SXSW 2010
Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:01 pm
Happy Eisley headlined their set at Maggie Mae's Rooftop Thurs. night 3.18.2010 at 1am.
Basic Report
SXSW is unlike every other festival. First - it's in the South. 2nd, it's in Texas. We have the classic festival grounds (ACL) but that's not South By. Instead of wide-stretching lawns, there are buildings, instead of huge fancy stages with logos branded on porous screens, there are streets lined with hundreds of venues... bars, historic clubs, tents, roof-tops, basements, sidewalks, stores, restaurants, etc. There are endless meetings... endless people talking endlessly about bands... and they all come from all over the world. Add beer, Tex-Mex, BBQ, Boba' Tea and plenty of coffee; you're in music mecca.
iPhone shot looking out the upstairs window of that great Vietnamese/Tai place on 6th.
iPhone shot at that great Vietnamese/Tai place on 6th. Green Curry - Yum.
New Music If I had a dollar for every time someone told me about a new cool band, I could have funded our entire trip. New music is blaring, booming, blasting out of every edifice. Walking down 6th street sounds like you're inside a sub-woofer that pics up 20 different radio stations all at once.
I planned on writing something smart. I wish I had time to discuss every single activity, interview, meal, beverage, show, person we ran into and hugged... but I don't. I don't even know where to start; 4 days at sxsw is a lifetime. I'm quite sure you'd become trifle bored and leave the Trolley forever if I got into that kind of minutia... so I'll scan my brain and throw down words quickly (dumb, not smart). I never claimed to be a writer. I'm an impassioned hack.
Paste Magazine/Pure Volume show.
Paste Magazine/Pure Volume show was interestingly great. Please support these entities because they support us. Paste is the best; check it out... and try comparing Pure Volume's site management tools and interface to myspace. Not knocking anyone but I wish Pure Volume was the winner in that game. I recently updated. Anyway - hey thanks to all of you 21+'rs who came out, sang loud & stayed late. What a crazy night. Maybe because it was an open bar.
Highlights: playing after Jakob Dylan & Nico Case, meeting our attorney face to face and seeing his cool haircut that he was embarrassed about, seeing old friends, talking to Josh (a pioneer at Paste Magazine), doing an interview outside in the thunderous noise, running into old wb peeps who no longer work there, trying to get Christie in but not being able to and accidentally losing Weston's $700 in-ears.
Same show - Chauntellelegant.
The band sounded great in most everyone's opinion even though the system was under-powered (you couldn't hear the vocals... pretty much from every band). Also - every set went over so at 2am people were still in line trying to get into eisley's show but weren't allowed (guess it was supposed to end at 2). But none of that stuff really mattered. The entire night was great and we appreciate Paste and Pure Volume so much for the invite.
Same show - Sherrimouthy.
Same show - Stacyupwardly. Couldn't get shots of the backstagers.
Publicity - We did tons of interviews. It's what you do; and it's good. I'll post them if/when they're up. We actually did a decently long interview w/ Adam from absolutepunk.net. There were others... and surprisingly, all seemed to push beyond the typical question: "So what's it like being siblings in a band... do you guys fight?". Give me a break in the face. How they do get tired of this question. But it's better to get the question than not to get the publicity.
I told you there were mostly bro's. Is this a good sign? Perhaps the ladies don't stay out so late.
SXSW - In my opinion, this - our main showcase - was better than the Paste/PV set based on pure volume alone. That was a funny joke.
We were also in the final 1:00 slot on this set. I'd say we had a slow start; line check only but the band/set built in momentum. A few sound issues to work out. Our publicist from Paradigm told me minutes after - "wow... what a finish..." and that seemed to echo the general crescendo reciprocated from the many Austinoids in the front. Thanks again for coming, singing, making a fuss. You guys are so adorable. Wait... i saw mostly dudes. Don't take that wrong. I just mean, Eisley fans have certain identifiable attributes/behaviors. I recognized those.
Stacy straps on a LaRose Tele' for new smash, world-wide non-wb single - "Sad". jk. what the hell is a single.
Kashmir - We got to meet, talk & hang out those guys (the ones we never stop talking about from Denmark). Super nice people... (and their team/crew). We approached them in the street, walked several blocks together, talked about music, their new record, how we even knew about them... before getting into lots of the technical stuff backstage. They even speak good English. Mostly, they make great Rocket Boys... and Barcelona.
So good. We were eating and doing interviews while of the bands but... the entire showcase was good. And the PA was actually adequate.
Music Sessions - What a great little theater; and amazing people. I don't know if they do everything in that theater... seems they do. They videotape and track bands (sessions). I'm pretty sure they have an actual recording studio now. Anyway - cool thing happening there. I only took one blurry pic of the 90 folks in there.
4 Song acoustic set at Sessions Music. If you get a chance to do this, take the offer... they're great.
Here are a few more random pics taken Friday before we left.
iPhone shot taken while zooming past an old something.
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Random notes: We ran into our old friend Fred who is no longer doing his own color. He has a new band w/ Andy from Hot Rod. Can't remember the name of the new band. dern. He's such a nice guy. We also ran into an old friend who mixed the band on a short tour who's now doing management... I asked him if it was any band i might know; he said, "yeah, her name is Feist". We also ran into my good friend Peter Jesperson from New West Records... I forgot to get him a copy of "Fire Kite ep" again. shizzle. Also ran into Mica from Tooth n Nail, and "O" from Reeve's Oliver, and hung out for a few hrs with Andy from Paradigm, finally met Steve Tilly - a promoter/fan of eisley from the UK, we all stumbled into the rep who used to work for Ben Sherman but doesn't anymore and we stayed with an old friend of my wife and mine from the 70's (thanks Childress's)... and tons and tons more... if I forgot anyone, sorry; but who really cares about this drivel.
On the way home (in the van) we all at once spontaneously clapped and thanked everyone for working so hard to pull it off. Then everyone fell asleep except for Mark who drove us mostly out of guilt since he accidentally ran jumped a curve and popped the tire and bent the rim in 3 places while he was driving in circles while waiting for us to have fun... until speed racer took over. Any guesses?
SXSW 2010 was a joy. We felt cathartic... thankful. Thanks SO much for making it amazing for us. I hope we contributed to your joy in some small way. Actually, I mostly hope you liked the new song; did anyone hear "Sad" at Maggie's? (you couldn't hear it at Pure-V) The track rocks. I couldn't hear it live very good at the club; i was right up front. Comments? Be kind.
It's freezing outside again here. Kim took Sherri to Dallas to meet Max in LA. It was snowing. Come on Sprinnnnggg. No more Winter!! pleeassseee! Gotta go.
bd
p.s. the stage manager from the Pure Vol show found Weston's in-ears and I was able to get into his show around 3:30am to pick them up even tho' the stage had literally just collapsed and giant drunk dudibro's packed the house.
p.s.s. it snowed here too.
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