Other random notes from our SXSW trip

I ate at the Whataburger fast food chain 5 times on our 10 day trip.

 

 

After our second show Neil got very ill and remained so for the rest of the trip, giving his illness to our good friend Brother Will from Brothers & Sisters before we left Austin.

 

 

Our van’s GPS gave us directions with female British dialect. Whenever we made a wrong turn or missed it a turn she told us she was “Re-cal-cu-lating.” Austin is not the preferred city to use a GPS because the interstate runs on top of or nearly on top of parallel streets and the GPS couldn’t always tell if we were on the interstate or on the frontage roads and thus she would give us very confusing and sometimes incorrect directions.

 

 

On the way from Denton to Austin we saw the Texas Motor Speedway. It’s big.

 

 

Our recording studio where we slept the night after our Atlanta show, took the new band glam pictures, is off of Faulkner Road. At a bookstore in Denton, TX I picked up some cheap secondhand paperbacks which are William Faulkner’s The Wild Palms, Go Down Moses, and The Reivers, as well as Ernest Hemingway’s The Nick Adams Stories, and Anton Checkhov’s Selected Stories. Out of all those paperbacks I’ve had time to read one of Checkhov’s short stories.

 

 

On our way back home when we went through Atlanta we though we say a hotel with shattered windows from tornadoes that had twisted and ravaged their way through the Southeast the night before.

 

On several occasions we were reminded of something somewhat trite but true that AC/DC once sung; “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna Rock and Roll.”

 

 

 I feel like ending this blog on a very, very, very trivial note: on Saturday, after our last SXSW show we went to Target and all got something for Brother Will as a care package to show him our appreciation of his generosity. Here’s the trivial part—while I was walking down the greeting card isle my right shoe came untied, maybe my left, but I think it was my right, and perhaps it came untied because I put my right sock on first that morning (I did change my socks every day). But I got the shoe tied and didn’t come untied for the rest of the trip. This isn’t my most vivid memory, but it is still a memory nonetheless.

 

                                                                                                                                   

South by Southwest (SXSW) 2008!

Wednesday March 12, 2008

Went to Convention Center to get Neil’s wristband. Instide it was humming with many voices from crowds of seemingly endless lines. Played Little Radio’s day party at the Red Eyed Fly just a little after 12 Noon. In the parking lot of Red Eyed Fly we helped move a car that wasn’t supposed to be parked there. A man used his pickup truck and tied a rope to pull the little car to a place where it could be easily towed. Hippies, Mods, Rockers, Punks and Freaks parade the streets, but the “Indie” crowd is by far the largest in attendance. Our Little Radio show was outdoors and well attended. We rocked hard: Jim did a backflip and I stomped on my piano with my boots. Brothers and Sisters played after us and they kicked major ass. We got to hang out with our manager Scottie Diablo. I was also interviewed by the Charleston City Paper’s own Susie while Brothers and Sisters played. Two journalists writing for the same paper and we did an interview with each other. After Brothers and Sisters were done we had a whomping good lunch at Star Seeds.

 

 We took some gangsta Chola pics in front of a low rider. We drove to the Beso Cantina around 5:30pm only to find out we were scheduled to play at 10:30pm. Five hours early. All of us but Jason hit up the downtown Austin scene but there were no shows that really caught our ears, which is a little disappointing at a music festival of this size. This was the first official day of SXSW, but there were several pre-shows as early as Monday. We even saw street musicians.

We arrived at the Beso Cantina at the correct time and met Nick from the Spinto Band and his girlfriend Catherine. I’m quite certain they were the only two people there to see us. Our show was mindboggingly horrible. The stage was tiny. Two fo the vocal mics were off during our first song and the sound on stage was atrocious. At some point Jason and I started whaling on every song and Dave hopped on top of the bar and walked down the entire bar during our last song. I turned every knob on my amp all the up and started banging on top of it until it made laser sounds.

Thursday March 13, 2008

Our Dead Oceans/Secretly Canadian showcase was on this night at Mohawk on 912 Red River St.

Wally and I went to Flight Path Coffee House on Airport Rd. I burned my fingers on a hot glass of coffee that had no handle. We peeked into a costume shop next door.

We loaded in around 6 and a cop gave us guff for unloading near Mohawk, but we eventually worked it out. A bus got to unload, then it was our turn.

I had time to see the Cowsills at Central Presbyterian, a church with good acoustics where we saw Donovan and Keren Ann last year. The Cowsills sunshine popped my face off. It was awesome, they played well and sang incredibly high harmonies loudly and—harmonies that soared through the tall dark wooden arches of this church. The Cowsills are the real family band that inspired The Partridge Family. Highlights were 1967 hit “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things,” “Nuclear Winter,” “We Can Fly,” and “Hair,” from the 1969 musical. The Cowsills were cheerful despite mentioning they were performing and dedicating songs by their two recently deceased brothers. I’m glad I was able to see and hear these songs.

I walked four blocks to Mohawk and we played our packed out showcase. The line outside was long and rowdy. We played to a packed house on the tight inside stage. At the end of our last song we were all soaked in sweat, the guitar players dogpiled onto stage while I jumped as high as I could and slammed into my piano with my hands and boots about 20 times for the last chord. Some of the Dr. Dog and High Strung band members were there to see us.

After the set we went upstairs to the balcony and listened to Jens Leckman perform on the outside stage. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. sat at the table behind us. I ran to the van to get promo copies of our CD. I sliced and weaved my way through the drunken crowd (which had massive B.O.) and slipped out through the inside stage exit, hauled tail uphill a block or two, got CDs, hustled back through the band, bumped through the SXSW masses and back to the balcony. Jim and I walked up to Michael Stipe, trying not interrupt his conversation. I told Jim what to say, we pushed closer, waited for a pause. The conversation went something like this:

JIM:    Excuse me, Mr. Stipe. We’re friends with Brian Wilson and Camera Obscura. We’re huge fans of your music and we’ve listened to you since we were kids.

STEFAN:   We’re in the Explorers Club and we want you to have two of our CDs. We just played our showcase downstairs. I’m Stefan. This is Jim. [We shook his hand.]

JIM:   Sorry to bother you, but we really want you to have our CD.

STIPE:    That’s ok. Thank you for the CDs.

 

I liked it, but Jim said meeting Michael Stipe was nerve racking. He is, after all, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For some reason I didn’t have my camera with me the entire night.  

Friday March 15, 2008

 

Played a day party on the outskirts of Austin at Hank Sinatra’s farm. Chickens, goats, green grass. A rusted 1930s truck door and armadillo statue were on the wooden outdoor stage. A group called Hymns played and we liked it. We played a fun hot set to a joyful crowd. Carrying gear back up the long hill was exhausting in the 90 degree heat. Ice tea, grilled beef ribs, and good spicy salsa were nice refreshments. Jason, Jim and I got sunburns. That evening Dave, Wally, Jim, and I went downtown to see our Anaheim, California friends Thee Makeout Party play a tight set at Speakeasy, which is a difficult venue to find, even for Austin’s natives.

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we caught Dr. Dog’s wild set at a crowded Cedar Door. Our wristbands got us in fast, but the streets were filled with madness: jaywalkers, honking cars, lines stretching onto crosswalks and sidewalks around venues. Dr. Dog played more slow songs here than the did a little over a week earlier at Charleston’s Pour House, but they still rocked out just as hard. There was a whole lot of dancing and shaking going on. Cedar Door was at capacity, filled with people and press photographers and their expensive cameras.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday March 16, 2008

 

Played our last show at Lamberts for the Quite Scientific Showcase. Neil, who was ill the entire time, felt much better. Loaded the van for the last time at SXSW. We did a full band interview with a reporter and a cameraman from Columbus, Ohio. A good way to end SXSW 2008. It’s worth the trip.

– Stefan / The Explorers Club

 

 

SXSW here we come! - Dave

Hey Everybody!
This is Dave.  and it’s my first official blog for the band!  We’re going to try and do a better job of keeping this thing rolling along and keeping you guys informed.  At the moment i’m sitting in room 103 of the LaQuinta inn in Denton, Texas.  we played a show last night at a club called Haileys.  pretty sweet club, really nice staff - but unfortunately not very well attended show.  All the bands last night - The Mannequin Men, Catfish Haven, Zest of Yore, and us - pretty much played for each other.  it was still fun though.  a good practice.  we went to this sweet little artsy coffee shop downtown before the show called Jupiters.  real hip joint with all those earth conscious beverages and such.  and although all the artwork hanging on the wall looked like my 18 month old nephew could’ve done it, it was still a sweet place to get some herbal tea and vitamin C enriched smoothie drinks.  go there, get a beverage, and sit in the blue chair against the wall on the left, i found it quite relaxing.  We also ate some sweet grub at The Blackeyed Pea before the show.  great stuff!  haven’t eaten at that chain in a while.  i’m a sucker for their fried pickles.
Our waitress Kera was really sweet too.  Ask for her if you ever go there.  She ended up coming to the show when she got off work - so we at least had one person there that wasn’t in a band!  thanks Kera!

Everybody’s been battling this cold/cough/fever bug that’s circulating itself through various members of the band.  Wally was pretty bad off the other day but Neil has it the worst now.  Poor guy, i think the only time he’s been awake these past two days was to play the drums last night.  other than that he’s been in the van or on the floor of the hotel room trying to sleep his cold off.  Me and Jim had the illness before we left charleston, and Jason had it before us.  We’re thinking about hiring a pharmaceutical rep to be a 7th member of the band to keep us in some good drugs.

we drive to Austin today.  really looking forward to this week.  it’s so much fun!
more from the road coming soon!  we’ll keep you updated.  we love you all!

Dave

The Road to SXSW 2008

Here’s a brief overview of the Explorers Club’s path to SXSW 2008:

 Friday March 7, 2008

Played a fun show in Atlanta. Our friends James and Troy jammed with us on “Freedom Wind” and “Johnny B. Goode.” James wore an enormous fake beard and some Hunter Thompson style orange shades. Troy played kickin’ solos and on the latter song there were a triple attack guitar solos from Jason, Troy, and Jim. We slept at our recording studio. On this day we were also Spin.com’s “artist of the day” and we were mentioned on Pitchforkmedia.com.

Saturday March 8, 2008

We woke up to a cold windy morning in Atlanta. There were snow flurries.

In the studio we all jammed some B3 organ. Troy took some glam shots of us in the studio. Then we crammed all our crap into the van. We went to a costume shop called Norcsotco, tried on some hats/glasses. We left decked out and looking totally awesome: Jim got a brown barnstorming cap, Neil got a white captain’s hat with a embroidered yellow anchor and a black visor, and I got the same yellow Gonzo shades James has. We ate lunch at Chick-fil-A. On the way to Nashville Jim made his barnstorming cap into a hat phone, which is in a sense a poor man’s bluetooth but way cooler. 

Nashville had about three inches of snow on the ground–snow is something Jim experienced for the first time on this day.

Played at Mercy Lounge and got to hang with our friend Joe, formerly of a band called Girls and Boys, like the Blur song. We ate at the MOJO Grill and everyone loved it. This hip cat that I know from my college recommended we eat there, and to everyone’s joy I took him up on this delicious advice.

Sunday March 9, 2008

Ate brunch at the Alleycat with Seth Riddle, our first manager. The food was good, but it was no MOJO meal. It was also Neil’s 24th birthday. We drove to Denton, Texas. It rained heavily in Texas–after pumping gas I was somewhat soaked. We checked in to our hotel around 3AM. There was a swimming pool at the La Quinta Inn and the sidewalks were flooded, so I was completely soaked when I walked into the room.

Monday March 10, 2008

Hotel lawn mowers awoke us at an early hour.

Jason and I had sweet biscuits at Whataburger and found out through posters and placques on the wall that Roy Orbison, Don Henley, and Pat Boone are/were all from Denton or graduated from the University of North Texas at Denton. In our hotel we could hear the nearly discernible voices of the conversations in the rooms next to us. Dave, Jim, and I hit some Denton thrift stores. I found a coo pink polka-dot shirt for Jim. I also found a box of 45s (50c a piece) that Jim and I raided: Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison (from Denton), Harry Nilsson, the Merry-Go-Round, Peter & Gordon, the Beach Boys, Lovin’ Spoonful, Aretha Franklin, and so on… Dave found 99c CDs of MC Hammer’s greatest hits, Motown girl groups, U2’s Joshua Tree, and Peter and the Wolf. All six of us ate dinner at the Black Eyed Pea, but on the way there we got stuck in interstate traffic because a semi got stuck on the curbs of a tight exit ramp. We said bump this and Dave took us off-roading through the grass between the interstate and the frontage road. It ruled. 

Downtown Denton suppossedly looked like the 1920s, but I was around then so I can’t confirm that. Jim and I paraded off to a coffee shop (Yes! he drinks coffee now) and then to a bookstore where I picked up some paper Faulkner, Hemingway, and Checkov. The show at Hailey’s was fun. The singers coughed in harmony. A band called Mannequin Men followed us and they rocked our faces off. They seemed to be influenced by Creedence, the Nuggets collection, and good punk rock.  

Tuesday March 11, 2008

Drove to Austin, rolled into town by late afternoon. Dave dropped off his 12-string guitar at Erlewine Guitars to get some work done by this well-known guitar repair man. Went to Will’s from Brothers and Sisters. Ate dinner ate Polou’s with Phil and Manish from our label. All of us but Neil went to the Convention Center to get our “Showcasing Artist” pass and our individual wristbands.

Jim, Dave, and I went to see Brothers and Sisters at Beauty Bar that night, but the line was so long we went around back and watched them through the fence. It sounded fine. Talked to them once they loaded out.

To be continued…at SXSW 2008! blog…

–Stefan / The Explorers Club

 p.s. all grammar mistakes are purely for stylistic purposes.

Pitchfork Review of our EP!

The Explorers Club
“Don’t Forget the Sun”
[unsigned; 2006]

Beach Boys. Beach Boys, Beach Boys. Beach Boys!!! Like Brian Wilson entering his own John Malkovich portal (so that’s why he stayed in bed), the Explorers Club’s musical language has a one-track vocabulary– Beach Boys?– but somehow speaks volumes. Unlike most psych-rockers who cite Pet Sounds as an influence, the Charleston, S.C., sextet would actually sound at home in that record’s grooves. No whiny indie vox here: Four singers pool their voices in majestic waves of harmony, while “God Only Knows” keyboards, horns, soft hand claps, and tinkling percussion make for the most convincingly Beach-ready recent production not helmed by New Orleans’ Hercules. It’d be a little tribute-bandy if it weren’t so damn effective; “Don’t Forget the Sun” places the group in a harmony-drenched, slightly spacey tradition spanning from the Zombies to Super Furry Animals. “I wish the summer sun would last the whole year long,” the Explorers Club sing. Learn to say their name– at least until they find their own portal and the reviews start writing themselves.