16
-compaction_preheat_key_cache: true
-endpoint_snitch: org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleSnitch
-dynamic_snitch: true
-dynamic_snitch_update_interval_in_ms: 100 
-dynamic_snitch_reset_interval_in_ms: 600000
-dynamic_snitch_badness_threshold: 0.0
-request_scheduler: org.apache.cassandra.scheduler.NoScheduler
-index_interval: 128
diff --git a/astyanax-cassandra/src/main/resources/cassandra2-template.yaml b/astyanax-cassandra/src/main/resources/cassandra2-template.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index a14107f4c..000000000
--- a/astyanax-cassandra/src/main/resources/cassandra2-template.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,75 +0,0 @@
-cluster_name: '$CLUSTER$'
-initial_token: 0
-hinted_handoff_enabled: false
-max_hint_window_in_ms: 3600000
-hinted_handoff_throttle_in_kb: 1024
-batchlog_replay_throttle_in_kb: 1024
-max_hints_delivery_threads: 2
-authenticator: org.apache.cassandra.auth.AllowAllAuthenticator
-authorizer: org.apache.cassandra.auth.AllowAllAuthorizer
-permissions_validity_in_ms: 2000
-partitioner: org.apache.cassandra.dht.RandomPartitioner
-data_file_directories:
-- $DIR$/data
-commitlog_directory: $DIR$/commitlog
-disk_failure_policy: stop
-commit_failure_policy: stop
-key_cache_size_in_mb: null
-key_cache_save_period: 14400
-row_cache_size_in_mb: 0
-row_cache_save_period: 0
-saved_caches_directory: $DIR$/saved_caches
-commitlog_sync: periodic
-commitlog_sync_period_in_ms: 10000
-commitlog_segment_size_in_mb: 32
-seed_provider:
-- class_name: org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleSeedProvider
-  parameters:
-  - seeds: 127.0.0.1
-concurrent_reads: 32
-concurrent_writes: 64
-#memtable_flush_queue_size: 4
-trickle_fsync: false
-trickle_fsync_interval_in_kb: 10240
-storage_port: $STORAGE_PORT$
-listen_address: 127.0.0.1
-start_native_transport: false
-native_transport_port: 9260
-start_rpc: true
-rpc_address: 127.0.0.1
-rpc_port: $PORT$
-rpc_keepalive: true
-rpc_server_type: sync
-thrift_framed_transport_size_in_mb: 15
-incremental_backups: false
-snapshot_before_compaction: false
-auto_snapshot: false
-column_index_size_in_kb: 64
-#in_memory_compaction_limit_in_mb: 128
-#multithreaded_compaction: false
-compaction_throughput_mb_per_sec: 128
-#compaction_preheat_key_cache: true
-read_request_timeout_in_ms: 10000
-range_request_timeout_in_ms: 10000
-write_request_timeout_in_ms: 10000
-truncate_request_timeout_in_ms: 60000
-request_timeout_in_ms: 10000
-cross_node_timeout: false
-endpoint_snitch: org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleSnitch
-dynamic_snitch_update_interval_in_ms: 100
-dynamic_snitch_reset_interval_in_ms: 600000
-dynamic_snitch_badness_threshold: 0.1
-request_scheduler: org.apache.cassandra.scheduler.NoScheduler
-index_interval: 256
-inter_dc_tcp_nodelay: true
-#memtable_total_space_in_mb: 1024
-rpc_min_threads: 16
-rpc_max_threads: 2048
-stream_throughput_outbound_megabits_per_sec: '400'
-dynamic_snitch: true
-concurrent_compactors: 1
-num_tokens: 1
-auto_bootstrap: true
-#preheat_kernel_page_cache: false
-cas_contention_timeout_in_ms: 1000
-file_cache_size_in_mb: '512'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/astyanax-contrib/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-contrib/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-contrib/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-core/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-core/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-core/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-cql/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-cql/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-cql/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-cql/src/main/resources/test-log4j.properties b/astyanax-cql/src/main/resources/test-log4j.properties
deleted file mode 100644
index 7847f6954..000000000
--- a/astyanax-cql/src/main/resources/test-log4j.properties
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-#
-# Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-#
-
-log4j.rootLogger=DEBUG, console
-log4j.appender.console=org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender
-log4j.appender.console.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
-log4j.appender.console.layout.ConversionPattern=[%t] %-5p %C{1} - %m%n
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/astyanax-entity-mapper/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-entity-mapper/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-entity-mapper/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-queue/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-queue/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-queue/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-recipes/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-recipes/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-recipes/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-test/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-test/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-test/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>
diff --git a/astyanax-test/src/main/resources/test-log4j.properties b/astyanax-test/src/main/resources/test-log4j.properties
deleted file mode 100644
index 7847f6954..000000000
--- a/astyanax-test/src/main/resources/test-log4j.properties
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-#
-# Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-#
-
-log4j.rootLogger=DEBUG, console
-log4j.appender.console=org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender
-log4j.appender.console.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
-log4j.appender.console.layout.ConversionPattern=[%t] %-5p %C{1} - %m%n
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/astyanax-test/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties b/astyanax-test/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..952c99a66
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astyanax-test/src/test/resources/simplelogger.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# SLF4J's SimpleLogger configuration file
+# Simple implementation of Logger that sends all enabled log messages, for all defined loggers, to System.err.
+
+# Default logging detail level for all instances of SimpleLogger.
+# Must be one of ("trace", "debug", "info", "warn", or "error").
+# If not specified, defaults to "info".
+org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=debug
+
+# Logging detail level for a SimpleLogger instance named "xxxxx".
+# Must be one of ("trace", "debug", "info", "warn", or "error").
+# If not specified, the default logging detail level is used.
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.log.xxxxx=
+
+# Set to true if you want the current date and time to be included in output messages.
+# Default is false, and will output the number of milliseconds elapsed since startup.
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.showDateTime=false
+
+# The date and time format to be used in the output messages.
+# The pattern describing the date and time format is the same that is used in java.text.SimpleDateFormat.
+# If the format is not specified or is invalid, the default format is used.
+# The default format is yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss:SSS Z.
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.dateTimeFormat=yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss:SSS Z
+
+# Set to true if you want to output the current thread name.
+# Defaults to true.
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.showThreadName=true
+
+# Set to true if you want the Logger instance name to be included in output messages.
+# Defaults to true.
+#org.slf4j.simpleLogger.showLogName=true
+
+# Set to true if you want the last component of the name to be included in output messages.
+# Defaults to false.
+org.slf4j.simpleLogger.showShortLogName=true
diff --git a/astyanax-thrift/src/main/resources/log4j.xml b/astyanax-thrift/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 237c793c5..000000000
--- a/astyanax-thrift/src/main/resources/log4j.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!--
-
-    Copyright 2013 Netflix, Inc.
-
-    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-    You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-    limitations under the License.
-
--->
-<!DOCTYPE log4j:configuration SYSTEM "log4j.dtd" >
-<log4j:configuration>
-  <appender name="stdout" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
-    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
-      <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{ABSOLUTE} %5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n"/>
-    </layout>
-  </appender>
-  <root>
-    <priority value="info"></priority>
-    <appender-ref ref="stdout"/>
-  </root>
-</log4j:configuration>