{"id":22694,"date":"2018-03-12T10:15:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T14:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=22694"},"modified":"2018-08-09T17:04:35","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T21:04:35","slug":"check-spreadsheet-surviving-sxsw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/check-spreadsheet-surviving-sxsw\/","title":{"rendered":"CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Surviving SXSW"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been called a masochist for going to Austin, TX’s South By South West festival so many years in a row. SXSW 2018 will be my eighth return trip and this year I\u2019ll be an official artist with all three of my projects – Sharkmuffin, Ex-Girlfriends and Kino Kimino – totaling 17 sets in five days. Aside from the direct coffee IV I\u2019ll be dragging around with me during the week, I\u2019ll be taking my vitamins, (maybe) avoiding day drinking and eating at a lot of food trucks.<\/p>\n

Navigating the music industry’s spring break for the first time can seem like a daunting task, so to help ease your South By South Stress, we talked to festival rookies Def.Grls<\/a> and veterans Dentist<\/a>, Leggy<\/a>, and\u00a0Boytoy<\/a>, who have each made as many return trips to Austin as me.<\/p>\n

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Def.Grls (Brooklyn, NY)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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AF: What about SXSW are you most excited about?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Mark:<\/strong> I\u2019m most excited for all of the rock and roll, all of the debauchery, for all of the drugs, for all of the emotions and that I\u2019m gonna win the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero\u2019s Quest;\u00a0The Race for Badger\u2019s Cup!<\/p>\n

Craig:<\/strong> I\u2019m most excited to visit the city of Austin for the first time. I\u2019m excited for my first ever SXSW experience. I\u2019m excited for Mark to do all the drugs and feel all the emotions. And I can\u2019t wait to win\u00a0the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero\u2019s Quest;\u00a0The Race for Badger\u2019s Cup!<\/p>\n

Hannah:<\/strong> I\u2019m most excited for my first ever tour and that I get to be with the GRLS! I\u2019m also excited to play a house show on the way at Carl Fike\u2019s house in Little Rock!!! I\u2019m also most excited by how Craig is already negative points in\u00a0the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero\u2019s Quest;\u00a0The Race for Badger\u2019s Cup!<\/p>\n

AF: What was booking your first tour like?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Craig:<\/strong> Hannah was the mastermind behind this tour so we\u2019ll let her field this one.<\/p>\n

Hannah:<\/strong>\u00a0It was really confusing and hard and fun! And mostly successful due to the kindness of strangers on the internet. I went to bandcamp and listened to, like, infinity bands in the different cities that would maybe make sense to stop at along the way, and when I found one I really liked, I reached out being like \u201cHey, you wanna be friends??\u201d And they all put me in touch with a second or third or fourth person who helped us set up all the shows along the way. So freaking cool and friendly.<\/p>\n

AF: What SXSW shows are you playing?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Def.GRLS:<\/strong> We\u2019re playing 4 unofficial showcases in Austin! Starting things off with a daytime set on Wednesday the 14th at the 6th annual Uglyfest at Cherrywood Coffeehouse and then playing again that night at the Nochebuena in Space party at Stay Gold! Then on Thursday the 15th, we\u2019re playing on the Midcoast Takeover stage at Shangri-la (where Hannah\u2019s brother is running sound!). Then on Saturday the 17th we\u2019re going to wrap up our time in Austin at the Indicate Interest day party showcase at Hops and Grain!<\/p>\n

AF: How are you going to pass the time on the road on your way to Texas?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Craig:<\/strong>\u00a0We love to do Madlibs, listen to Aqua…<\/p>\n

Mark:<\/strong>\u00a0…pray to Ihop (rule #23 in\u00a0the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero\u2019s Quest;\u00a0The Race for Badger\u2019s Cup!)<\/p>\n

Craig:<\/strong> …gossiping about our frenemies. But mostly participation in\u00a0the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero\u2019s Quest;\u00a0The Race for Badger\u2019s Cup is very demanding of our mind, body and soul.<\/p>\n

Hannah:<\/strong>\u00a0So true. The official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero\u2019s Quest;\u00a0The Race for Badger\u2019s Cup tests each GRL\u2019s mental, physical and psychic strengths. It says so right on the first page:<\/p>\n

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Mark:<\/strong> Hannah\u2019s in the lead. But I\u2019m gonna win. 4glory!!<\/p>\n

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Dentist (Asbury Park, NJ)<\/strong><\/p>\n

AF: What\u2019s your favorite food truck \/ venue in Austin?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our experience is somewhat limited at this point, but when we were there in 2016 we really enjoyed playing at the Hard Luck Lounge because they had a great outdoor section and a food truck outside with very tasty snacks. We always like playing outside when it’s nice out.<\/p>\n

AF: What\u2019s the craziest thing that\u2019s happened to you at SXSW?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the days when we were hanging out and drinking, we ended up at some cowboy bar and this older guy, probably in his 60s or 70s, asked me to square dance with him. Turns out he must have been a professional or something. Even though I frequently line danced to “Achy Breaky Heart” in middle school during gym class, I\u00a0couldn’t keep up and had to sit down after 15 minutes or so.\u00a0 Not sure how crazy that is, but it’s a funny memory that comes to mind.<\/p>\n

AF: What are your tips for surviving SXSW?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it’s all about a mindset. Normally at a certain point you would say to yourself, “I’m tired, time to go home,” but you just have to tell yourself that it’s only one week, and you can find time to sleep at some other point in the future.<\/p>\n

AF: What showcases are you playing, and what showcases or bands are you the most excited to go see?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our official showcase is at BD Riley’s on March 15th at 10pm. Then we are playing two awesome unofficial shows with amazing lineups; the first one is\u00a0March 15th\u00a0starting at\u00a04pm\u00a0at Hard Luck Lounge and is presented by Little Dickman Records, the other is presented by Little Dickman Records, CoolDad Music, and Garden State\u00a0Beards\u00a0and is at\u00a0Valhalla on\u00a0March 17th\u00a0starting at\u00a011am. We are down to take on more stuff, so if anyone reading is doing a showcase and wants to reach out, go for it! We are really excited to see Wavves, Andrew W.K, Sharkmuffin, Parrot Dream, Fruit and Flowers, Ex Girlfriends, Pink Mexico, Beams, Albert Hammond Jr., Anna Burch, High Waisted, Kino\u00a0Kimino, Boytoy, Grace Vonderkuhn and a bunch more I’m sure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n