Sunday, March 21, 2010
[Steve makes one final update for The Hood Internet and wraps up the duo's SXSW experiences.]
Saturday was action-packed. Started out with an afternoon set at dubFrequency's loft at Malverde where we also caught sets by Million $ Mano, Roxy Cottontail and Afghan Raiders. Next up was the launch party for Strangers In Stereo at Elysium. We missed our pals My Gold Mask who played there earlier in the day. After that we were off to the Do512 party which was outside; should be worth noting that it was like, 40 degrees. Dancing on stage under a few lights warmed things up, though. Holy Fuck played after us and really tore shit up! Our official showcase was at Karma around 11pm where we played with Oh Snap!! and DJ Car Stereo (Wars). Since four shows in one day just wasn't enough, we took a party bus out to a ranch 10 miles west of the city. There was a bonfire outside and people DJing a barn. We did a quick set sometime around 4am, and at some point the sun was rising and a different bus took us back to downtown Austin. So ended another year of SXSW. Now I'm in a minivan with Tobacco and we're headed to San Diego to start a leg of West Coast shows, but we're not out of Texas yet because IT'S A VERY LARGE STATE.
— Anne Holub
Saturday, March 20, 2010
[Steve of The Hood Internet makes a check in, late Saturday night. We're expecting a last update sometime today, so stay tuned!
Where did we leave off? Started day three at the Windish/Pitchfork party at Emo's. Caught sets from Free Energy (pictured, below), Washed Out, and Dam-Funk before heading over to La Zona Rosa for a hot minute of The xx. Shift to the evening! We did our first set at the My Old Kentucky Blog / Knuckle Rumbler party and our dude Kid Static came through on the mic for one of the new tracks we've been working on. Watched a bit of Glitch Mob and from there it was off to the Hype Machine / Lose Control party for another really fun set. Closed out the night at Yea Man's second year of "It's Chicago" at The Lodge, where Only Children, Moneypenny, Willy Joy and others all repped the 312/773/suburb area codes. Day four is still in full effect... full update tomorrow!
Free Energy at the Windish/Pitchfork party
— Anne Holub
Saturday, March 20, 2010
[Alex White recaps the end of the SXSW week for her and White Mystery. Here's hoping she and Francis make it safely back to Chicago today for their record release party at the Hideout at 9pm.]
Thursday afternoon was spent at the Third Man Records pop up store at Frank's in Austin for SXSW. Busy Beaver Button Co. teamed up with Jack White's organization to develop the first ever actual wood button. Read more about it here.
Francis and I branded everything from buttons to belts, purses, and pieces of wood. We picked up the limited edition 13 inch records and made our way to see a house show at a place called the Bodega.
Atlanta natives Pipsqueak played in the living room as dozens sprawled across the front lawn. Chicago punk band Mickey took the makeshift stage and sent the dining room into a frenzy with their song "Electric Dream." Friends from Berlin based label Alien Snatch pumped fists as PA speakers toppled and the party turned to general chaos.
Libations dried up and the party moved back to record shop the Trailer Space that White Mystery played the night before. Chicago regulars lined the exterior wall reveling in the pleasant weather and sounds of the Burger Records showcase blasting into the street.
— Anne Holub
Friday, March 19, 2010
[Steve of The Hood Internet recaps his Thursday afternoon and makes some nods and winks about some cool things in the works.]
Started out the afternoon with a set at Schubas/Lincoln Hall's annual party at Yard Dog. Tons of fun and included an audience solo on my MIDI controller. Hung around for a bit then got some food at Iron Works BBQ before heading over to the Mad Decent / IHEARTCOMIX Carniville, where we got some funnel cakes and rode the Paratrooper (made my stomach drop) while The Walkmen played the main stage. Then it was off to Daytrotter's SXSW studios where we recorded with some awesome special guests for an upcoming project that I CAN'T SAY ANY MORE ABOUT RIGHT NOW. After that, got to see Broken Bells at the C3 party [photo below]! And that was day two. Now it's off to see what day three brings, followed by our three Hood sets tonight. Boing sound effect.
[The Hood Internet's SXSW schedule after the jump.]
Continue reading this entry »
— Anne Holub
Thursday, March 18, 2010
[First check-in today from Alex White of White Mystery]
Woke up at 9am this morning after a wild night playing the Hozac showcase with Woven Bones, Fresh and Onlys, Girls at Dawn, Wizzard Sleeve and a surprise performance by fellow Chicagoans The Smith Westerns at a record store called the Trailer Space.
Andy Huff [editor's note: not GB's Andrew] picked us up to hang out poolside with Althea Lagaspi for an NPR blog taping that goes up on Vocolo tomorrow [video here (NSFW) and more here].
We played the title track from the new White Mystery record, and "Powerglove" acoustic as Francis clapped and lounged poolside. Walked 1 mile to Frank to start branding wood buttons for Jack White's Third Man Records.
[White Mystery's SXSW schedule after the jump.]
Continue reading this entry »
— Anne Holub
Thursday, March 18, 2010 (first report)
[Steve of The Hood Internet sends in his first update.]
Got in yesterday and met up with our dude Neiliyo who had just played a day show at Shangri'la on the east side. Das Racist played and introduced themselves first as The Cool Kids, then Ninjasonik. Dropped off our bags and went downtown to meet up with Bald E., the Only Children/Apteka bros, Veronica from CreamTeam.TV and various other Chi City friends. Caught a bit of Hey Champ's set before heading over to C3's party at the 508 House where we spun a late night set that may have included a remix of Primus' "Tommy The Cat." Headed in for some sleep so we could wake up early-ish fora couple interviews with Ryan Muir (of Stereogum) at Studio SX and with the documentary crew from Press Pause Play. In both we talked about The Hood Internet in relation to the ever-changing face of modern media consumption. Now we're on a bus (baller status) headed to the Schubas/Lincoln Hall annual SXSW round-up. We'll check in again soon!
[The Hood Internet's SXSW schedule after the jump.]
Continue reading this entry »
— Anne Holub /
Wednesday, March 17th (first report):
[Alex White of White Mystery just sent in a brief update on her SXSW experiences:]
1pm Wake up and enjoy the sunny balmy weather on Dmiritri and Paloma's porch.
Tip for tours: always bring your own breakfast! I pack oatmeal in a ziploc and a bag oranges to keep immunity high when traveling.
2:45pm Meet up with Mickey and Skate.
Update, 5:15pm
Spent the morning and made it to Beerland for Awesome Color and The Spits. "Let us play your party" sent the tiny dark room into fits at 4pm-ish and it's about 80 degrees. The sun washes over me and the Austin weather is medicinal.
There's a mix of short skirts heart shaped glasses and shamrock shirts!
[White Mystery's SXSW schedule follows:]
Continue reading this entry »
— Anne Holub
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
[Alex White of White Mystery sent in a wrap-up of the last-minute tour prep and travel to Austin.]
9am Spent the early morning preparing special projects for Busy Beaver Button co. including coverage of clients at sxsw. Thanks to an awesome button crew for mailing all the button supplies ahead of time.
1:40pm Francis arrives at my Logan Square apartment from making buttons all day. He forgot to print the boarding passes and itinerary so he hand writes all the information.
2pm Easy Blue Line trip to Ohare.
2:15pm Email from distributor revolver midheaven that the White Mystery record is available on iTunes ahead of schedule. Sweet!
Arrived at Ohare and spent 45 minutes convincing delta that a guitar qualifies as carry on according to their web page where it says "guitar qualifies as carry on baggage."
Flight is delayed. Board eventually. Sleep walk to layover in Memphis and magically appear in Austin. Hop on the $1 #100 bus airport flyer directly to my friends Dmitri and Paloma.
The party begins.
Beautiful Austin house and Francis hops in the back of a pick up truck.
— Anne Holub
Once again, we're thrilled to be enjoying the hustle and bustle of Austin, Texas through some of our favorite Chicago musicians. The Hood Internet is loading up their luggage with lots of fruits and vegetables (I'm sure) to keep themselves running at optimal levels while they create beautiful digital mashups. Along with DJs STV SLV and ABX, we'll also be getting regular reports and pictures from the ginger rock powerhouse of White Mystery. Dare we say, that Alex White and her brother Francis are poised on the verge of world domination? Yep, we just said it. They'll be heading to Austin as well, but skipping back home early to celebrate the release of their new album at the Hideout on Saturday (keep an eye out here for more on that one).
If you're headed down to Austin, you can check out these guys at the following venues (based on our latest information — times subject to change). We even have a super list of all the Chicago bands heading down to play at SXSW that we could find. If you're in Chicago, basking in the green glow of the river, keep your eyes on Gapers Block: Transmission for all the rowdy updates.
Continue reading this entry »
— Anne Holub
Music is a living organism. It lives, breathes, and is changing constantly. How music is made, found and promoted is part of this life force and is also morphing. The international company Sonicbids is a huge contributing factor in this. Since its incarnation in 2001, Sonicbids has provided pragmatic outcome to an ever changing industry making gigging a reality to many struggling musicians and giving people in the music industry more fresh faces than they could have ever imagined. The company blends business, music and technology giving necessary tools and guidance to both performer and promoter. The company also nurtures what they call "The artistic middle class."The artist in limbo somewhere in between a deal with a record label and busking for spare change. They interact with their worldwide network of members to provide and accept feedback to a global community involved with constantly emerging music.
Continue reading this entry »
— Aharona Ament
SXSW Wed Feb 17 2010
Chicago at SXSW: Showcases and an Updated Band List
It seems my claim that Chicago would be underrepresented at SXSW this year was a bit premature. We've since received word about several showcases by Chicago labels, venues and promoters, and acts have come out of the woodwork to let us know they're heading down to Austin to play off-festival gigs. To top it off, just this Tuesday SXSW posted its showcase grid, finally providing an easy way to track down local acts -- and revealing quite a few more Chicagoans in official showcases.
So, here's the latest on Chicago at SXSW:
Continue reading this entry »
— Andrew Huff /
SXSW Wed Feb 03 2010
From the looks of things, 2010 will be a light year for Chicago at SXSW Music Festival down in Austin. Our list of local and regional bands performing in official showcases is pretty short:
Chicago:
The Hood Internet
I Fight Dragons
Joe Pug
Kidz In The Hall
Dick Prall
Psalm One
Waco Brothers
Via Tania
Region:
Cheap Trick (Rockford)
Jookabox (Indianapolis)
Stephen Jerzak (La Crosse, WI)
Diplomats of Solid Sound (Iowa City, IA)
FINALE (Detroit)
Goober and the Peas (Detroit)
The Hounds Below (Detroit)
Note that I had to include Detroit as "regional" this year -- we usually don't cast quite so wide a radius to gather this many bands. On the other hand, there seem to be quite a few more international bands on the roster (which stands at 230 so far).
EDIT: Some folks questioned where we got our info -- our original list was based on the official SXSW band list. Chicago acts in unofficial showcases are beginning to trickle in -- the list is below. If you know of an act performing at SXSW, either officially or unofficially, drop us a line (transmission@gapersblock.com) or leave a comment. Stay tuned for more news and updates!
Unofficial Showcases:
Coco Coma
Hollows
Mickey
Moneypenny
This is Versailles
Tyler Jon Tyler
White Mystery
My Gold Mask
The Loyal Divide
Pretty Good Dance Moves
Willy Joy
UPDATE: Chicago.com/Music is hosting a "Chicago Beats" showcase on March 19, featuring A Lull, Breakers Broken, Yawn, Loyal Divide, The Down Feathers, Danny Chaimson, The Giving Tree Band, Kellen & Me, Remington Pettygrove, Scott Wesley Band and Matt Kelly.
— Andrew Huff /
