SXSW has come to a close & it has been an outstandingly rewarding experience. I have seen some legendary music, I have also been opened up to some musicians I wasn’t super familiar with, I’ve done some networking & attended really inspiring panels.
Here are my highlights from my adventure at SXSW Day 2-4:
(Note: Often I speak of “we”, which usually means myself and my travel buddy Joey featured in some of my photos)
One of the classes my school brought was our student run record label, AEMMP Records. AEMMP had a showcase presenting local Chicago bands. I stopped by to show my support and caught Yoko and The Oh No’s set. It was nice seeing friends/musicians from the Chicago scene playing in Austin.
A group of us discovered a real yummy restaurant called Stubb’s BBQ, & that says a lot because I don’t eat meat so I was enjoying some bomb side dishes.
I attended a panel with Dion, he and the moderator are old friends. So really the panel was like being a fly on the wall watching two buddies from the Bronx exchange stories. He spoke about going on tour with Buddy Holly, and shared the story of Buddy Holly wanting to charter a plane but there were 4 guys & 3 seats. Dion lost the coin toss & is alive today. An audience member asked Dion, “How do you deal with the ups and downs of your career?”. Dion’s response is something to never forget, “I love music, I love my wife, I love my three daughters, I have good friends, & I eat good food. I’m human but I don’t notice it. I have been sober for 48 years. Control is a response to fear. I don’t need to find the answer. I’m home. I’m at rest. That’s my anchor. If you’re grateful, you’re happy. I’m a grateful man”.
Note: Senior editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, David Fricke sat two rows behind us at the Dion panel.
Later in the day we saw Loretta Lynn. Her concert was fantastic. She sang the classics as well as some of her new songs from her record put out by Third Man Records. She also didn’t hold back and is one sassy lady, especially to her band. :)
Finished the day by seeing Dion’s intimate show. It was just himself and Jimmy Vivino (notably recognized as Conan’s guitarist). We were probably the youngest in the crowd by 20 years, but there was amazing vibes and mutual respect for Dion . Dion sang hits like Wanderer but also performed songs off his new album, including his tribute to Buddy Holly, Visionary Heart.
I attended a panel called “Global Festivals and Their Locales”. The biggest pull for me was because a producer from Newport Folk Festival was supposed to be a speaker. Unfortunately he didn’t make it. However! The panel was still super interesting. The panelists were from Germany and Canada and have been working extensively in the festival industry. They spoke a lot about the gentrification that happens with festivals as well as the differences between Canada’s festivals and other countries being that Canada cities government help fund festival production and most other countries do not.
For the remainder of the day, we were at one venue called Hotel Vegas. The location was ideal because it was a bit removed from the more touristy craziness. The venue was really cool, there was indoor portion but most of the festivities and the main stage were in the “backyard”. Stand outs were the Mystery Lights, Stonefield, and La Luz. One of the most exciting aspects of this kind of showcase, is that it provides an environment where you end up casually rubbing elbows with successful musicians and industry folk because you're all just there to enjoy some good tunes.
Note: Austin thunderstorms are really intense, but they do pass & the venues reopen, & the music continues.
We headed out to the Third Man Rolling Record store that was parked outside of Austin’s Waterloo Records. I picked up some TMR merch as well as the new Loretta Lynn LP and the TMR First Aid Kit single.
Spending money continued as we headed to the Flatstock poster exhibit in the convention center.
We attended a panel called “Where will the Vinyl Industry be in 2018?”. On the panel was Cameron Schaeffer (Vinyl Me Please), Eric Astor (Furnace Record Pressing), Billy Fields (WMG/WEA), and last but definitely not least Ben Blackwell (Third Man Records). The entire panel was a stand out. It was really interesting hearing their perspectives on calling vinyl a “fad”. As they pointed out and I agree, it is not a fad. Vinyl records have been around since the 1880’s and there has been a market since. The only difference is now it is becoming more of a mainstream hot topic. The panel also discussed the opening of new pressing plants. An interesting point made was that even with these new plants there really won't be a dent made in the current demand for records but hopefully will increase turnaround time and keep new & old customers satisfied. Thus, collecting records will not go out of style.
We also attended a panel called, “David Bowie Visual Collaborators”. Speaking was Jonathan Barnbrook who has been the graphic designer and worked closely with Bowie on his last 4 albums. As well, Lawrence Peryer & Carolynn Cecilia who were brought in on the last album to work on the Instagram Mini Series: Unbound. The panel was very intriguing and we were shown the 16 episode mini series, including the previously unreleased final 2 episodes. Each panelist spoke briefly of their time spent with Bowie and the creative process for the final products. However in Bowie fashion many questions were left unanswered.
We saw Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires. That should speak for itself. But to say more, the band was incredibly tight and there was this unspoken but sincere support and appreciation for Charles that was exuded from each musician. I’m not sure what word to use that properly describes Charles. All I can say, he touches your soul.
We finished Saturday night, at a venue called Cheer Up Charlies. It wasn’t as far removed as Hotel Vegas but had similar vibes. We saw the full set of Mystery Lights and they rocked. It was the perfect music high to conclude the SXSW experience.
Current Adventure: Spending spring break in California before heading back to Chicago.
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