The mixing of music

By Victor Drabicky
Skiff Staff

Normally, mixing pink-haired, tattoo-covered punk rockers with boots, spurs and chaps-clad cowboys into one music event is a bad idea.

But as thousands of music fans from across the globe descend upon Austin this week, the two will find a way to mix almost perfectly.

For the 14th straight year, the South By Southwest music festival will call Austin home. Starting Wednesday, more than 1,000 bands from 23 different genres will take the stage in hopes of getting their big break.

Bands from across the globe have converged on Austin to make a little more than gas money. And, with only about 30 minutes of stage time, each band is sure to pull out all the stops to try to catch the eye of someone representing a record label. With bands trying to impress anyone and everyone, fans get treated to bags of free stuff and a series of great shows.

Most of the bands will play in one of the 60 music showcases sponsored mostly by Indie record label. This year, however, mixed in with the smaller, almost unknown labels are a few of the world’s largest. Both Interscope and Columbia Records are sponsoring showcases along with MTV’s counterpart VH1.

VH1 will use its showcase to help publicize its newest reality-based show “Bands on the Run.” The series premiers April 1 and among the four featured bands is Fort Worth’s own Flickerstick.

Columbia Records will be showing off some of its more recent successes, Five For Fighting and Train, while Interscope will be pushing its hip hop acts, Black Eyed Peas and Jurassic 5.

Along with the major labels comes a few major acts too. The Black Crowes and Fastball will play, while the rumor of a surprise Beastie Boys show will continue to make its way through festival-goers. Of course, no one knows which of the 48 venues will host the Beasties.

So for those who do get lucky and squeeze into the club to get a rare glimpse of a big band on a small stage, the $500 price tag for an all access badge is somewhat justified.

If you do fork over the $500, you get express entry into all clubs, a gift bag filled with free stuff, entrance to the three-day trade show and access to all Music Conference events, including admission to see this year’s keynote speaker Ray Davies.

But, if the $500 is a bit too high, and you don’t care for the trade show or speakers, you can pay just less than $100 for a wristband that gives you free, express entry into all of the shows.

If $100 is still too expensive for you, just drive to Austin anyway. If badge holders and wristband wearers don’t fill a club to capacity, the extra spots are sold to the public.

If you have absolutely no money whatsoever, there are numerous free shows, giveaways, promotions and other events going on throughout each day of the festival.

As SXSW gets bigger each year, more and more critics begin to voice their opposition. Many believe the conference has forgotten about the bands and has turned into nothing more than a way to bring money to the city of Austin. Even if it is, so what? SXSW offers everyone from an occasional music listener to an avid musicologist something to do.

Fans get to see a few of their favorite big bands on a small stage for the first time in decades. Bands get a chance to show the world how talented, or untalented, they really are. The city of Austin makes big bucks and gets tons of exposure.

So as the critics sit in their offices trying to figure out new ways of mocking the festival, the rest of us are enjoying nearly a week’s worth of great music.

Victor Drabicky is a senior broadcast journalism major from Farmersville.
He can be reached at (v.m.drabicky@student.tcu.edu).